Commercial Foreclosures in New Jersey

The Record reports,

The strong pace of commercial real estate foreclosures in New Jersey did not abate in the first quarter, in a sign of continuing distress facing income-producing properties, according to newly released state data.

There have been 499 commercial foreclosures filed statewide in the first four months of this year — including one involving a prominent Hackensack office complex, according to data compiled by the New Jersey Judiciary. There were 503 commercial foreclosures in New Jersey in the first quarter of 2009.

This doesn't sound like good news to me. Then, again, when was the last time we had good news coming out of New Jersey's real estate market, residential or commercial?

The full article can be read here.

For your next title order
or if you have questions about what you see here,
contact Stephen M. Flatow
Vested Title Inc.
648 Newark Avenue, P.O. Box 6453
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506
E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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Title Topics, April-May 2010

Our most recent edition of Title Topics discusses Vested Title's new Good Faith Estimate calculator, issues with Short Sales, and the effect of the Realty Transfer Fee on related entity conveyances. The newsletter can be found in the column to the left or here.

Enjoy!

For your next title order

or if you have questions about what you see here,

contact Stephen M. Flatow

Vested Title Inc.

648 Newark Avenue,

P.O. Box 6453,

Jersey City, NJ 07306

Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506

E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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Home sales up? It's all in the numbers.

You may have seen the latest home sales and price numbers and wondered: What's going on here? Are we up? Are we down?

So begins Kenneth R. Harney's latest posting on Realty Times.

Depending on which TV network reported the news last week, it sounded either like real estate is continuing along its steady road to recovery - -or that we just hit a pothole in the road.

That's just the problem with numbers, isn't it? But there is an answer according to Harney and arithmetic inclined folks,

Well, dig down into the actual numbers from the National Association of Realtors and you find that, yes, 2010 first quarter home sales were 14 percent lower than they were in the final quarter of 2009.

Home sales nationwide, however, in the first quarter of 2010 were 11.4 percent higher than they were during the same quarter the year before. And any economist will tell you: year to year comparisons are more meaningful than quarter to quarter data, which tend to be more volatile.

So, we're up. Let's see that translate into a full year increase and I will personally feel much better. Read the full article here.

For your next title order or
if you have questions about what you see here,
contact Stephen M. Flatow
Vested Title Inc.
648 Newark Avenue,
P.O. Box 6453,
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506
E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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NJ Mortgage Brokers - rules get tougher

The Bergen Record's Richard Newman reports on new rules for mortgage brokers in the state of New Jersey. The new rules were enacted pursuant to Federal requirements passed in the aftermath of the sub-prime meltdown.

As Congress debates sweeping financial reforms to prevent a repeat of the 2008 housing meltdown, mortgage lenders who do not work for banks are already quietly adapting to stricter oversight.

"In New Jersey, loan originators must do the following by May 15 to get licensed by July 31:

* Complete 20 hours of education;

* Pass a test;

* Submit fingerprints for a criminal background check by the FBI;

* Complete a criminal background check by the New Jersey State Police.

* Give a national mortgage lender licensing database operator permission to obtain a credit report."

Sound tough? Maybe, but experience shows that licensing alone does not eliminate the troublemakers in any industry.

What do you think about the new rules?

Read the full article here.

For your next title order or
if you have questions about what you see here,
contact Stephen M. Flatow
Vested Title Inc.
648 Newark Avenue,
P.O. Box 6453,
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506
E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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Payments outside of settlement? Not in a short sale!

We have been warning our customers and anyone who asks that fooling around with a short sale payoff letter can be hazardous. Bob Hunt, a director of the National Association of Realtors, weighs in on the problem in Realty Times in a posting, "Undisclosed Short Sale Payments May Lead to Trouble."

He points to

"A recent memorandum from the legal department of the California Association of Realtors® (CAR) warns CAR members as follows: "'Undisclosed payments in short sale transactions, especially those paid outside of escrow, may violate the law, including RESPA, laws against loan fraud, and licensing laws.'"

For instance? The senior mortgagee authorizes a small payment to the junior mortgagee and the latter demands money be paid outside of the closing to obtain a release of the mortgage.

Why is the first mortgagee opposed to this? Because, if there's money to be had, the first mortgagee wants it. Let's face it, the lender has given its approval because of the money available at closing.

Remember, the lender must approve the proposed HUD-1 before closing. Once that's done, you are asking for trouble if it's not accurate when you get to closing. It may even constitute loan fraud on a Federal level if the lender is federally-related. So, our advice has been and will always be--- when dealing with a short sale, disclose, disclose and disclose again, in writing, and get approval to all changes to the HUD-1 before closing.

For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here,

contact Stephen M. Flatow

Vested Title Inc.

648 Newark Avenue,

P.O. Box 6453,

Jersey City, NJ 07306

Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506

E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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