Fund News and Alerts

By: Jared Gaylord, Esq., of Marc. R. Gaylord, P.A., Hobe Sound, FL and a Member of The Fund

Unfortunately, COVID-19 is here to stay. The global pandemic has touched every aspect of American life. Real estate closings have not been spared. It is imperative to understand how the coronavirus can impact a real estate transaction to adequately protect yourself and your clients.

By: Jordan Lulich, Esquire at Lulich Attorneys & Consultants and Member of The Fund

Don’t judge a book by its cover. While for many, digital real estate closings seem like a daunting service to offer, I’m here to tell you that it’s quite simpler than you think. 

By Charles D. Nostra, The Fund

As we discussed a few months ago Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans, which are used to make certain qualifying energy efficiency and hurricane hardening improvements to commercial and residential properties, are increasing in popularity but unfortunately many buyers and sellers do not understand how they work and how they can complicate the real estate closing process.  Here is what you, as a real estate professional, need to know about this increasingly popular financial product.

By Michael Rothman, Esq., The Fund’s Legal Education Manager 

Every real estate professional involved in a transaction with an out-of-town seller can relate to the dread of opening a FedEx envelope supposedly containing the fully executed deed, only to find that the seller signed in the wrong place, there are no witnesses, and the notary’s commission expired last month. Or, of the seller traveling abroad who missed her appointment at the local embassy, only to be told that the next available appointment won’t be for three weeks. Thankfully, with the advent of RON, the stressful days of “mailaway closings” may soon be a thing of the past.

By Michael Rothman, Esq., The Fund’s Legal Education Manager

Every real estate professional involved in a transaction with an out-of-town seller can relate to the dread of opening a FedEx envelope supposedly containing the fully executed deed, only to find that the seller signed in the wrong place, there are no witnesses, and the notary’s commission expired last month. Or, of the seller traveling abroad who missed her appointment at the local embassy, only to be told that the next available appointment won’t be for three weeks. Thankfully, with the advent of RON, the stressful days of “mailaway closings” may soon be a thing of the past.

By: Sebastian Jaramillo, Partner at Wolfe Pincavage LLP and Member of The Fund

Even though we are in the business of getting transactions closed and funded; on occasion, the deal falls through and we are left with the question of how to deal with the funds held in escrow. 

By: Michael G. Salmon, Managing Attorney at SalmonLaw PLLC and Member of The Fund

Liquidated damages ensure that earnest money deposits are central elements of real estate transactions utilizing the FAR/Bar residential sales contracts – the standard or “as is” contract (the “FAR/Bar Contracts”). As such, it should not be surprising that buyers and sellers have opposing motivations with respect to deposits. It is reasonable to expect real estate professionals representing buyers to get creative in protecting and/or recovering their clients’ deposits when real estate transactions go sideways. The route increasingly travailed by buyers, mortgage lenders and Realtors® is Paragraph 5(a) of the FAR/Bar Contracts relating to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Closing Disclosure delivery requirements (the “CFPB Delivery Requirements”), which come under the Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure rule (i.e., TRID).

By: Shannon L. Widman, Esq. of Porath & Associates, P.A.

No one wants to see a good deal go bad. As a Realtor® your business plan survives on closed deals, not cancelled deals. Nonetheless, the more deals you do, the more likely you will, at some point, encounter the dreaded escrow dispute.

Listen as Melissa Jay Murphy talks with TitleTap's Dean Collura about how attorney title agents can market more effectively and easily.

By John St. Lawrence, Esq, Legal Education Attorney, The Fund

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Loan Originator Compensation Rule went into full effect in 2014 bringing a subset of small mortgage lenders under a previously unknown level of federal regulation.  As a result some types of private mortgage financing are now too risky or cumbersome for many to contemplate.  This is unfortunate since seller and private financing are very popular and legitimate financing sources for intra-family loans, underserved communities and rural or non-conforming properties.