 |
|
|
Tuesday, February 19, 2008 This week's headlines... • Mortgage Loan Officer Licensing Legislation Passes House |
Mortgage Loan Officer Licensing Legislation Passes House Last week, the state House passed legislation to strengthen the regulation of the mortgage loan industry in Michigan. This bipartisan, bicameral legislative package provides licensing and education requirements, along with mandatory background checks for mortgage loan officers in Michigan. It also allows the Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) to keep better track of individuals within the industry as they may move around. Given increased real estate fraud and foreclosures in this state, the passage of these bills is a big step forward in addressing the root of these problems. This legislative package represents a compromise from many facets of the real estate community, including banks, credit unions and mortgage brokers. There are a handful of remaining bills that now move on to the Senate, where it is expected that they will pass quickly. The MAR Public Policy staff continues to meet with Senate leadership in stressing the importance of the passage of these bills as a positive step in halting mortgage fraud, while keeping industry standards high. National Brownfields Conference Comes to Detroit The National Brownfields Conference is the largest, most comprehensive conference focused on cleaning up and redeveloping abandoned, underutilized, and potentially contaminated properties in the nation. The 2008 conference will take place at the Cobo Center in Detroit May 5 - 7. There is no better deal in the redevelopment marketplace than Brownfields 2008. Why? Because registration is free, and by signing up you gain access to more than 130 educational and learning opportunities, outstanding plenary sessions, 200 exhibitors, scores of networking events, special training sessions, film screenings, book signings, and much, much more. To find out more and register for the conference visit www.brownfields2008.org. With the help of McClelland & Anderson, we are taking the most commonly asked questions from our legal hotline and putting them in e-news. We will be featuring a different question each issue. QUESTION: I represent a seller whose house is in foreclosure. The property was purchased by the bank at the sheriff’s sale. The seller entered into a purchase agreement but due to some unforeseen delays the closing will not be able to take place until the redemption period expires. Must the bank allow the sale to go through since the purchase agreement was in place before the redemption period expired? ANSWER: NO. Once the redemption period lapses the seller has no legal title or rights to the property. The bank has no contractual duty to sell the property to the buyer. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee on Feb. 14 that the central bank is likely to make fewer rate cuts in the immediate future. Over the past six months, the Fed has cut rates by a total of 2.25 percentage points; but the aggressive moves have not done much to alleviate the credit squeeze. Bernanke said the economy is more likely to see the benefits of the rate cuts in the second half of the year, and analysts now say the markets still expect the Fed to cut rates at its next meeting on March 18 but do not expect it to be as aggressive in doing so. The Fed "is signaling less rather than more in the way of future rate cuts and this is disappointing to those who feel more is necessary," says Richard DeKaser, National City Corp. chief economist. Source: REALTOR® Online Magazine The latest products unveiled at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show will impress you, from the smallest laptops to life-like, 3D GPS maps and even printers that you can take as you go.
Calendar of Events For more information, check the events page and the education calendar.
|
||
