LATEST STORIES
Unreasonable Pricing
I'm always fascinated by the drama of competitive listings between neighbors. For example, there's a townhouse near me for sale for $950,000, and I wish them all the luck in the world because their neighbor just tossed their identical unit onto the market for...
Ghost Disclosure: Legally Required
Though it sounds wild, a state supreme court officially ruled in 1989 that a house was haunted....
When Your Client is Not The Boss
Who are you supposed to be as an agent in a real estate transaction? This question is more...
Witness Tree/Line Tree (Real Estate)
A witness tree (also known as a line tree) is a living tree located directly on a property boundary line that has been marked by a surveyor to identify the location of that boundary. Historically, surveyors used trees as natural landmarks when establishing property...
Vara (Real Estate):
If you live in the Southwestern United States and you work in real estate, you may encounter the term "vara" surprisingly frequently. A vara is a historical unit of length used in land surveying and property descriptions, particularly in areas of the United States...
Gore (Real Estate)
A gore sounds rather violent, but in property surveying, it's nothing to be afraid of. A gore is a narrow, irregularly shaped piece of land, often triangular, that lies between two adjoining properties or parcels. Gores typically result from surveying errors,...
Georgia Real Estate CE Guide
Renewing a Georgia real estate license isn't extremely complicated, as long as you pay careful attention to the deadlines. Georgia real estate licensees must complete 36 hours of continuing education (CE) every four years to renew an active license. All licensees,...
Objectively Ascertainable Compensation (real estate contracts)
Objectively ascertainable compensation means a payment amount that may not be known yet, but you know exactly how it will be calculated. For example, a 5% commission on next month's sales is an amount that will be objectively determined, even though the exact amount...
Ghost Disclosure: Legally Required
Though it sounds wild, a state supreme court officially ruled in 1989 that a house was haunted. The judge's exact words were "As a matter of law, the house is haunted." This is still the final ruling on this case, and it opened up decades of legally mandated ghost...
HER and OER
HER and OER (Housing Expense Ratio and Overall Expense Ratio) are ratios used by mortgage lenders to evaluate whether a borrower can reasonably afford a proposed mortgage loan. The Housing Expense Ratio (HER) compares the borrower’s expected monthly housing expenses...
Mezzanine Debt
Mezzanine debt sounds a bit fancy, but it really is a less secure form of debt. Mezzanine debt is a form of financing that sits between senior mortgage debt and the property owner’s equity in the capital structure of a real estate investment. It is generally used when...
A-Paper Loan
If you think an A-paper loan sounds like a good bet, you're right. An A-paper loan, also called an A-credit loan or prime loan, is a mortgage made to a borrower who meets a lender’s highest or near-highest credit standards. A-paper borrowers generally have strong...
Scratch and Dent Loans
Scratch and dent loans sound like financing that's been through a lot, but they're actually less terrifying than they sound. Scratch and dent loans are mortgage loans that have defects or irregularities that make them difficult to sell through normal secondary...
HUD
HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT
HUD
(Department of Housing and Urban Development)
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