By ERIN FLYNN JAY
The Dutch offer home mortgages with interest rates that go down automatically as the loan gets paid off. The premise is that as the loan amount reduces and the property’s value increases, the risk associated with the loan decreases.
Dutch-style mortgages recently arrived in the United Kingdom and have been making headlines here in the United States as people ask whether these types of mortgages could be a solution to the housing market’s woes.
Nathan Hartseil, branch manager for Main Street Home Loans in Hingham, Mass., doesn’t think so due to the fact our mortgages are based on a secondary market.
“Most of our loans are transferred or sold to a secondary market, and that’s what…
By NICOLE MURRAY
People who make their living helping homebuyers and sellers have spent the last two weeks figuring out what the $418 million settlement deal announced by the National Association of Realtors means for them and their clients.
If approved by a judge, under the settlement buyers will be expected to enter into written compensation agreements with their real estate agents starting in mid-July. Sellers may pay a buyer’s agent commission as part of the negotiation process.
They can also opt to pay just their agent. This represents a departure from the current model, where sellers typically pay for their agent, as well as the buyer’s agent, through cooperative compensation.
The Mortgage Note spoke with real estate industry professionals…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS It may be the week before Christmas, but that doesn’t mean potential homebuyers aren’t out searching for their perfect piece of real estate. Lewis Esposito, a licensed real estate professional at RE/MAX Preferred in West Chester, Pennsylvania, says buyers don’t want to wait until the new year and when asked if realtors are showing houses this week, he said if clients see a home they like then showings are being offered. “If you have a buyer, they’ll tend not to want to wait until after the new year. If they see something, they’ll jump on it,” Esposito said. Esposito, who works in the suburbs of Philadelphia, said he has a few clients who are holding off until…
