Nathan Hartseil

Dutch-Style Mortgages: Could They Work In America?

Posted on by TMN Editor
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…

Real Estate Professionals React To NAR’s $418 Million Settlement

Posted on by TMN Editor
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…