random thoughts - isolated text in letterpress wood type printing blocks stained by color inks
Marek Uliasz/Marek - Fotolia
Thought 1: Real Estate Agent Safety - another reason you need to have your buyers properly vetted before you show them property! Since the recent tragic murder of an agent in Arkansas, there has been much conversation and concern about real estate agent safety when it comes to holding open houses and showing homes. Especially when the agent is meeting the prospective home buyer for the first time at the subject property. Agents will have to work smarter. One reason to require that all your potential buyers go through the process and get pre-qualified is that you can be sure they are serious about buying. It is hard to imagine that someone with the intention of doing harm is going to go through a full credit review and income profile for a mortgage approval beforehand. Buddy up at open houses. This is better for you and for the sellers since there will be more eyes charged with paying attention to the attendees. Thought 2: Fannie and Freddie announce their intention to reduce down payment requirements to 3%. The real estate press is pretty excited about the appearance of loosening underwriting guidelines. However, there is a disconnect on the consumer side. According to recent surveys, buyers have been under the misconception that purchasing real estate requires a down payment in excess of 10%. We have to educate our consumers that they can indeed purchase real estate with as little as 3% for a down payment in order to stimulate some more first time home buyer activity. Thought 3: The FICO 9 Credit Scoring Model is introduced. The real estate media was also excited about a new version of the FICO credit scoring model. It will treat medical collections differently and could have a positive impact on credit scores for people with derogatory medical collections on their reports. The good news is that there's a new scoring model. The bad news is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and therefore the lending community at large, are not accepting the FICO 9 model. In fact they are still operating on FICO 7. So, just because there is a new credit model in the works does not mean that it will have impact on real estate lending in the immediate future.
First Mortgage Co., a long-defunct lender led by convicted executive Ron McCord, blamed the advisory firm for his failure to accept a $20 million offer.
About two-thirds of respondents to a NewDay survey said their education about the benefit was lacking either during their time in the service or afterwards.
Banks are pushing back on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's draft of a five-year strategic plan, which includes a notable pullback from supervising nonbanks.
Certain affiliates of Blue Owl will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of the healthcare-focused real estate investment trust for $30.38 per share.
A new EquityProtect scorecard finds 16 states have no deed fraud laws, leaving homeowners vulnerable as real estate fraud losses topped $275 million in 2025, with seniors bearing the heaviest financial burden.
