John McDermott

We're hearing from New York, known as the Empire State.

We're hearing from the great state of Minnesota where a court last week issued a decision involving a claim for money damages and rescission of a mortgage loan based on the alleged failure of the lender to provide a Truth in Lending Act form to the buyers at closing.

We're hearing about significant changes to the Idaho Residential Mortgage Practices Act which took place as of July 1.

We're hearing from New York where the attorney general recently filed a law suit against HSBC alleging things which, if true, could help explain why judicial foreclosures take so long.

We're hearing some good news for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in regard to the payment of state and local transfer taxes on the sale of real estate.

One niche mortgage loan product which may be underutilized is the reverse mortgage.

We're hearing from the great state of Washington where there has been an increase of almost 1,200 loan originators from November 2012 through March of this year.

Homeowners are “under paper” and unable to close on a home sale or refi transaction because a mortgage satisfaction has never been recorded in the public records.

We're hearing about foreclosure-related court decisions that coincidentally point out it may depend on where you live as to the legal outcome you may end up with.

California's Department of Insurance recently served a cease-and-desist order on a company that it alleged was engaged in the business of title insurance without a license.

We're hearing about new rules in the works for mortgage and real estate professionals in New York.

Remember that the three most important words in a real estate deal are location, location, location.

In the Illinois Legislature a bill has overwhelmingly passed the House which is designed to reduce the filing of fraudulent documents with the county recorder of deeds.

We're hearing about due on sale clauses, not in the traditional sense where a mortgage must be paid off when a property is sold but rather in other circumstances.

Just like your mortgage payment and real estate taxes, condo charges must be paid.

We're hearing about New York attorneys negotiating the terms of the mortgage contingency in residential real estate contracts.

We're hearing about remorse mortgages. I mean reverse mortgages.

We're hearing about Section 184 loans, designed to promote homeownership for American Indian and Alaska Native families.

We're hearing about the neighbors. As in who lives in the neighborhood.

In July of 2010 a Mr. Johnson-El recorded an Affidavit of “Allodial Title” with the Wayne County Register of Deeds against a certain residential home.