Jon GoodmanCo-author: Zakary A. Kessler The question of whether certain behavior requires a real estate license is not only a logical place to begin a presentation on real estate license law, it is an important topic for general real estate practitioners. Business brokerage is an area that frequently raises the issue of whether activity requires a … Continue Reading
Co-author: Zakary A. Kessler Colorado first passed its license law statute in 1929.(E1) This author knows of no situation where, absent harm to a consumer, a person encountered litigation or criminal prosecution for the unauthorized practice of brokerage. In the 80 plus years in which Colorado has had real estate licensing law, the annotators of the … Continue Reading
The United States Supreme Court just made it easier for real estate brokers to charge flat fees and generally test the market with different fees structures. In a unanimous decision in the case of Freeman v. Quicken Loans, Inc., No. 10-1042, slip op. at 1 (May 24, 2012), the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that … Continue Reading
Co-Author: Peter G. Sotiropoulos Part I: Brief Overview This article addresses the effects of the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” (“Dodd-Frank”) on the compensation of mortgage originators (defined below). This, Part I, provides a brief overview of the new regulations, while Part II discusses specific compensation options for brokerage companies. Dodd-Frank is a … Continue Reading
Co-Author: Peter G. Sotiropoulos Part II: Questions and Answers about Lender-Paid Compensation Question 1: May a brokerage company contract for different compensation arrangements with different lenders? Yes, as long as the company pays its mortgage originators in a certain way. Pursuant to Dodd-Frank, Title XIV, Section 1403, “for any residential mortgage loan, no mortgage originator shall … Continue Reading
Co-Author: Peter G. Sotiropoulos In Augenstein v. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, decided on August 30, 2011, a federal district court held that a brokerage firm violated Section 8(b) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (“RESPA”) by charging a client $199 plus three percent of the purchase price for sale and settlement services. … Continue Reading
Co-Author: Mike Smeenk, Esq. At various times during the Great Recession and its aftermath, different economists have estimated that approximately 25% of American households with mortgages are “upside down.” That is, for approximately 25% of American households with mortgage debt, the debt exceeds the property’s fair market value. While these percentages vary from place to … Continue Reading
The strategies for commercial real estate loan workouts tend to be dramatically different than the considerations for most homeowners who are considering walking away from their home. Conventional wisdom gleaned from residential walk-aways does not cleanly apply to commercial defaults. While each case is different, homeowners tend to walk away from their home only … Continue Reading
Question: My listing expires at the end of this month. My seller just entered into a contract to sell the property that is scheduled to close after the expiration of my listing. Does the seller have a need to extend my listing agreement so that I am obligated to continue to service the deal … Continue Reading
Co-Author: Jordan J. Bunch, Esq. Question: It is not uncommon for first time homebuyers to get a second mortgage loan from their parents. Does this lending of money to their children make the parents mortgage loan originators such that they must be licensed? Quick Answer: The definition of Mortgage Loan Originator in Colorado is so … Continue Reading
