For Practitioners

HARRISBURG PA – Two additional bills aimed at preventing mortgage fraud were signed into law Monday (June 29, 2009) by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed. Rendell, joining a package of five laws approved last year to target different aspects of the same problem. The two latest pieces of legislation were spurred by a case in Berks County […]

HARRISBURG PA – Pennsylvania real estate sales persons and brokers who owe outstanding or unpaid state taxes: beware. The PA Department of Revenue could ask the State Real Estate Commission to consider imposing an action against your license if you don’t make arrangements to pay up. It’s apparently happening already with licensees governed by the […]

NEW YORK – From which media source do most people now prefer to get their news? The Web wins hands down, according to the just-released results of a Zogby Interactive survey taken in the United States. Web-based sources rank far ahead of television, newspapers and radio as the preferred choice for news, Reuters News Service […]

HARRISBURG PA – In an announcement posted this week (Wednesday, June 17, 2009) on its website, the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission said it was extending for three months – until Sept. 15, 2009 – the deadline to implement its new consumer notice. Before the announcement, the deadline had been set for June 15. The […]

HARRISBURG PA – The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors (PAR) endorsed a plan announced Wednesday (June 10, 2009) by Gov. Edward G. Rendell to use part of $380 million in federal economic recovery funds to help the state’s home buyers. Under Rendell’s proposal, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) will allocate $5 million for the Keystone […]

As social media applications like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Ning, Linked-In and others grow and become more prominently used, real estate licensees unfamiliar with those names or how their software works may feel left behind. Don’t. Take comfort in knowing it’s never to late to learn, and with learning usually comes revenue. To that end, it […]

HARRISBURG PA – The Big Switch starts next Saturday (June 13, 2009) for real estate licensees in Pennsylvania. That’s when a new Consumer Notice, required by the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission to be distributed by agents and brokers to their clients and potential clients, goes into effect. After that date, experts say, distributing any […]

NEWTOWN SQUARE PA – The e-mail message that arrived Saturday morning (May 30, 2009) carried a seductive subject line, one sure to impress real estate agents hungry for sales. “The process to growing your business online,” it cooed, “starts with selective e-mail marketing.” The Taylors SC-based company that sent it followed up in the remainder […]

HARRISBURG PA – Pennsylvania’s Department of Banking is taking a tougher line against mortgage brokers that either refuse to comply with regulations or are not licensed to practice in the state. Last week it took enforcement against seven different companies. On Friday (May 22, 2009) it issued a cease-and-desist order against U.S. Mortgage Group Inc., […]

LOS ANGELES CA – Asian Americans face the same obstacles in buying homes as their Hispanic counterparts – primarily language and cultural barriers – but may not be as well-served by the real estate community, according to a new study. The study, released Nov. 8, 2004, by UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center and titled “Dispelling […]