Category: Real Estate Tips

Rebuilding Costs May Exceed Fire Victims’ Insurance

Victims of the recent Colorado blaze, which was the most destructive wildfire in the state’s history, may soon learn that rising construction costs have increased the cost of rebuilding beyond what their insurance coverage allows. About 1,000 homes were destroyed in Colorado’s Marshall Fire, which destroyed homes and businesses in the suburbs between Denver and …

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Apartments, Homes More at Risk for Fires Than Past Years

Deadly fires in recent weeks have prompted calls for greater fire safety in homes and buildings. The increase in calls for action has occurred following a recent fire in an apartment building in New York City’s Bronx borough, where at least 19 people died, followed by a fire in a Philadelphia row house that killed …

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‘Quiet Title’ Law Used to Dupe People Out of Homes

Real estate opportunists in several states in the Midwest are using a loophole in “quiet title” laws to seize control of people’s homes, mostly targeting immigrants, Iowa Public Radio reports. In one case, a 72-year-old immigrant, originally from Mexico, says when she returned to her home of more than 20 years in Marshalltown, Iowa, she …

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SentriLock Sues Competitor, Alleging Patent Infringement

SentriLock, a real estate lockbox company backed by the National Association of REALTORS®, has filed a lawsuit against its competitor Supra, alleging patent infringement related to its lockbox technology. SentriLock alleges Supra’s parent company, Carrier Global, of knowingly copying its technology and repeatedly warned Supra of the infringement. In a statement released Tuesday, SentriLock stated that it filed the lawsuit to …

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Black Owners Say Homes Unfairly Appraised

Black homeowners believe appraisal discrimination is rampant, a new survey from LendingTree finds. Overall, 23% of homeowners of all races believe their home appraisal is too low. But the consumers who are most likely to feel that way are Blacks (32%) and LGBTQ+ homeowners (31%), the survey finds. Despite the fact that appraisers are prohibited …

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Black Homeownership Remains Disparately Low

The U.S. homeownership rate has posted its highest annual rise on record, reaching 65.5% in 2020, 1.3 percentage points over the year before. Hispanic homeownership soared to a record high and is above 50% for the first time on record. However, Black homeownership continues to lag and has fallen to a lower level than it …

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Federal Court Blocks ‘Love Letter’ Ban

A federal judge ruled that an Oregon law preventing buyer “love letters” is a violation of First Amendment rights. The letters have commonly been included in home offers, with buyers writing to sellers expressing their desire for a home. Last year, Oregon became the first state in the country to prevent real estate agents from …

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Avoid Fair Housing Violations in Advertising

Real estate professionals are legally obligated to uphold fair housing laws, and the language and images you use in your advertising needs to be vetted carefully. REALTORS® also have an obligation to do so under Article 10 of the Code of Ethics. “Advertisements should never indicate a preference or limitation based on a protected class, …

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NAR Urges Supreme Court Review on Protection for Use of Floor Plans

The National Association of REALTORS® is leading a large coalition of stakeholders in the real estate industry—property owners, real estate professionals, appraisers, portals, valuation, and public records companies, and others—that is urging the Supreme Court to review and overturn a federal appeals court threatening copyright liability for the use of floor plans in the sale of …

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‘Close the Gap’ in Homeownership

Homeownership rates for many minority groups continues to be well below that of whites, and discriminatory policies are often blamed for that. During National Fair Housing Month in April, many housing groups and organizations are bringing the racial housing gap to the forefront and asking others in the real estate industry to support programs that …

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Top 5 Legal VideosFair Housing Primer: DisabilityTop 5 Legal Videos

What you need to know to serve this protected class. Definition: Federal fair housing law defines a person with a disability as any individual with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Some disabilities, such as blindness or mobility impairment, are readily observable, while others are invisible. What’s …

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Is That Legal?

Understanding how antitrust law applies to the practice of real estate is foundational knowledge. Let’s see how much you know. Understanding how antitrust law applies to the practice of real estate is foundational knowledge. Let’s see how much you know. 1. Federal and state antitrust laws are designed to: A. Prevent companies from misleading the …

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