Idaho Falls, ID

There is a new Truth In Lending law which took affect this month (August, 2009) that will likely cause additional time needed to close in normal closings, but also in many short sale transactions.

Under this law, there is a 3 day delivery time period plus the 3 day right of recission period to review the Truth In Lending documents before the lender can charge them any fees, such as the appraisal. This means the buyer's lender can get started preparing for closing on day 7. It also means then that a 30 day escrow will be difficult and may likely need an extension, which is increasingly more difficult now in short sales.

But that is not all. Under the new Truth In Lending Act , if the APR is off by more than 1/8 %, they need to re-disclose at the moment you think they're going to sign the loan docs, requiring another 7 day period at the end of the period. That may be the courier fee, etc. So, this new law which was passed with the intent to protect the buyers, has added at least 7, and often 14 days to the transaction.

So, closing in 14 days may be very difficult; rather, you should set your time for closing in the contract for 45 to 60 days. Check with your mortgage broker for guidance. This will be especially difficult with short sales because lenders want to close quickly so they will get the net to lender amount on the HUD-1.

Be careful about setting the day for closing. If your offer requires closing within 30 days, and if the seller will not agree to an extension later, you could be looking at those $150 or so per day per diems you agreed to in the contract. With the current changes in the Truth In Lending Act, we again have government making life harder for short sale agents, as usual.

Best wishes to you all.

Ken Lawson, JD

TheLawsonGroup Mediation Services

For the 17th year, Idaho Falls, Idaho is the place to be on July 4th for one of the most amazing fireworks displays in the nation. Hosted by Melalueca, the "Freedom Celebraton" culminates in the largest fireworks display west of the Mississippi.

This article ranks the Idaho Falls fireworks display #17, right after Disney World's "Celebrate America." And this reviewer gives Idaho Falls the distinction of being #2 in the nation, only behind Philadelphia.

More than 100,000 visitors flock to Idaho Falls from all over the state and across the nation to view this spectacular display. And while parking can be a problem, the show -- which typically lasts about 1/2 hour and is coreographed to popular and patriotic music -- is worth the trouble.

So come to Idaho Falls, a great city and a great place to celebrate our nation's independence! You won't be disappointed, and you may decide to stay awhile ... or perhaps even a lifetime.

Lets Help Jack Together!

We are now up to 191.52 in donations!! Please keep them coming! Thank you so much for all you're doing!

Recently I posted a blog to help a friend / colleague of mine in my office at EXiT Realty of Idaho Falls, ID. His name is Jack Wise and he has just recently been diagnosed with throat cancer and has very poor chances of recovery. As you can probably imagine, this is a very emotional and traumatic experience for Jack and his family as it would be for any one of us and our families.

Like a good majority of us "independent contractors," Jack has no health insurance coverage for he and his family because of the high costs of private insurance plans. Without this necessary medical coverage it usually means that health providers in our wonderful medical industry here in the United States probably will not give him the kind of care every one of us would deserve. In Jacks case, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that he, as so many others without insurance, will probably suffer beyond what he should have to suffer while battling this terrible ailment.

In my opinion, the last thing in the world a family should have to worry about in a time like this is money. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that they will probably have to just like any of us would. It is for this reason that I'm writing this blog post. I have created a PayPal account and a website for people to go and donate money to Jack and his family in their time of need. Please visit the following site and donate any amount you can for Jack and his family. Even if a few thousand people donated just one dollar it would help the family immensely with the living costs that they will need during this trying time.

Just think, it costs $5.19 for one Carmel Macchiato from Starbucks or $4.00 or $5.00 for a McDonald's Value Meal from McDonald's. Imagine if 1000 people from Active Rain and around the world donated the dollar amount of just one of these items to Jack and his family?

Please visit the following site and donate if you can... At the very least, please e-mail this link to as many people as you can and spread the word for Jack and his family and keep them in your prayers. Let's make a difference just this once in the life of a fellow Real Estate Professional without insurance. This story is all too familiar... let's make a difference this time!

The Jack Wise Donation Site

Thank you so much for any support...

Please also feel free to leave your comments on this blog to keep it alive as long as possible...

Paul

Recently I posted a blog to help a friend / colleague of mine in my office at EXiT Realty of Idaho Falls, ID. His name is Jack Wise and he has just recently been diagnosed with throat cancer and has very poor chances of recovery. As you can probably imagine, this is a very emotional and traumatic experience for Jack and his family as it would be for any one of us and our families.

Like a good majority of us "independent contractors," Jack has no health insurance coverage for he and his family because of the high costs of private insurance plans. Without this necessary medical coverage it usually means that health providers in our wonderful medical industry here in the United States probably will not give him the kind of care every one of us would deserve. In Jacks case, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that he, as so many others without insurance, will probably suffer beyond what he should have to suffer while battling this terrible ailment.

In my opinion, the last thing in the world a family should have to worry about in a time like this is money. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that they will probably have to just like any of us would. It is for this reason that I'm writing this blog post. I have created a PayPal account and a website for people to go and donate money to Jack and his family in their time of need. Please visit the following site and donate any amount you can for Jack and his family. Even if a few thousand people donated just one dollar it would help the family immensely with the living costs that they will need during this trying time.

Just think, it costs $5.19 for one Carmel Macchiato from Starbucks or $4.00 or $5.00 for a McDonald's Value Meal from McDonald's. Imagine if 1000 people from Active Rain and around the world donated the dollar amount of just one of these items to Jack and his family?

Please visit the following site and donate if you can... At the very least, please e-mail this link to as many people as you can and spread the word for Jack and his family and keep them in your prayers. Let's make a difference just this once in the life of a fellow Real Estate Professional without insurance. This story is all too familiar... let's make a difference this time!

The Jack Wise Donation Site

Thank you so much for any support...

Please also feel free to leave your comments on this blog to keep it alive as long as possible...

Paul

Spam Premevara

I just love GMail! I was clearing out my Spam box a few days back and noticed that you get free spam recipes every time you go into your spam box section of gmail! I immediately proceeded to ask my wife if she could try one of these recipes out for me. I'll be the first to admit, and I'm especially not ashamed to admit it right now, that I really like Spam! It's high in cholesterol, fat, salt and all those good things for the body! Anyway, I had her make this recipe for me and I would highly recommend it to all the closet Spam lovers out there!

HINT:

If you don't want to get too involved with a huge recipe using spam you can always just slice some up and throw a couple of slices of cheese and some mayo between two pieces of bread too! Mmmmmm Mmmmm good! I also like to make a grilled cheese sandwich with thinly sliced spam!

I'm not really sure why I'm blogging about this other than to support GMail! It really does block out the spam mail that you get. If you haven't tried it lately it comes highly recommended by me.... right along with the real spam! :o) Both are great resources for anyone in the RE world!

Have a blessed day!