The Georgia legislature finally left office in April. As someone once said, "No one is safe when the legislature is in session." One of the issues they dealt with was the budget shortfall. State revenues have been falling since this recession began. So the legislature thought it would be a good idea to raise the cost of copying court documents.
If you go to the courthouse to get a copy of your deed or plat, it is going to cost you more-much more. The copy charge went from 25 cents ($.25) to 50 cents ($0.50) per page. If a party in a lawsuit wants to appeal a judgment or verdict to a higher court, the cost of copying the transcript to send to the higher court went from a dollar and fifty cents a page ($1.50) to ten dollars ($10.00) a page. A copy of a transcript that would have cost $750 has now gone to $5000.00. This is cost prohibitive.
This is also cutting off your nose to spite your face. What will happen is that people will make less copies. Only those copies that are essential will now be copied. The copy fees can go up but the number of copies can be regulated by the consumer.
As for the transcript costs, the Georgia Supreme Court acted to modify the costs. Now, instead of having to copy an entire transcipt to appeal a judgment or verdict, the parties can get together with the Clerk of the Court and copy only those pages that relate to the part of the verdict or the legal issue that is being appealed.
Maybe the legislature will act again to remedy this situation and maybe, this time, they will use some common sense.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Hot Summer
It is a hot summer and I hate the heat. That's why I live in the mountains-to get away from the heat. If I had my way there would be three seasons-spring, fall and winter.
I had more consultations (counseling sessions) with people today about foreclosures. I'm spending a lot of my time now counseling peoople in dire financial situations. I do what I can to help them but there are a limited number of options. Usually there may be things we can do to "buy time' but I hesitate to reccomend that course of action if, at the end of the time delay, there is no way they will be able to recover and not end up again where they are now.
One sad note is that I learned today that a fellow real estate attorney I know in Atlanta has lost his house and his law practice. He is now working for another law firm wtih long hours and little pay. These times are tough for all of us. Hopefully ..... soon?
I had more consultations (counseling sessions) with people today about foreclosures. I'm spending a lot of my time now counseling peoople in dire financial situations. I do what I can to help them but there are a limited number of options. Usually there may be things we can do to "buy time' but I hesitate to reccomend that course of action if, at the end of the time delay, there is no way they will be able to recover and not end up again where they are now.
One sad note is that I learned today that a fellow real estate attorney I know in Atlanta has lost his house and his law practice. He is now working for another law firm wtih long hours and little pay. These times are tough for all of us. Hopefully ..... soon?
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Time flies- - - - - - -
I can't belive it has been so long since my last posting on my blog. Life can get very busy and time can get away from you so easily. Since I last posted a lot has happened and I will try to slowly bring the blog up to date.
We are dealing with more and more foreclosure situations and problems. Most of the foreclosure issues have to do with deficiencies-there has been a foreclosure and the bank is coming after the former owner/borrower for the difference between the loan balance and the value of the property. We have had a number of these issues. But this month, we filed our first lawsuit to set aside a bank action for "wrongful foreclosure". I don't believe in filing lawsuits to just "buy time". I don't think it does any good to file a lawsuit only to have it thrown out two or three months later. If there is to be a valid lawsuit filed, you must be thinking of making a permanent change in the situation.
In the wrongful foreclosure actoin I mentioned above, the mortgage company had approved a modification of the loan agreement subject only to the borrower's signature and notarization. The borrower signed the agreement, had it notarized and sent it back. The mortgage company rejected the signature because the notary had not printed her name in the proper loaction on the form, even though the notary, otherwise, was fully and legally, effective. So we have filed suit to have the lender bound by the agreement.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
I hope the rest of your day is good!
We are dealing with more and more foreclosure situations and problems. Most of the foreclosure issues have to do with deficiencies-there has been a foreclosure and the bank is coming after the former owner/borrower for the difference between the loan balance and the value of the property. We have had a number of these issues. But this month, we filed our first lawsuit to set aside a bank action for "wrongful foreclosure". I don't believe in filing lawsuits to just "buy time". I don't think it does any good to file a lawsuit only to have it thrown out two or three months later. If there is to be a valid lawsuit filed, you must be thinking of making a permanent change in the situation.
In the wrongful foreclosure actoin I mentioned above, the mortgage company had approved a modification of the loan agreement subject only to the borrower's signature and notarization. The borrower signed the agreement, had it notarized and sent it back. The mortgage company rejected the signature because the notary had not printed her name in the proper loaction on the form, even though the notary, otherwise, was fully and legally, effective. So we have filed suit to have the lender bound by the agreement.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
I hope the rest of your day is good!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Roller Coaster Ride
I don’t know if we are at the bottom of the roller coaster looking up or at the top of the roller coaster looking down! On May 6, 2010 we had the largest one day drop on the DOW ever in history. The Dow fell over 900 points before recovering and finishing at -347.
I had been feeling pretty good lately. We have seen an “up-tick” in business. It seems as if more businesses are opening around town, and there is less office space sitting vacant. Until last week, the Dow had been slowly rising. The direction we were headed appeared to be “up”.
“PIGS” is a new acronym that I have learned to dislike. It stands for Portugal, Italy (sometime Ireland), Greece and Spain. Just before the DOW dropped so badly and diverted my attention, I had been following the riots in Greece as the EuroBank was imposing limits on the Greek economy. Greece is bankrupt, but apparently lots of people were not happy about the austerity measures.
And now the UK government (United Kingdom-England) is having its own problems. No one party won a majority in the recent election so the parties all have to get together and bargain to try to form an amalgamation of parties that will somehow equal a majority of seats in the Parliament…or to be precise, a majority in the House of Commons. Commentators say that it may take a month or so for a leader to form a government. Sounds like the USA Presidential Election 2000, doesn’t’ it?
So after all the excitement with the Dow, the Labor Department reported that we gained 280,00 jobs last month. It was also noted that the gains were “across the board”, i.e., in many different parts of the economy.
So what’s next? I don’t know, but I do like what Benjamin Franklin said at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence… “We must all hang together or we’ll surely all hang separately.” We’re in this together…whatever this is.
Monday, May 10th, the DOW was up over 400 points. Did I mention the roller coaster?
Hoping to see you at a closing real soon -
I had been feeling pretty good lately. We have seen an “up-tick” in business. It seems as if more businesses are opening around town, and there is less office space sitting vacant. Until last week, the Dow had been slowly rising. The direction we were headed appeared to be “up”.
“PIGS” is a new acronym that I have learned to dislike. It stands for Portugal, Italy (sometime Ireland), Greece and Spain. Just before the DOW dropped so badly and diverted my attention, I had been following the riots in Greece as the EuroBank was imposing limits on the Greek economy. Greece is bankrupt, but apparently lots of people were not happy about the austerity measures.
And now the UK government (United Kingdom-England) is having its own problems. No one party won a majority in the recent election so the parties all have to get together and bargain to try to form an amalgamation of parties that will somehow equal a majority of seats in the Parliament…or to be precise, a majority in the House of Commons. Commentators say that it may take a month or so for a leader to form a government. Sounds like the USA Presidential Election 2000, doesn’t’ it?
So after all the excitement with the Dow, the Labor Department reported that we gained 280,00 jobs last month. It was also noted that the gains were “across the board”, i.e., in many different parts of the economy.
So what’s next? I don’t know, but I do like what Benjamin Franklin said at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence… “We must all hang together or we’ll surely all hang separately.” We’re in this together…whatever this is.
Monday, May 10th, the DOW was up over 400 points. Did I mention the roller coaster?
Hoping to see you at a closing real soon -
Monday, April 26, 2010
Borrowers in Shock?
The “Final Rule” mandated by Dept of Housing and Urban Development changing the standard closing statement (also called a “HUD”) has been in effect for almost four months now. It was not an issue in the first month, since all loans that had originated prior to January 1, 2010 could be closed on the “old” HUD. However, we are now required to utilize the new HUD on nearly all loans.
What reactions have I seen to the new HUD? To begin with, not all lenders and attorneys really know how to prepare the new HUD. Mistakes are not unusual. I recently had a lender and investor disagree about the figures on the HUD. For two days we watched and read emails being sent back and forth between the lender and the investor before they finally found agreement with the figures on the HUD. Borrowers also are perplexed by the new paperwork. I see faces that appear confused and dazed as I explain the figures on the HUD.
As a closing attorney, I have always tried to explain the HUD in some detail. I firmly believe that every borrower needs to understand the numbers and the terms of the loan. But I find myself now having to judge exactly how much information is too much information. I don’t want to scare a new buyer/borrower with tons of information, but I also want them to be free to ask questions about things they don’t understand.
It is easy to read the numbers in the borrower’s column. With the new HUD, the numbers represent the total of fees in the body of the HUD. These numbers are such that they can be seen, totaled and explained very easily. However, the information given in the left hand section (outside the borrower’s column) of the second page of the new HUD is confusing. I don’t believe many borrowers can understand them. As experienced as we real estate professionals are, this new HUD has taken countless hours and ‘trial and error’ efforts for many of us to understand it. It may be difficult for a buyer/borrower to grasp in one closing.
The bottom line: unfortunately, I think that the new HUD may have the opposite effect from that intended by the federal regulators. Instead of a clearer understanding of the breakdown of fees, we are having more misunderstandings; instead of clarification, we are having more confusion. We will be waiting to see how this all ends up. Clear?
What reactions have I seen to the new HUD? To begin with, not all lenders and attorneys really know how to prepare the new HUD. Mistakes are not unusual. I recently had a lender and investor disagree about the figures on the HUD. For two days we watched and read emails being sent back and forth between the lender and the investor before they finally found agreement with the figures on the HUD. Borrowers also are perplexed by the new paperwork. I see faces that appear confused and dazed as I explain the figures on the HUD.
As a closing attorney, I have always tried to explain the HUD in some detail. I firmly believe that every borrower needs to understand the numbers and the terms of the loan. But I find myself now having to judge exactly how much information is too much information. I don’t want to scare a new buyer/borrower with tons of information, but I also want them to be free to ask questions about things they don’t understand.
It is easy to read the numbers in the borrower’s column. With the new HUD, the numbers represent the total of fees in the body of the HUD. These numbers are such that they can be seen, totaled and explained very easily. However, the information given in the left hand section (outside the borrower’s column) of the second page of the new HUD is confusing. I don’t believe many borrowers can understand them. As experienced as we real estate professionals are, this new HUD has taken countless hours and ‘trial and error’ efforts for many of us to understand it. It may be difficult for a buyer/borrower to grasp in one closing.
The bottom line: unfortunately, I think that the new HUD may have the opposite effect from that intended by the federal regulators. Instead of a clearer understanding of the breakdown of fees, we are having more misunderstandings; instead of clarification, we are having more confusion. We will be waiting to see how this all ends up. Clear?
Friday, April 9, 2010
spring has sprung.....
I saw some financial reports lately that are encouraging. In March new car sales were way up from Febraury and from the same time last year. Also (and maybe most important) the eceonomy actually created jobs in March. This is the first time in many, many months (years) that more jobs were created than were lost. Maybe things are starting to move in the right direction. The only drag on the reports was the housing market; still not doing very well. I am happy to report that in my office, at least, there appears to be a small "up-tick" in contracts and activity.
Onward and upward-
Onward and upward-
Friday, April 2, 2010
April Fools Day
I've had several conversations with people asking about April Fools pranks. I have to tell them that in our family we don't do April Fools Day. Most folks know that my associate attorney who works with me, Kristina Eno, is also my daughter. What you don't know is that her birthday is April 1st. When she was little she was always mortified that the other kids were playing jokes on each other. It also diverted attention from any attempt at school to recognize her birthday.
It's also given me an appreciation and understanding, and sympathy, for others whose birthdays fall on holidays. I also had some of that from my childhood as my sister was born on December 31st, right between Christmas and New Years on New Years Eve.
It's also given me an appreciation and understanding, and sympathy, for others whose birthdays fall on holidays. I also had some of that from my childhood as my sister was born on December 31st, right between Christmas and New Years on New Years Eve.
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