Our office has been extremely interested in these midterm elections since we are trying to advance efficiencies in the real estate mortgage closing process. Particularly, we were paying close attention to the Secretary of State race between William Galvin and Bill Campbell and the Governor's race between Deval Patrick and Charlie Baker. Unfortunately, the results were not what we hoped.    First, under William Galvin's direction, the State run registry system needs to be improved. First, you can only electronically record documents in a few counties. Recently, there has been this hype that Worcester was piloting a single portal recording system. So, we have been waiting and waiting for this thing to go live. Nothing so far. However, i find it interesting that the state (so I have been t... 11/03/2010

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that a Virginia law maker named Robert G. Marshall wanted the Attorney General of Virgina Ken Cuccunelli to open an investigation into whether MERS violates state law by not paying the cost of an assignment at the clerk's office where the land records are kept. This should be interesting investigation. To the best of my knowledge, I have not heard of any AG investigating MERS.  11/03/2010

For those of you who don't know, the law is unsettled in Massachusetts as to whether non-attorneys can close on real estate transactions. According to REBA and their lawsuit against NREIS, you need to be an licensed Massachusetts attorney in order to close. After a long litigation battle, The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts will hear the case today. This case has been going on for years and it will be interesting to see how things turn out. Stay tuned for more details. 11/02/2010

Sometime ago, our office petitioned Governor Patrick and counsel to amend executive order 455 to include the following language "electronic notary". Our position is that there is absolutely no reason why we should not have electronic notaries. It is the 21st century. After presenting the situation to counsel, she said that she would recommend that the Governor amend the executive order 455. In typical government fashion, we waited and waited for a response. No return calls, no responses to emails, nothing. So after four months of contacting them, suddenly a letter came in the mail and said that electronic notaries are illegal in the Commonwealth. I called counsel to discuss, no return call. I called again, no return call. I guess when you deal with government, they issue a letter and th... 10/18/2010

Sales of both single-family homes and condominiums in Tewksbury, Massachusetts decreased in July 2010, according to data analyzed using MLS Property Information Network, Inc, a local multiple listing service. Single-family home sales decreased 31.8 percent in July 2010 compared to July of the previous year, a difference of seven sales. The median price also decreased in July, dropping 20 percent or $66,500 compared to July 2009. Condominium sales in Tewksbury, MA also decreased, dropping 63.6 percent in July 2010, a difference of seven units sold. Unlike single-family homes the median price of condos increased, rising 17.7 percent in July 2010. Tewksbury, MA Single-Fmaily Homes Sales Median Price July 2009: 22 $332,500 July 2010 15 $266,000 Condos: July 2009 11 $225,000 July 2010 4 $26... 10/17/2010

08/26/2010

08/25/2010

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Employers appear to be laying off workers again as the economic recovery weakens. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits reached the half-million mark last week for the first time since November.It was the third straight week that first-time jobless claims rose. The upward trend suggests the private sector may report a net loss of jobs in August for the first time this year.Initial claims rose by 12,000 last week to 500,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.Construction firms are letting go of more workers as the housing sector slumps and federal stimulus spending on public works projects winds down. State and local governments are also cutting jobs to close large budget gaps.The layoffs add to growing fears that the economic recovery is slowing an... 08/19/2010

New England Title is giving away two tickets to the Red Sox game on September 17th, 2010. Please see http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Tewksbury-MA/New-England-Title/165233565361?ref=ts&__a=10&ajaxpipe=1 , then go to discussions on how to apply to win.  08/19/2010

NEW YORK (AP) -- The rate at which U.S. homeowners fell behind on their mortgage payments remained stubbornly elevated in the second quarter. In the three months ended June 30, the number of mortgage holders 60 days or more behind on their payments was 6.67 percent, credit reporting agency TransUnion said Tuesday. That's a big jump from 5.81 percent in the second quarter of last year, and well above the historical norm of 1.5 percent to 2 percent. One positive sign is that the statistic reveals a slower rate of increase from the pace seen a year ago. What's more, it marks a marginal improvement from the rate of 6.77 percent recorded during the first three months of the year. It's also below the 6.89 percent record reached in the fourth quarter of 2009. "We're seeing signs of recovering... 08/16/2010

interesting article from yahoo finance   Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the economy has yet to hit bottom, a sharply higher percentage than the 53% who felt that way in January," according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll. A growing and vocal minority of economists believes that there will be a double-dip recession primarily because of the intransigence of high unemployment and the rapidly faltering housing market. The notion of a "jobless recovery" has been around since the recessions of the 1950s and 1960s. It is a concept built on a relatively simple idea: employment lags during a recession but it is always part of a recovery cycle. Production rises as businesses see the end of a downturn and anticipate improving sales. They are reluctant to hire new workers until the re... 08/16/2010

08/14/2010

as reported by yahoo finance  The number of U.S. homes lost to foreclosure surged in July, another sign lenders are moving quicker to take back properties from homeowners behind in payments. Lenders repossessed 92,858 properties last month, up 9 percent from June and an increase of 6 percent from July 2009, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. Banks have stepped up repossessions this year to clear out the backlog of bad loans. July makes the eighth month in a row that the pace of homes lost to foreclosure has increased on an annual basis. Meanwhile, homeowners who are falling behind on their payments are being allowed to stay in their homes longer because lenders are reluctant to add to the glut of foreclosed homes on the market. The number of properties receiving an ... 08/11/2010

As Reported by CNN Money   The weak economy and continued high unemployment has kept housing markets cool. As a result, the median price of a single-family home crept up just 1.5% to $176,900 in the second quarter, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. Those year-over-year gains were very much in line with expectations, according to Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "All year we've been seeing relatively flat national home prices, which appear to be supported by market fundamentals," he said. "We don't expect any consequential movement in home prices for the foreseeable future," said Yun. The biggest year-over-year gains were in an odd mix of cities. Akron, Ohio, for example, an old city where foreclosures are rampant and home prices low, h... 08/11/2010

I was reading an interesting article in the Walls Street Journal this morning. In the article, entitled "Doctors Get Dose of Technology From Insurers", there is an ongoing discussion on how doctors and hospitals can covert their records into electronic images. For instance, according to the article, it is estimated that 80% of doctors and 90% of hospitals still have paper records; and the government has allocated 27 BILLION DOLLARS in stimulus money to get doctors and hospitals to convert their records to electronic images. Moreover, it also states that in 2015, doctors will be penalized under Medicare if they don't have computerized records.    What is interesting about the article is that the author suggests that there are two main goals to paperless medical records: 1) reducing cost;... 08/09/2010

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A plunge in mortgage rates is giving homeowners a rare opportunity to lock in a 15-year fixed-rate loan for less than 4 percent. Rates haven't dipped this low in decades. For those who can qualify, it's the chance to pay off a home in half the time while saving tens of thousands of dollars -- if not more. But the lower rates on short-term loans are not likely to ignite the refinancing market. Most people can't afford the higher monthly payments required by a 15-year fixed mortgage compared with a more traditional 30-year loan. "That's not what most people need right now. They need lower payments," said Leif Thomsen, CEO of Walpole, Mass.-based lender Mortgage Master Inc. High unemployment, slow job growth and tight credit have hampered the housing industry. And fewer ... 08/05/2010

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 30, 2010. The MBA's loan application survey covers over 50% of all U.S. residential mortgage loan applications taken by mortgage bankers, commercial banks, and thrifts. The data gives economists a snapshot view of consumer demand for mortgage loans. In a low mortgage rate environment, a trend of increasing refinance applications implies consumers are seeking out a lower monthly payment. If consumers are able to reduce their monthly mortgage payment and increase disposable income through refinancing, it can be a positive for the economy as a whole (creates more consumer spending or allows debtors to pay down personal liabilities like credit cards). A falling trend of pur... 08/04/2010

I saw this yesterday in the Mortgage Daily News and thought that it was worth posting the link http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/08032010_june_pending_home_sales.asp.     08/04/2010

I need to post this http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Countrywide-agrees-to-pay-apf-2517381110.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=. Just another example of greed which has taken over this country. Why aren't these people in jail? 08/02/2010

According to the Wall Street Journal, "section 8 recipients suddenly have a housing smorgasbord". The article discusses the results of overbuilding and how section 8 recipients are getting homes with pools, great rooms, etc.   08/02/2010