Saturday, December 3, 2011

Daliah Brill's Blog Has Moved!

I so appreciate you coming here to read my blog, and I have exciting news: it's gotten even better!

To continue reading my blog at its new location, please click HERE.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

High Rate Of Divorce In Georgia

According to a recently released analysis of U.S. census figures, Georgia is near the top of the list of states where men and women most often end marriages.

For every 1,000 men married in Southern states in 2009, 10.2 divorced. The rate was higher among Southern women with an average of 11.1 divorces for every 1,000 women. Divorce rates in Georgia exceeded 10 per 1,000 for both men and women in 2009. For some Southern women, the divorce rate topped 16 per 1,000.

The divorce rate in the Northeast averaged 7.5 divorces for every 1,000 women and 7.2 per 1,000 men, falling well below the respective national averages of 9.2 and 9.7.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Short Sales And REO Disputes Rank High In NAR Study

Short-sale disputes ranked as the most significant legal issue facing real estate professionals, according to a recent study conducted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR conducted a study combining legal data and research with survey results from key industry participants.

Approximately 55 percent of survey respondents listed short sales as the cause of “a significant number of disputes.” One cause of short-sale disputes is a lack of sufficient short-sale training among agents, according to respondents.

More than 48 percent of respondents listed REO- related issues as a cause of “a significant” number of disputes.

Respondents reported insufficient training in REO marketing and contracting processes as a cause of REO disputes.

In addition to short sales and REO disputes, respondents listed agency issues, property condition disclosures, and the real estate settlement procedure act (RESPA) among the top legal issues real estate professionals face.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Why Are Women Losing Jobs And Men Gaining Jobs?

Men are regaining jobs faster and women are losing them, according to the Pew Research Center. The study found that men are making inroads in industries long dominated by women, such as nursing and teaching. The percentage of male nurses climbed from 9.5% in 2003 to 12.2% this year.

Men gained jobs at a faster rate than women in education and health services, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality. In other sectors, including retail, finance, and federal government, men gained jobs while women lost jobs.

In each of the recovery periods since 1970, women have regained jobs at a faster rate than men within the first two years of the recovery. Between the end of the recession in June 2009 through May 2011, men gained 768,000 jobs and women lost 218,000 jobs.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Treasury Department To Pay Servicers For Quicker Loan Modifications

The Treasury Department will pay mortgage servicers more for modifying loans in an earlier stage of delinquency and less the longer the process takes, according to guidelines released July 6, 2011.

The guidelines, effective October 1, will be adopted by Fannie Mae when the Federal Housing Finance Agency releases the new mortgage servicing fee structures.

Through HAMP, a servicer receives $1,000 when a homeowner is placed in a verified income trial modification for three months before becoming permanent. Effective October 1, mortgage servicers will receive $1,600 if the trial starts before a loan becomes more than 120 days delinquent, $1,200 for loans between 121 days and 210 days delinquent and $400.00 for loans placed in the trial stage after being 210 days delinquent.

Servicers are prohibited from requiring borrowers to make past due payments before entering a trial modification which would result in a higher fee for the servicer.

Friday, June 17, 2011

U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES: YOUTH'S AGE IS RELEVANT IN MIRANDA ANALYSIS

A youth’s age is relevant when deciding whether a person being questioned by police is in “custody,” triggering the need for a Miranda warning, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision.
At issue was whether J.D.B., a 13-year-old special education student, had the right to a Miranda warning when he was pulled from his middle school classroom and questioned by a police officer. The North Carolina Supreme Court had ruled the teen was not in custody when he was questioned, so a Miranda warning was not required.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote the majority opinion, said age is relevant to the analysis and remanded for a new determination of whether the student was in custody. “To hold, as the state requests, that a child’s age is never relevant to whether a suspect has been taken into custody—and thus to ignore the very real differences between children and adults—would be to deny children the full scope of the procedural safeguards that Miranda guarantees to adults,” she wrote.
The ABA had filed an amicus brief in the case arguing that children, as compared to adults, have unique vulnerabilities. It is the third time in recent years that the ABA has filed an amicus brief on the unique status of children.

GEORGIA PHYSICIANS MUST DISCLOSE WHETHER THEY HAVE MALPRACTICE INSURANCE

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed a law last month, requiring physicians to inform the Georgia Composite Medical Board if they are insured. The board will make the information available on its website as part of a physician's public profile. Physicians must disclose whether they are covered by insurance when asked by patients. If the physician declines to inform his or her patients, the physician is subject to disciplinary action by the board.