What is Fair Housing?
You may have heard the term "fair housing", but what does it mean? What are your rights as a renter or homeowner, and can you defend yourself if your rights have been violated?The Fair Housing Act is enforced by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It bars discriminatory practices ... more...

Merger and Acquisition Valuation Practice Outline
Outline for a New M&A ValuationPractice Area for a Law FirmMichael A. S. Guth, Ph.D., J.D., Practice LeaderThis outline describes the M&A package that our law firm would normally prepare when retained to find targeted acquisitions for a client. If we are retained by a seller, then this outline ... more...

Applying for a Home Loan
Applying for a home loan may not be the most exciting way to spend your time, but if you are like many potential homeowners, it is probably a necessary evil. If you have some knowledge of the process ahead of time, however, it will go much more smoothly.Home loan applications tend to be very long, ... more...

Housing Bubbles and You
Are we in a housing bubble? To answer that question first we need to understand what a housing bubble actually is. A housing bubble is what happens when the there is a significant rise in the market that is mostly due to the expectation that the prices will continue to rise. The bubble will not ... more...

2006 Housing Development Industry Trends to Consider
With the slowing and plateauing of the real estate market we are seeing some big changes in the New Housing Development markets in many areas. The fastest growing areas of 2005 are not currently breaking any speed records like they once were. This leaves many developers on semi-retirement until the ... more...

Filling Out The Loan Application
1. Property information. The application begins with a section on the property. Questions as to the type of loan sought, the terms of the loan, location and legal description of the property, the property's value, and the manner of taking title must be completed. This information is used to ... more...

Financing Multifamily Rental Housing
Given the rising costs of homeownership, multifamily dwellingsincluding rental apartmentsincreasingly represent an accepted alternative to the detached single-family house. Lending on apartment security combines the skills of the residential lender with those of the income-property lender. ... more...

The Wealth Effect and Real Estate: the Pro's and Con's
Consumerism these days in both the United States and Canada is at its peak in light of the buoyant real estate market. Consumerism is a side-effect of capitalism - the good capitalism as Adam Smith might have called it. Consumerism is that particular economic niche where you find wealthy consumers ... more...

The Real Estate Cycle
The real estate cycle, like the business cycle, refers to the activity of the real estate market as it reacts to the forces of supply and demand.Supply and demand.When demand for a product, such as housing, exceeds the supply, the price for the product tends to increase. In real estate this ... more...