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THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2004
REAL ESTATE
Roland
Hawkins
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Before you close on a home •
mortgage it is in your best inter
est to understand the Real
Estate Settlement Procedure Act
(RESPA) rules and policies.
One of the primary functions of
The Housing and Urban Devel
opment (HUD) and RESPA are
governing mortgage loans. The
arm of HUD (RESPA) defines
what lenders, sellers and buyers
can legally do in a real estate set
tlement transaction. HUD man
dates that all parties fully inform
borrowers about all closing costs,
lender services, and escrow
account practices and clarify
business relationships between
service providers and other par
ties to the transaction. By moni
toring real estate settlement
practices it is the goal of HUD to
eliminate illegal l^ckbacks and
referral fees activities.
All monetary transactions
between buyers and sellers in a
real estate transaction are
required to be declared on the
final HUD settlement statement.
RE SPSA requires that borrowers
receive disclosures at various
times in the real estate transac
tion process. These disclosures
should spell out all costs associ
ated with the real estate transac
tion. The primary disclosure you
should be famihar with is the
lender’s (k)od Faith Estimate
(GFE) of settlement costs. The
GFE will detail the charges buy
ers are likely to pay at settle
ment. Lenders are required to
provide a GFE within three days
of receiving the borrower’s loan
appUcation.
Remember, the GFE is only an
estimate. The actual charges
may differ at settlement. This
GFE will project an estimate of
the charges the buyer is likely to
incur. These charges are not hm-
ited to the lenders expenses.
The exact closing costs and
expenses that buyers and sellers
pay at closing are finalized on the
HUD-1 Settlement Statement.
All monies that are exchange on
the day of settlement must be
indicated on the HUD-1.
Any non disclosure of these
monies is prohibited and consid
ered a violation of RESPSA law.
The HUD office of consumer and
Regulatory Affairs' is responsible
for enforcing RESPSA.
HUD is dedicated to cracking
down on RESPA violators this
year. This means lenders, buyers
and sellers who attempt to
arrange financially settlement
outside of the HUD-1 can and
will be in violation of section 8 of
RESPA law.
Let’s take a moment to further
explain section 8 of RESPA. This
section prohibits any person(s)
from giving and/or accepting any
thing of monetary value for refer
rals and/or exchange for any con
siderations is illegal. It also pro
hibits any parties to a real estate
transaction from giving and/or
accepting charges for services
that have not been preformed
prior to closing. These considera
tions can and will be construed
as kickbacks under section 8 of
RE SPA. If found guilty a fined of
up to $10,000 and up to a 1 year
imprisonment could be imposed.
Section 9 RE SPA also prohibits
sellers fi'om requiring home buy
ers to utilize the services from
particular affiliates of the seller,
as a condition of the sale. Since
RESPA was designed to protect
the consumer, section 10 also
prohibits the amount of money
that lenders are allowed to hold
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PHOTO/ARA CONTENT
A room with a hue
How to accent and create focal points
ARTICLE RESOURCE ASSOCIATION
It’s the little things in life, and
sometimes turning your eye to
the smallest items in home decor
can make the biggest impact. If
you are in the mood for a room
transformation, but don’t have
the time or budget to completely
redecorate, try focusing on small
er portions of the room and creat
ing focal points.
You can still achieve a dramatic
transformation with attention to
detail and minimal effort. The
simplest and most cost effective
method to create a mood with
color, of course, is to repaint the
room. But if painting an entire
room is out of the question, try
highlighting certain areas.
According to Peggy Van Allen,
color services manager for Dutch
Boy Paints, you can still create a
new color scheme with smaller
areas.
‘Walk into the room with fresh
Please see HOW/6C
PHOTO/ARA CONTENT
Choose
flooring
to fit your
lifestyle
ARTICLE RESOURCE ASSOCIATION
Choosing the right floor for your
home is a big decision. It sets the tone
for the whole interior of your house,
and is the foundation for everything
else you put in a room. Your choice
should fit not only the way you want
your home to look, but also the way
your family lives. ‘When making a
decision about flooring, keep in mind
such factors as design options, com
fort, warmth, safety and mainte
nance,” says Piera Marotto of Forbo
Linoleum, Inc. “And don’t forget you
can have fun with color!”
Each family is unique and will have
different demands and expectations
for their flooring choice. A large fami
ly with kids will have a different set of
needs than a retired couple. Pet own
ers will have particular requirements
as well. Allergy and asthma sufferers
will need to keep a clean and dust free
environment. For households that
have light traffic, carpet is one option.
It is an attractive addition to a room
and the color choices are virtually
unlimited. It is however, high mainte
nance - regular vacuuming and
shampooing are mandatory, and
stains are a constant worry. Hard
wood floors are a classic choice for
many homes, and they work with
most kinds of decor.
Please see HOW/6C
It’s easy to
add a new
shower in
your bath
ARTICLE RESOURCE ASSOCIATION
If you think you’re stuck with your bath
room’s old, dingy shower or none at aU, think
again. There are now modestly priced shower
ing systems and shower doors that are easy for
homeowners to install themselves in less than
a day.
“Many homeowners are surprised that some
thing that seems as complicated as a shower is
actually simple and affordable to install,” says
Bill Pavilonis, product manager-Sterling
brand bathing products for Kohler Co., a
kitchen and bath products company.
For the homeowner who is interested in
building a shower within an existing bathroom
space, or swapping a new unit for an old one,
the Sterling Ensemble shower systems are
designed to make installation quick and easy
for the do-it-yourselfer.
The four modular pieces can be transported
by just one person through doorways and
around comers, and the tongue-and-groove
interlocking joints create a seamless appear
ance without the need for caulk. Installers
don’t have to drill holes or screw bolts into
brackets, eliminating the work of mounting
components to the side or back walls.
“It takes one person less time to install these
showers than it would take multiple people to
install common one-piece modules,” says
Pavilonis.
The shower systems are made from an easy-
to-clean, durable \fikrell material and consist
of two side walls, a backwaU and a lightly peb
bled bottom surface designed to help prevent
shpping. There are strong stmctural ribs
molded into each shower base to supply addi
tional support and rigidity.
Each unit includes a molded-in shaving area
ledge and six comer shelves that offer storage
for toiletries. You can also transform an old
shower by simply installing a new glass-panel
door. Although many homeowners consider
this to be a cumbersome and fhistrating task
involving cutting, drilling and careful measur
ing that allows little room for error, it doesn’t
have to be complicated.
PHOTO/ARA CONTENT
Sterling has developed a stylish bypass
shower door, the Finesse Quick Install, that
can be installed with just an Allen wrench in
less than 15 minutes.
“Installing this shower door is as easy as
hanging up a shower curtain, but with a lot
more style and durability,” says Matt Klein,
product manager-Sterling brand showering
products for Kohler, who adds that most home-
owners these days have less time to devote to
household projects, and require products that
are quick to install. “Most other conventional
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