| The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act |
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| Certainly, the purchase of a home is a very significant event. In 1974, Congress enacted the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) in order to protect home buyers from paying excessive settlement costs and from certain abusive practices. More... |
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| Community Property |
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| The origins of the concept of community property are ancient. Briefly said, the phrase "community property" refers to a form of property ownership that exists between a husband and a wife in which each party has a one-half interest in all property acquired by the labor of either party during the course of the parties' marriage. Perhaps the most widely recognized form of community property is the amount of wages earned by one party during the course of a marriage. Several states, mostly clustered in the southwestern United States, continue to recognize the concept of community property. More... |
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| Flipping Scams |
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| In recent years, so-called "flipping scams" have received widespread attention in the media. How does it work? More... |
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| Eminent Domain and the Public Use Doctrine |
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| Eminent domain refers to the power of a government entity to take private property. The power can be used by the federal government in the name of a federal agency or a branch of the military services. A state, county, city, village, or town can also use the power of eminent domain to take private property on its own behalf or on behalf of an agency of a governmental entity. In all cases, the governmental entity may only exercise the power of eminent domain, also called condemnation, if it needs the private property for a public use. More... |
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| Security Deposits on Rented Premises |
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| Very often, when a landlord and a tenant enter into a lease agreement, the landlord requires the tenant to make some type of payment to the landlord in addition to the first month's rent. The payment serves as security that the tenant will return the leased premises to the landlord, at the end of the lease term, in substantially the same condition as when the parties entered into the lease agreement.
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