Realty Check

An Iowa appellate court has considered whether a broker could collect a commission when he failed to enter into a written listing agreement with the seller. Jeffrey Sisson (“Seller”) owned a bar/restaurant that he was interested in selling. He contacted Larry Stewart (“Broker”), a licensed real estate broker, about selling his business. The Seller did [...]

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2009 Citizens of other countries represent an important segment of the U.S. home buying market, and now new special visa categories that allow foreign nationals to gain U.S. residency can help facilitate that process. By using these visa categories correctly, Realtors® will be able to help many more buyers from overseas purchase [...]

Published: Monday | May 25, 2009 Depositors and creditors of investment scheme Cash Plus Ltd are expected to get back some of their money soon, as properties owned by Cash Plus were advertised for sale yesterday. In an advertisement published in The Sunday Gleaner, seven properties owned by Cash Plus Limited and its subsidiaries and [...]

By Julian Richardson, Assistant Business co-ordinator richardsonj@jamaicaobserver.com Wednesday, May 27, 2009 At least one Jamaican Realtor is arguing that the Government’s planned reduction in transfer tax and stamp duty next January will do more harm than good to the local real estate market. According to Lorraine Levy-Finlason, the announcement made during the Government’s budget presentation [...]

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 WASHINGTON, USA A modest rebound in single-family home construction in April raised hopes yesterday that the three-year slide in US housing could be bottoming. But with the supply of unsold homes bulging, foreclosures rising and prices falling, no broad recovery is expected until next spring at the earliest. The Commerce Department [...]

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 THE Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) yesterday launched its latest denomination – a $5,000 note featuring the image of former prime minister Hugh Shearer which it says will become legal tender in September. According to BOJ Governor Derick Latibeaudiere, the new bill became necessary in response to international benchmarks as well as [...]

MANCHESTER, England (AFP) – Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt ran the fastest ever 150m yesterday in a street race held in a chilly and windy Manchester city centre. Bolt came home in 14.35 sec, beating the previous best recorded by Italian Pietro Mennea of 14.8 in 1983. Britain’s Marlon Devonish was second in 15.07sec. In [...]

WARNING!!! – It PAYS to work with a REALTOR!!! Through a joint operation conducted by both members of the Investigation Department of the Real Estate Board and the Police Flying Squad today May 6, 2009, between 11:a.m. and 3:30 p.m., the following three persons were arrested and charged for various breaches of the Real Estate [...]

You use the phone everyday in real estate but could you be turning off potential customers with your poor phone etiquette? Follow these basic strategies to make sure your phone behavior is up to par. Minimalism advocate D.H. Mondfleur once said, “Cell phones are the latest invention in rudeness.” In fact, 68 percent of Americans [...]

Government plans to sell off just under $10 billion in assets held by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) this fiscal year, including the sale of stake in a number of hotels. According to the Jamaica Public Bodies Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year ending March 31, 2010, the UDC is expecting to generate [...]