The Atlanta Closing Attorney's Perspective

Sales of existing single-family residential properties edged up higher across the country in May according to the latest report by the National Association of Realtors. It was only the second time in ten months that sales have increased. The pace of home sales rose 2 percent in May from April, th...

Home prices are continuing to fall, according to the latest report of the S&P/Case-Shiller indices. The data, good through April, show that prices in the 10-city index fell 16.3 percent from last year. The 20-city index fell 15.3 percent, also a new record low. Home prices in Atlanta continued th...

On Friday, the Bush administration announced that FHA was reducing title seasoning requirements for some properties in order to reduce the impact of foreclosures across the country. The previous policy, enacted in an effort to prevent property flipping, prohibited FHA in most circumstances from i...

According to a government report released this morning, privately-owned housing starts dropped in May to a new 17-year low. U.S. Department of Commerce stated that privately-owned housing starts slipped 3.3 percent from April to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 975,000. Economists had expected housi...

According to a recent press release, nearly one third of adults would consider burying a statue of Saint Joseph in the yard if it would help sell their home in today's market. While the act of burying a Saint's statue in order to promote the sale of a home can easy be viewed as mere superstition,...

From CNN: The number of homes under contract to be sold rose unexpectedly in April as buyers go bargain hunting, according to a report released Monday. Pending Home Sales Index from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) rose to 88.2 in April, up 6.3% from March's reading of 83 and the highes...

Recently, in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution: The suggestion is offered at the beginning or tacked onto the end of ads for resale homes and is even being used to lure buyers into new neighborhoods from intown to the suburbs: "Rent to own. Will consider lease-purchase." Individual sellers see...