RE/MAX AROUND ATLANTA
  • Home
  • RMAA HUB
  • Events
  • Local Service Providers
    • Attorney Partners
    • Lender Partners
    • Home Cleaning Services
    • Home Inspection Companies
    • Home Staging Sevices
    • Home Warranty Companies
    • Insurance
    • Photography
    • Estate Sales/Clean-outs
    • Property Management
    • Repair Services
    • Security Systems
  • OUR TEAM
  • SMART MOVE PROGRAM
  • Online Payments
  • BROKER CORNER
  • Locations

BROKER CORNER

Housing Discrimination Based on Source of Income City of Atlanta

5/29/2022

2 Comments

 
Picture
Landlords and brokers in the City of Atlanta cannot refuse to rent based on someone’s source of legal income, which includes denying the acceptance of valid government vouchers. 

The City of Atlanta is the first municipality in Georgia to pass such legislation.  It was passed in 2020.  The State of Georgia does not have a law against discrimination based on source of legal income. 
Of course, the State of Georgia does prohibit discrimination based on a home seeker’s race, color, national origin, sex, religion, familial status, or disability.  The City of Atlanta has added this additional layer to prohibited acts. 

Read More
2 Comments

SECURITY DEPOSITS AND MOVE IN AND MOVE OUT INSPECTIONS

5/24/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Security Deposits in Lease Transactions
 
Georgia law requires that the tenant, prior to tendering a security deposit, be presented with a comprehensive list of any existing damages to the premises. (F910, Move-In/Move-Out Condition Report)
O.C.G.A. 44-7-33. Per Seth Weissman in The Red Book on Real Estate Contracts in Georgia, some landlords and their agents try to comply with this section of the law by characterizing the security deposit as a refundable lease administration or application fee that is then converted into a security deposit upon the completion of the move-in inspection. Whether temporarily giving the security deposit a different name alters its character is unclear and has yet to be ruled on by an appellate court. 

Read More
0 Comments

Denial of Lease Applications Related Issues

5/16/2022

1 Comment

 
Picture
​Adverse Action Letter Regarding Rental Application
If a landlord denies the prospective tenant’s rental application because of poor credit, the landlord is required, under Section 615(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act  to provide a special notification to the prospective tenant that, among other things, provides the applicant with the name, address, and telephone number of the credit reporting agency; informs the applicant that the credit reporting agency did not make the adverse action and is unable to provide the applicant with the specific reasons why the adverse action was taken; and gives the tenant the right to obtain a free copy of her credit report from the credit reporting agency to dispute the accuracy or completeness of the credit report.
This type of notice must also be given if the landlord charges the tenant an extra amount as a result of having bad credit (such as an additional security deposit or extra rent). The notice does not need to state the specific information in the credit report that was of concern to the landlord. Instead, it merely needs to state that information in the credit report was a basis for the denial of the rental application. 

Read More
1 Comment

NEW SPECIAL STIPULATIONS

5/10/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
​The May 1, 2022 revisions to the GAR Forms have been released.  There are 2 new Special Stipulations (SS) that should be of value to you.  These can also be found in the GAR Special Stipulations.
 
  1. NO COMMISSION OWED BY THE BUYER
Because the current Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Engagement Agreement states the buyer agrees to pay the broker a commission and some brokers do not want to include that provision, the new Special Stipulation 110 negates any obligation of the buyer to pay a commission to the broker.
 
SS 110 NO COMMISSION OWED BY THE BUYER
Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in this Agreement, Broker shall not look for Buyer to pay any portion of Broker’s Commission pursuant to this Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Engagement Agreement. 
 
 
2.CONTINGENCY FOR RECEIVING CONDOMINIUM QUESTIONNAIRE
As noted in a previous post, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have created additional conditions to the HOA Approval process since the terrible condominium collapse last year in Florida.  Significant deferred maintenance at that condominium was a factor in the building collapse.  Property management of condominiums will now be required to answer additional questions regarding deficiencies, defects, substantial damages and deferred maintenance, as well as other new questions.  To protect a buyer’s earnest money, in the event that the approval process takes longer than the time limits of financing or appraisal contingencies, we recommend adding a Special Stipulation to all condominium purchase agreements that allows the buyer to terminate if the property cannot be qualified by FNMA or Freddie Mac.  The following is a new SS released by GAR for this situation.  Note that the SS calls for the buyer’s termination right based on a number of days from the binding date.  The time period can, of course, be adjusted as the situation requires.

Read More
0 Comments

    RMAA

    Real Estate News, Brokers Blog & More

    Categories

    All
    Broker's Corner
    Mortgage Minute

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019

    RSS Feed

RE/MAX AROUND ATLANTA
© COPYRIGHT 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • RMAA HUB
  • Events
  • Local Service Providers
    • Attorney Partners
    • Lender Partners
    • Home Cleaning Services
    • Home Inspection Companies
    • Home Staging Sevices
    • Home Warranty Companies
    • Insurance
    • Photography
    • Estate Sales/Clean-outs
    • Property Management
    • Repair Services
    • Security Systems
  • OUR TEAM
  • SMART MOVE PROGRAM
  • Online Payments
  • BROKER CORNER
  • Locations