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Illinois REALTOR® Weekly Connection

News and resources for Illinois REALTORS®
January 19, 2010

Questions on the License Law Rewrite? Join IAR at 9:30 a.m. on January 25 for a one-hour Q & A webinar with IAR Chief Legal Counsel Steve Bochenek and Legal Hotline Attorney Betsy Urbance. Space is limited so register early online. A recording of the webinar will be available at a later date on www.IARlicenselaw.org.

FHA to announce changes this week. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is expected to announce major changes to its program this week in an effort to build up its capital reserves, according to NAR. FHA will be looking to improve loan quality, increase mortgage insurance premiums and change lender eligibility. Read this NAR Regulatory Issue Brief to learn more.

Negotiations continue on federal health reform bill. As U.S. House and Senate leadership continue to negotiate a final compromise bill, NAR recently stressed the importance of improving affordability with the proposals. Read NAR’s letter to House and Senate leaders and other background materials. 

Help for foreclosures. 2009 was a record year for foreclosures and more are expected to follow in 2010, but as this IARbuzz.com post points out, home loan modifications are growing and communities hurt by foreclosure are getting much needed Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding. 

Lawmakers return; Quinn delivers State of State speech. The Illinois General Assembly returned to Springfield last week for an abbreviated session and to hear Gov. Quinn’s State of the State Address. Get the details in the latest State Capitol Report. 

IRS releases new Form 5405 for claiming homebuyer tax credit. On Jan. 15, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released the new Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit.

New RESPA rules and you. Watch this video aimed at helping REALTORS® make sense of the new Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1 forms mandated under new RESPA rules that went into effect Jan. 1, 2010.

Keeping up with IARbuzz has never been easier. Subscribe to IAR’s blog, IARbuzz.com, for e-mail updates whenever a new blog post has been added.

Still time to register for January 28 webinar summit. REALTOR® University is offering a day-long series of FREE webinars covering topics such as real estate marketing, top tech tools, industry outlooks and more. See the schedule and register soon as space is limited. 

Right Tools, Right Now. Access some of the most requested PowerPoint presentations by guest speakers and NAR experts like Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

Recommend a builder! We’re working on a home design trend story and looking for Illinois REALTOR®-recommended builders. Send a message to IARnews@iar.org.

Script for overcoming a FSBO objection. Know a seller who wants to go it alone? This Quick Sales Script from REALTOR.org can help you stress why it helps to work with an experienced REALTOR®.

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