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Anti-Money Laundering: Federal Rule Coming to Track Real Estate Cash

The federal government wants all-cash home buyers to be easy to find.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is part of the U.S. Treasury Department. FinCEN has proposed a new reporting rule. It wants real estate professionals to submit forms with details about cash sales when homes are sold to legal entities — like LLCs and trusts.

The goal? Making it hard for criminals to hide behind legal entities when they launder money from their crimes. The rule would make it much easier for investigators to track down people involved in the transfers of homes for cash.

The rule would not require the reporting of sales to individuals. It would affect some residential real estate investors who plan to make cash offers. But it actually matters to everyone. Take a Look.

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eRecording Is Next-Level Deed Processing. Know What It Is, and Why It’s Legal.

For centuries, deeds went through a manual filing process for transmitting, recording, and storing. This is changing, with eRecording emerging as the new standard.

Why the shift? The shutdowns in the early days of Covid jolted offices into a different mode of operating. Around the same time, county offices began strongly recommending eRecording.

Electronic signatures (eSignatures) and records, including sound files, are now as legally binding as traditional paper documents. And now, people can use encrypted digital signatures for identity protection.

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What Makes a Good Real Estate Agent and How Do I Find One?

Industry pros think home prices could easily rise 2%-5% this year, judging by the Spring 2024 home buying rush already underway. If you want to take the best advantage of a promising market, you might be thinking of hiring an agent.

Anyone selling or buying a home can benefit from a good agent’s support. The right agent will help you get the best deal on the best home for you in the market you’re in. And that person can help you understand the finer points of your particular transaction, title, and deed.

Good agents help homeowners make smart decisions leading up to a sale. They organize timelines and meetings. They guide buyers through appraisals, inspections, and negotiations. They help secure well-informed, fair agreements.

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Core of the American Dream? Three-Fourths Call Buying a Home Goal #1

The U.S. population has all sorts of goals. But of all that we strive for in our lives, seems we place the highest priority on owning a home. In recent surveys, three-fourths of respondents said owning a home is “the leading component of the American dream.”

And yet, just about the same percentage of people say housing is too expensive to buy. With each year, it feels like fewer can afford to buy a home. It’s almost like buying a home is a wealthy person’s thing.

Homeownership is still the centerpiece of the American dream, but affordability issues such as high home prices, income that is too low or not being able to afford the down payment and closing costs are holding back nearly 3-in-4 aspiring homeowners.

—Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate LLC

You said it, Greg.

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Can We Record Deeds on the Blockchain?

Blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrency, is a digital recording system, leading innovators to wonder if it could solve challenges in deed recording.

The U.S. deed recording system is tried and true. At the same time, title defects and tangled titles are much too common. Additionally, deed fraud harms vulnerable homeowners..

What if our title system moved to the blockchain? A “blocktitle” system, as Dawson Sanders at the University of Southern California calls it, would transform real estate transactions.

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Do I Have to Pay Off My Student Loans Before Buying a Home?

This month, 150,000+ people received emails that say some of their student loan debt will be forgiven. The latest $1.2 billion worth of debt forgiveness is a ray of sunshine for many potential first-time homebuyers. It impacts a person’s access to mortgage loans, and therefore the ability to acquire property deeds.

But what about the student debt that the borrowers still have to pay? Some graduates pay off their loans, and must (or choose to) delay home buying to do that.

Others say: Forget waiting. If it’s possible, let’s buy a home today. Yes, having the student loan done and gone would be great — but there’s a lot to be said for putting a foot on the homeownership ladder now.

Each person has to do what’s best in their circumstances. But looking at some specific parts of this question can help readers come to their own sound decisions.

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Ready, Set…Here Comes a Real Spring Home Buying Rush

Seasonal trends have an impact on home selling and buying success. Whether you’re receiving a real estate deed for the first time, or conveying your deed to a new buyer, having a sense of the market is helpful for planning.

The housing market stalled in 2023. Can this new Spring season reactivate it? Anything can happen. But one thing is already clear. Home buyers are back. And sellers are there to meet them.

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A New Generation of Renovators? Boomer Sellers Are Putting Younger Buyers to Work.

Some interesting findings came out this year:

  • Most baby boomer homeowners live in homes built more than 30 years ago.
  • Many of these older homes still have their original appliances, along with original heating and cooling systems.
  • A lot of these owners will sell these homes as they are, without upgrading them first.

Leaf Home, a company focused on accessibility and upgrades, together with market researchers at Morning Consult, warn of a looming burden for younger generations. Our aging U.S. housing stock will depend on buyers to carry out repairs.

The silver lining for these put-upon home buyers? At least fixer-upper homes create low-cost entry points for hopeful buyers.  

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