Neil Garfinkel’s Real Estate Blog

Last week, the Empire State Mortgage Bankers Association (ESMBA) held a Breakfast Meeting in which ESMBA members and their guests networked and listened to an analysis on how to deal with the Federal Reserve Board (FRB)’s proposed Ability-to-Repay rule. The rule is intended to satisfy Dodd-Frank’s Ability-to-Repay requirements byLender Compliance Group’s President, AGMB's strategic alliance partner, and featured editorial contributor for National Mortgage Professional Magazine, Jonathan Foxx. See the full story here.

In this Real Deal May article, Neil comments on potential conflicts of interest when a co-op board member also acts as real estate broker. Read about the legality of this situation and how the ethics have evolved by clicking here to view the full article.

In this week's Real Estate highlight from Bankrate.com, Neil comments on the six tips aimed at improving a home owner's closing experience. Click here to read the full article.

In this article, The Real Deal describes how home sellers are changing their roles by taking lending matters into their own hands. Neil is referenced in this informative piece commenting on the new relationships between buyers, sellers, and banks. Read the full article here.

Neil is featured in the New York Times Real Estate section commenting on the new mandatory digital format of offering plans. Read the entire article here.

Neil is quoted in this week's New York Observer discussing the attorney general's mandate to digitize offering plans. Read the full post here.

In this month's issue of The Real Deal, Neil Garfinkel is referenced in an article that outlines the complicated relationships between brokers, sellers, and buyers.  Since the 2009 ruling in lawsuit Douglas Elliman LLC vs. Tretter, the usage of new disclosure forms - drafted by REBNY with the involvement of Neil serving as residential counsel - have gained significance for real estate agents.  Click here to read the entire article.

Neil is referenced in a New York Times Real Estate article highlighting possible unforeseen difficulties in qualifying for mortgages on rental units, as opposed to single family residencies.  Click here to read the full NYTimes article.

Neil Garfinkel is quoted in this week's issue of The Real Deal in an article describing some of the disagreements stalling the overhaul of the NYS real estate advertising rules.  Though REBNY and NYSAR agree on most of the proposed regulations, click here to read the full Real Deal article outlining their split on the issue.

Neil is recently quoted in this Newsday real estate blog post detailing how low interest rates in Long Island have affected the refinancing of homes.  Click here to read the article.