NEW YORK — When you’re in the market for a business loan, it’s crucial to look beyond the advertised interest rate. Hidden costs and fees impact the total amount you end up paying. Here are four key costs you should consider before signing on the dotted line: 1. Annual percentage rate (APR) vs. interest […]
WASHINGTON – More people today are concerned about natural disasters and believe the likelihood they will experience a natural disaster will be higher five years from now, Freddie Mac found in a new survey. The analysis, published in Freddie Mac’s recent Economic, Housing and Mortgage Market Outlook, found that renters are more likely to […]
NEW YORK — The Federal Trade Commission received more than 330,000 reports of scammers impersonating businesses in 2023. Some of these scammers pretend to be major corporations like Amazon or Best Buy, the FTC says. But small businesses are at risk too, says Scott Taber, a cybersecurity awareness program specialist at the Michigan Small […]
WASHINGTON — Pending home sales rose in September, according to the National Association of Realtors®. All four major regions experienced month-over-month gains in transactions. Year-over-year, the Northeast and West registered increases while sales remained steady in the Midwest and South. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) – a forward-looking indicator of home sales based […]
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Amid long-running efforts to shift customers into the private market, the number of homeowners insured by the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. plunged last week. Citizens posted data online Monday that showed it had 1,035,534 policies as of Friday, down from 1,271,907 policies a week earlier and 1,268,738 policies two weeks […]
Dear Shannon: I was in a professional standards education session recently and the discussion was about Standard of Practice (SOP) 10-5. Someone in the group (I think it was an attorney) suggested there was a higher standard of evidence needed in a hate speech hearing. The attorney indicated that while the hate speech might […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Buyers and sellers should be careful when adding clauses to their contracts. If that clause lacks precision, one or both sides could suffer. Florida Realtors® purchase and sale agreements include blank lines for additional terms, which can be used to modify existing parts of the form. This can be a helpful […]
CHICAGO — The use of generative artificial intelligence platforms can increase productivity and foster creativity. At the click of a button, AI can quickly produce content – blog posts, video scripts, articles, social media posts, images and much more – in response to user prompts, after scanning its database of millions of pieces of […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — What rights do tenants and landlords have if a hurricane damages their rental unit? There’s no simple answer. While Florida law requires landlords to comply with certain minimum requirements, as well as all applicable building, housing and health codes, some requirements may depend on the lease terms themselves. Section 83.51(1)(a) of […]
News & Media TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – As the deadline approaches, Florida lawyers must prepare for an important regulatory shift: the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is now accepting beneficial ownership information reports. Under the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act, companies operating in the U.S. are required to disclose key ownership […]
News & Media By Maddie Biertempfel WASHINGTON – Some lawmakers are trying to crack down on what they call predatory “credit repair” schemes, when companies promise to improve your credit score but don’t deliver. If you’ve ever gotten a call or seen ads online from a company promising to improve your credit score if […]
CHICAGO — When we think about inclusion, it’s often easy to think about groups whose identities are, well, identifiable, but inclusion is more nuanced than only making space for what we can see. As Heather Hasse recently in a blog post for her site, Agent Inner Circle, “true inclusion requires considering (identity) aspects that […]