S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

Many years ago I was returning from a real estate exchange marketing session in Acapulco, Mexico. An exchangor from San Jose California told me about a policy his firm had developed concerning new listings. Their listing agreement required the seller to provide their firm with a current Preliminary Title Report (Prelim) in many states called a Commitment To Insure, at the time they listed the property. This report shows any liens of encumbrances on a property, items which are vital to know about when marketing or transferring title to the subject property. Some of these items can affect the priority of a mortgage on the property as well. In California most title companies will honor the cost of a Prelim for up to two years and credit its cost against the premium paid later for the title policy.

I had negotiated a price of $295,000 on 4+ acres of unimproved commercial land in southern California. The buyers were willing to pay $52,000 cash down and wanted the sellers to carry the $243,000 balance on a note secured by a first deed of trust with payments of $2,478.49 or more per month including 8.5% interest with the entire balance due and payable in ten years from close of escrow [...]

Editor’s Note: This article was first published in the December 1972 issue of the Real Estate Observer.
The sale of a listing doesn’t begin until a prospect says, “Yes, I’d like to own that property.” The buyer is a “taker.” Now, the broker must put together a transaction with which both parties can live. This isn’t [...]

Introduction: During our meeting in November in Ontario Bill Broadbent gave us a terrific talk regarding the vision and the future of the S.E.C. Education Foundation. I asked Bill to give me a synopsis, and he has done so. It says much more, with much more credibility, than anything that I could write for the [...]

When Buying a Note Secured by Real Estate!
To obtain a faster sale of his property Sam Seller agrees to carry a note secured by the property he is selling to Bob Buyer. Hopefully Sam will get a reasonable cash down payment from Bob and then negotiate the terms of a carry-back note from Bob. [...]

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the July, 1972, issue of the Real Estate News Observer.
Which seminar should I take first? … is a question frequently asked among practitioners who want to take advantage of the practical real estate courses offered under the Richard R. Reno Educational Foundation.
It is difficult to suggest a specific [...]

A booklet entitled, “Who Is My Client?” published by the National Association of Realtors in November 1986 says on page 10: “Dual Agency is a totally inappropriate agency relationship for real estate brokers to create as a matter of general business practice. Undisclosed dual agency is a clear breach of a broker’s fiduciary duty to [...]

While attending my first California state Realtor convention in 1961, I met a broker named George Hoover, from Glendale. George indicated that the real estate industry was flawed from an agency standpoint. He felt that a licensee should represent only one party in a real estate transaction. I didn’t disagree with George’s conclusion but I [...]

If the roots are strong, the tree will grow even stronger…
In 1969, Richard Reno decided that many new ideas, formulas and SEC’s had developed techniques during the 1960s and it was time to broaden the educational spectrum in exchanging beyond his class.
He selected five SEC’s and told each of us to develop a seminar based [...]

In the late 1950s Richard R. Reno of San Diego California suggested to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) that some type of exchange group be set up under the umbrella of NAR. The existing International Traders Club didn’t have much structure or function. A committee was formed to study the idea and Richard [...]