WEB REVIEW


ABA Empowers Homeowners With Legal Knowledge

The American Bar Association explains the legal aspects of homeownership in easy-to-understand language.

REVIEWED BY CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL LEPORINI

Web Site: ABA LawInfo.org’s Your Home
URL: www.abalawinfo.org/hom1

What the Site Offers:

Buying a home involves a series of complex legal transactions that can leave some buyers feeling baffled. The ABA LawInfo.org’s Your Home channel, one of many channels that comprise the American Bar Association’s ABA LawInfo.org network, helps take the legalese out of common real estate dealings with resources that can be helpful to consumers and new real estate practitioners alike. The site is a gateway to free legal information about buying or selling a home, owning or renting a home, and remodeling. It links to other ABA-sponsored sites that provide information on specific areas of homeownership and to free PDF versions of ABA publications. The ABA’s consumer-friendly resources also clarify mortgage documents in plain English, offer specific questions to ask lenders, and explain the financial responsibilities that homeownership entail, among other topics.

Valuable Site Features for Real Estate Professionals:

• SafeBorrowing.com. Help buyers navigate the mortgage process with this site from the ABA. The site aims to educate consumers, make borrowing safer, and reduce unfair business practices.
  
  Its Legal-Ease section takes the mystery out of the legal documents borrowers will encounter when loan shopping. It explains both the documents’ meaning and at what point they appear in the mortgage process. Documents explained include the good faith estimate, HUD Special Information Booklet, Truth in Lending Disclosure Statement, Broker Agreement, Loan Approval/Commitment, and the Settlement Statement (also known as HUD-1).
  Other sections give advice on evaluating mortgage pricing, types of mortgages, and loan features.
  
  
• ABA Guide to Home Ownership. Download a free copy of the book The American Bar Association Guide to Home Ownership, part of The American Bar Association Legal Guide Series that offers practical advice on legal topics that people face in everyday life from the ABA’s Division for Public Education. The book explores the tax consequences of homeownership, ways to avoid liability, and homeownership’ s financial responsibilities, among other topics.
  
  
• Buying and Selling a Home, Home Ownership, and Renting Residential Property. These excepts from The American Bar Association Family Legal Guide , walk readers through the home purchasing process, lay out the tax implications of homeownership, and explore the legal issues involved in becoming a landlord.
  
  
• Remodeling and the Law. This section of the Law & Your Home channel of the ABA network helps homeowners prevent fixer-upper nightmares by explaining their legal rights in dealings with remodeling contractors. The site answers such questions as “ How do I find a reputable contractor?” “What should the contract include?” and “Which federal laws are applicable to remodeling contracts?”
  
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  More Resources
  Web Review: FindLaw , Chris Leporini, September 2002.
  Web Review: Nolo.com , Chris Leporini, January 2001.
  
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  Suggest a Site For Review
  Every week, REALTOR® Magazine Online's Web review editor surfs the Internet to find sites useful to your business and off-hours lives. Have a favorite real estate Web site that you would like to see reviewed? Send your suggestions to Chris Leporini at mediatech@realtors.org. All decisions on which sites will be reviewed are completely at the discretion of REALTOR® Magazine Online's editorial staff. Please note: this column does not review individual practitioner or brokerage sites.
  
  The column's focus includes free sites, as well as sites that charge for goods and services, but which still offer a free component of practical, sustained value to real estate practitioners, such as a free newsletter or regular news information.
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  REALTOR® Magazine Online's "Web Review" summarizes the content of Web sites that may be of interest to members. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online are not responsible for, and nothing in the Web site profile shall constitute NAR's or REALTOR® Magazine Online's endorsement of, the web site, its content, products and services, or its provider. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online believe the information contained in this profile was correct and accurate as of the time it was prepared, but do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of that information and are not responsible for changes in the Web site. Members should conduct their own independent review of the Web site prior to any use of Web site, its content, products, or services to determine their suitability for the member's intended purpose.
  
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