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Click Picture for Map to Honolulu Office We will come to you if you are unable to come to the office for
any reason. We also travel to Kauai once a week for appointments.
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HAWAII REAL ESTATE AND ESTATE PLANNING
At Zahaby Law Offices we handle simple through
complex and sophisticated real estate, estate and business matters in Honolulu and on Kauai, Maui and the Big Island.
We are dedicated to being accessible, efficient, responsive, professional and always acting with caring and aloha. We
offer our services to start-up businesses, families and established developers, real estate brokerages and local business
institutions. REAL ESTATE: Acquisitions and Sales of Real Property, Real
Estate and Corporate Litigation Analysis, Arbitration and Expert Testimony, Brokerage Agreements, Condominium Development,
including formation of projects and obtaining Public Reports, Conveyancing, Development (Residential and Resort Communities,
primarily), Easements and Licenses, Encroachments and Party Walls, Escrow, Finance (Documentation, Commercial Real Estate
Loans), Land Use and Zoning, Leased Fee Conversions and, Sales Contracts, Leasing - commercial and office, Standard Form documents,Title
Matters. ESTATE PLANNING: Basic Tax Preparation, Living Trusts and Wills, Irrevocable Trusts,
Charitable Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, Medicaid Planning, Retirement Trusts, Self-Directed IRAs, Health Care Directives
and Final Wishes, Family Limited Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies, Business Succession Planning, Asset Protection,
Insurance Trusts, etc. BUSINESS
PLANNING: Creation and Maintenance of LLCs, C-Corporations & S-Corporations, Hawaii Registered Agent
Services, Asset Protection Planning, Compensation Planning, and Tax and Business Planning for Physicians, Business Owners,
Professionals, and Low/High Net Worth Individuals, Basic Tax Preparation. ADVERSARIAL PRACTICE & DISPUTE RESOLUTION: This firm strongly believes in a
collaborative law process for resolution of all disputes. We encourage mediation or Ho'oponopono and we no longer agree
with the judicial process for resolution of civil disputes. Civil litigation is not effective, is costly and may even
be physically harmful to the average civil litigant. We offer services as mediator, arbitrator or counselor pursuant
to a collaborative law agreement. All court filing inquiries other than uncontested divorce or stipulated settlements
will be referred to other law firms. 
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Friday, February 5, 2010
New RESPA Rules For Consumer Protection In Real Estate Settlements And Loans...Subsequent Remedial Measures? Alerts and Updates NEW
RESPA RULES FOR CONSUMER PROTECTION IN REAL ESTATE SETTLEMENTS AND LOANS January
27, 2010 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued new rules that
modify the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). RESPA is a consumer-protection statute that was enacted to (1) help
consumers become better shoppers for settlement services and (2) eliminate kickbacks and referral fees that unnecessarily
increase the costs of certain settlement services. Loans secured with a mortgage placed on a one-to-four-family residential
property are governed by RESPA. These loans include most purchase loans, assumptions, refinances, property improvement loans,
and equity lines of credit. HUD's Office of RESPA and Interstate Land Sales is responsible for enforcing RESPA. The following new RESPA rules became effective on January 1, 2010. First, the Good
Faith Estimate (GFE), which is an estimation of closing costs provided by lenders to prospective borrowers, was revised to provide
greater disclosures of estimated costs. As of January 1, 2010, loan originators, including mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers,
must provide to qualified borrowers the new standardized GFE—which is now a three-page document—within three business
days of the borrower's application. The GFE form includes a summary of key loan terms as well as an estimated cost of a list
of mandatory settlement charges. The key loan terms that must now be included on the GFE include: (1) the initial loan amount;
(2) the loan term; (3) the initial interest rate; (4) the initial monthly mortgage amount owed for the principal, interest
and mortgage insurance; (5) whether the interest rate, loan balance and monthly payment may rise and (6) whether the loan
has a prepayment penalty or balloon payment. The new GFE also provides limits or "tolerances"
on how much a charge can change from the issuance of the GFE to the actual closing of the loan. Depending on the type of settlement
charge, the estimation of a settlement charge may either (1) not be changed from the issuance of the GFE to closing (the "First
Bucket"), (2) increase up to 10 percent of the listed amount from the GFE to closing (the "Second Bucket")
or (3) change without regard to the amount originally stated on the GFE (the "Third Bucket"). Examples of charges
in the First Bucket include a lender's origination fee or a charge for an interest rate selected. Examples of charges in the
Second Bucket include title administrative charges and lender's title insurance policy and appraisals. Examples of charges
in the Third Bucket include daily interest charges, costs of homeowner's insurance and lender-required services where borrowers
shop for and select their own third-party providers. The intent of the new GFE is to disclose
to consumers all settlement charges and the costs for settlement services. The new GFE charges must be good for 10 business
days, to allow the consumer to comparison-shop. The new GFE must be used by all loan originators as of January 1, 2010. In addition, the new RESPA rules establish a new HUD-1 Settlement Statement (HUD-1). All settlement charges
on the GFE must be reflected on the new HUD-1. The purpose of the new HUD-1 is to allow consumers to directly compare the
fees identified on the GFE to those fees charged at the closing of such loans. The new HUD-1 consists of three pages. Compared
to the earlier version of the HUD-1, there are no significant changes on the first page of the new HUD-1. However, numerous
changes were made in the second page of the new HUD-1 to reconcile the changes enacted in connection with the new GFE. For
example, a lender's loan-origination charges are bundled on line 801—listed as "our origination charge"—and
are no longer itemized separately. The charge to the buyer for "title services" and "lender's title insurance"
is disclosed concurrently on line item 1101 of the new HUD-1; however, any title fees paid to third-party providers must be
itemized. The new HUD-1 now also requires the title-insurance premium split between the title agent and the title underwriter
to be disclosed on line items 1107 and 1108. The third page of the new HUD-1 consists of a GFE-HUD-1 chart that compares the
GFE estimated charges to the actual charges on the HUD-1, as well as a loan-term table. The charges must be within the tolerances,
as explained above. As of January 1, 2010, all closing agents must use the new HUD-1. Finally, HUD issued
a revised Settlement
Cost Booklet that loan originators-including mortgage lenders and mortgage borrowers-are required to provide consumers within
three days of their applying for a mortgage loan.
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Lawyers
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