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Virginia Restricts Wall Street Home Resale Fees

Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell recently signed legislation to restrict Wall Street home resale fees (also known as ""private transfer fees"") in the state. Virginia is the 24th state to ban the use of these fees.

""These fees infringe on property rights and hurt Virginia consumers,"" said state Sen. Ryan McDougle, who sponsored the legislation. ""They have no place in the Virginia real estate market. We've made sure that when a[IMAGE] [COLUMN_BREAK]

homeowner buys a new property, he or she owns that home free and clear.""

The fees require that a private third-party receive a percentage of the final sale price of a home every time the property is sold, typically for 99 years.

""The governor and legislature stood up for homeowners by protecting consumers from these predatory fees,"" said Tim Akers, president of ""Virginia Land Title Association"":http://www.vlta.org/. ""This bill is an important step in enhancing consumer protections, safeguarding the real estate market, and protecting our property rights system.""

Virginia joins Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah in restricting the fees.

In addition, the ""Federal Housing Finance Agency"":http://www.fhfa.gov (FHFA) has issued a proposed rule that would prevent government-sponsored entities ""Fannie Mae"":http://www.fanniemae.com and ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com from investing in mortgages with these fees.

About Author: Heather Cernoch

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