LANSING - Michigan is the newest U.S. captive domicile.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm this month signed legislation allowing the formation of captive insurance companies in the state. The law takes effect immediately.

Captive insurance companies are subsidiaries of non-insurers that are formed primarily to insure some or all of the risks of its parent.

Unlike many other states’ captive laws, the Michigan measure does not impose premium taxes but instead charges captive parents fees linked to premium volume. Those annual fees will range from $5,000 for captives with premiums of less than $5 million to $100,000 for captives with premium volume of at least $75 million.

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The gradual two-year decline of residential home sales now resembles a bobsled run: it’s picking up speed but has some interesting twists and turns.

Sales of residential homes were off 18 per cent in January, worsening in February with sales declining by 33 per cent and the value of sales that month off more than 70 per cent, according to LINK, a real estate reporting agency on the Island. Prices of houses that do sell are generally 10 per cent below asking price.

March business has not improved over February. The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission reported only two transactions for the week ended March 17 that generated fees for the land bank, compared with 17 such transactions in the comparable week last year.

While the paucity of sales so far this year has realtors predicting a thinning of their ranks, some success stories also can be found.

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TALLAHASSEE - In a rare political mea culpa, state legislators said Monday there are deep flaws in the sweeping property insurance law they passed almost unanimously last year to help lower homeowner insurance rates.

The House Insurance Committee held a hearing Monday aimed at building support to reverse last year’s legislation.

Among other changes, the 2007 legislation expanded the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund by $12 billion to offer insurers cheaper reinsurance, or backup coverage, and rescinded rate hikes of 21 percent and 56 percent for Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the public property insurer that has become the state’s largest.

The legislative package helped lower homeowner rates by a statewide average of about 15 percent. But House insurance committee members say in hindsight, the savings won’t be worth the financial risk if a major hurricane strikes, wipes out state funds and leaves almost all Florida homeowners to foot the bill. Key House leaders support scaling back the catastrophe fund and oppose extending Citizens’ rate freeze beyond its Jan. 1, 2009 expiration. The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee today will consider extending it.

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Mortgage application volume rose 48.1 percent during the week ending March 21 compared with the previous week, according to the trade group Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey.

The MBA’s application index increased to 965.9 from 652 the previous week.

Volume surged on an 82.2 percent increase in refinance application volume during the week. Purchase volume increased 10.6 percent.

Refinance applications accounted for 62 percent of all applications, after dipping below 50 percent last week for the first time all year. The refinance share of mortgage activity is at its highest since the week ending Feb. 8 when it accounted for 67.4 percent of mortgage activity.

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Realtor Martha Ann Wishnev normally sells about $7.5 million worth of real estate a year, but she hasn’t cut many deals since home sales dropped 22 percent nationwide. Rachel Dornhelm reports in the first of a new housing series.

Scott Jagow: Today we launch a new series of stories called Housing Madness. We’ll take a closer look at how the subprime fallout has affected homebuyers, sellers, renters, brokers — all kinds of people. We begin in California, with a story from Rachel Dornhelm.

Rachel Dornhelm: Martha Ann Wishnev has been a realtor for 30 years. She works in Contra Costa County, near San Francisco.

Martha Ann Wishnev: I ordinarily sell about $7.5 million worth of real estate a year. And here it is, it’s the beginning of February. I haven’t had a sale yet.

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Are they constitutional? Clinton and Obama need to ask the question.

An important element is being overlooked in the healthcare debate between the Democratic presidential candidates: Namely, whether the plans they propose are constitutional.

The largest difference between their healthcare plans is that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton would “mandate” that everyone (with limited exceptions) purchase private health insurance. Although Sen. Barack Obama’s plan also contains a mandate, it is much narrower — it is only required for children. Obama principally relies on subsidies, economies of scale and regulation to voluntarily achieve his version of universal coverage.

Are health insurance mandates constitutional? They are certainly unprecedented. The federal government does not ordinarily require Americans to purchase particular goods or services from private parties.

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Australia’s reverse mortgage market grew by 34 per cent in 2007, although new sales slumped in the second half as the global credit squeeze hit lenders.

By the end of December, there were 33,700 reverse mortgages in Australia worth a combined market value of $2.02 billion.

That figures compares with a total loan book of $1.51 billion at the end of 2006, according to a study of the sector by actuarial and advisory firm Trowbridge Deloitte.

But new sales, or “settlements”, for the year reached only $466 million - 10 per cent below the amount achieved in the previous year.

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Manhattan apartment hunters, that one-bedroom rental in Chelsea comes with a window of opportunity.

A report released Wednesday by the Real Estate Group found the average price of Manhattan one- and two-bedroom apartments decreased last month - and finding a new home in the next six weeks could mean less rent.

“If you want to save money and plan on moving soon, move now … If you can move before May, you’re almost sure to find a considerably better deal,” the group said in its 27-page analysis of the market.

The trend dates to last year, the report found, with the cost of living in a doorman building down across the board compared with March 2007: from $2,639 to $2,586 for studios, from $3,661 to $3,578 for a one-bedroom, from $5,555 to $5,265 for a two-bedroom.

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The one problem with getting a new mortgage is finding the best mortgage refinance rate. By best, of course we mean the lowest rate. It is not impossible to find good interest value, as many homeowners believe. You need to know the market, and be able to gauge the situation when it is best to go for a second mortgage refinance.

First of all, keep in mind the purpose of a second mortgage. You could be re-mortgaging simply to save money or tax. You may have discovered that the market for mortgages is looking up and interest rates are lower than before. If you are paying higher interest, then it would be a good idea to switch to a loan where you pay lower interest.

Poor Credit Record

The second reason for a remortgage would be to get out of another difficult debt situation. Many people use a second mortgage to repay a loan. Credit cards are often the biggest culprit. People who need to pay thousands of dollars as credit card default bills usually have only their house as collateral. The only way to raise money on the already mortgaged loan is to go for a remortgage.

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Insurance professionals in New York are celebrating a victory with the state Legislature’s rejection of a proposal to increase fines for violating the state insurance law.

The added fines — supported by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer — could have forced some agencies and brokerages out of business, according to the trade group, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York Inc., which lobbied against the added fines.

Although aimed at deterring wrongdoers, the pumped-up penalties would have contained across-the-board penalty increases that would have inflated fines between 10 times and 20 times their current rate. Fines for selling insurance without a license, for example, would have grown from $1,000 to $10,000; fines for violating the insurance law would have reached $10,000 from $500.

The trade group chair, Stephen Zogby, praised the Legislature’s action taken last week: “During a turbulent week, elected officials stayed focused on their mission and in a timely manner. I give them a lot of credit.”

Additionally, the group also successfully fought the proposed Motor Vehicle Law Enforcement and Highway Safety Fee, which would have added $15 charge to a current $5 cost to nearly every vehicle registered in New York.

Found here.

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