By TW Shortt, CRS™, CRB™ 

Broker/Manager, REALTY WORLD® Knox Realty Group and Flat Fee Connect, LLC

After 39 years as a Kentucky real estate broker, I have seen fair housing rules evolve, expand, and become a central part of professional real estate practice. 

They are also something I have studied repeatedly through continuing education and formal training. 

That is why HUD’s recent investigation into Wells Fargo deserves attention here in Hardin County and around Fort Knox. 

On October 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced an investigation into Wells Fargo programs intended to increase Black homeownership. HUD says it is examining whether the bank offered different mortgage products or terms based on race violations of the Fair Housing Act. No violation has been established. HUD 

The investigation follows an August decision by HUD and several other federal agencies to rescind 2022 guidance that had encouraged certain Special Purpose Credit Programs intended to expand access to credit for underserved groups. HUD 

Opinion | By T.W. Shortt, former Radcliff Councilman (2025-2016), co-founder of RSBA, and local business owner

In 2015, Radcliff residents were told that a five-year economic development plan was being proposed. More than a decade later, residents deserve to see what became of that proposal, what was accomplished, and what plan guides the city today. 

This question has a documented history. 

On June 5, 2015, The News-Enterprise published Judah Taylor’s article, “Shortt Pushes for Economic Plan.” It reported on my effort, as a city councilman, to get the promised plan before the council and the public. 

By Doug Witten, REALTOR® 
REALTY WORLD® Knox Realty Group 

One thing I have learned in real estate is that sometimes the house itself is the easy part. 

I recently represented a buyer who was purchasing a home that was part of an estate. On the surface, it looked like a simple transaction. The property was on the market, the buyer found the home, we negotiated a price, and everyone was excited to move forward. 

Then we discovered multiple heirs were involved in the estate. 

That changed the transaction. 

When multiple people inherit a property, everyone with an ownership interest must be accounted for before it can successfully change hands. And the more people involved, the more opportunities there are for delays, questions, paperwork issues, and simple communication problems. 

By TW Shortt, CRS™, CRB™ 

Broker/Manager, REALTY WORLD® Knox Realty Group and Flat Fee Connect, LLC

A federal real estate fraud case out of California should get the attention of both homebuyers and real estate professionals here in Hardin County. 

On September 28, 2026, Gilberto Barron, 26, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in federal prison for his role in a $10 million real estate fraud scheme involving wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. Department of Justice 

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, Barron and others created fake identities for supposed real estate agents and shell companies with names like legitimate real estate firms. They then marketed properties online that were not actually for sale, sometimes involving property whose real owners had died. Department of Justice 

The scheme went much further than a fake advertisement. 

The conspirators met with would-be buyers using false identities and produced fabricated deeds, title reports, and other real estate documents to make the transactions appear legitimate. After collecting buyers’ money, the group laundered the proceeds, primarily through Las Vegas casinos. Department of Justice 

That is what makes this case so troubling. 

Professional-looking documents are no longer enough on their own.