Home

Advice for the Rookie Realtor

By Inman News, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

Re: 'Rookie Realtor finds disclosure panacea' (Aug. 17)

Dear Rookie:

I find it interesting that a mosque in the neighborhood should be an issue. My husband and I specifically chose to buy the house we did because there was a mosque two blocks down the street. We are Christians but felt that a place of worship in the area, regardless of the religion or denomination, indicated a community of faith and would be better than say a bar or a car repair shop (which are on surrounding streets).  more...

BT Commercial closes S.F. Bay Area deals

By Inman News, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

BT Commercial brokered the sale and lease agreements of 130,339 square feet of industrial space for a variety of clients in the San Francisco Bay Area last week.

The total value of the transactions was not disclosed.

Tony Beatty and Barry Cohn with BT Commercial Real Estate/NAI Oakland represented the buyer in the purchase of two buildings totaling 62,000 square feet located at 1707 & 1715 64th St in Emeryville. BRE Properties Inc. purchased the buildings for planned, high-density, residential redevelopment.  more...

AMLI buys, sells apartment properties

By Inman News, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

AMLI Residential Properties Trust has acquired AMLI at Westcliff (formerly the Retreat at Westcliff) in Westminster, Colo., and has sold AMLI at Nantucket and AMLI on Timberglen, both in Dallas, Texas.

The total value of the transactions was not disclosed.  more...

Mixed-use property sells in Mass.

By Inman News, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

Spaulding & Slye Colliers has negotiated the sale of 90 Libbey Parkway, a 79,926-square-foot office/manufacturing/R&D facility within Libbey Industrial Park in Weymouth, Mass.

The value of the transaction was $3.9 million.  more...

Outsourcing and mortgage lenders

By Samantha Peterson, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

For the top mortgage originators and servicers, about a third of all technology operating expenses in 2003 were related to outsourcing certain technology functions to business partners.

About 67 percent of technology spending was dedicated to origination functions and 33 percent to servicing functions.

And of the 2003 technology spending, 57 percent was for required maintenance, while the remaining 43 percent was discretionary.  more...

Million-dollar California beach home for just $150

By Inman News, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

FOR SALE: Mediterranean-style home in prestigious part of Santa Barbara, Calif. 3 BRs, 1.5 Baths, FDR, French doors throughout. Rcntly remodeled, near beach, movie stars for neighbors. Valued at $1 mil-plus, yours for only $150.

That's the type of breathless ad that a Realtor might print for the handsome, two-story home in ritzy Santa Barbara that's available today.

And no, that's not a typographical error–it's all yours for just $150.

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS. A "Benjie-and-a-half," like some say in Los Angeles, about 100 miles to the south.  more...

Real estate technology adds bank-owned properties

By Inman News, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

Guru Networks has optimized its Enterprise real estate transaction platform to support the REO ("real estate owned") marketplace, which consists of bank-owned properties that have gone through foreclosure. Many industry experts predict the number of foreclosed properties likely will increase over the next year.

Guru said it has been working with RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts in Des Moines, Iowa, to add new features and functionality for the REO market.  more...

New Jersey real estate market stabilizes

By Inman News, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

Offshoring could save lenders 6% per mortgage

By Inman News, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

Offshoring and outsourcing will help the U.S. mortgage industry lower total origination costs per loan by 6 percent by 2008, according to new research from the TowerGroup.

"The hype regarding 25 to 50 percent offshore cost savings may be true for individual subprocesses. But it ignores the fact that lenders will neither offshore their entire loan origination or servicing process, nor offshore their entire book of business," said Craig Focardi, TowerGroup senior analyst and author of the research.  more...

Federal agency warns of home repair fraud

By Inman News, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

The Federal Trade Commission recently launched a consumer education publication that aims to protect homeowners from falling victim to home-repair rip-off artists.

The publication, "After a Disaster: Repairing Your Home," urges homeowners to take the following precautions when hiring contractors:

  • Deal only with licensed and insured contractors;  more...

Stewart expands Puerto Rico real estate services

By Inman News, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

Stewart Mortgage Information has expanded its services in Puerto Rico by providing flood zone determinations on mortgage loans originated by R-G Mortgage.

R-G Mortgage, Puerto Rico's second-largest mortgage originator and servicer, is a longtime customer of Stewart's.  more...

Overnight mortgage rates mixed

By Inman News, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were mixed Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.23 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average slipped to 5.43 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate remained at 4.84 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 3.23 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 5.03 percent.

Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  more...

Borrower strategy may shorten mortgage life

By Jack Guttentag, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

"A friend was telling me of an interesting way to shorten the term of a mortgage. He says that I could instruct my bank to pay the interest portion of, say, the next 10 months of regular payments. My next payment would be for the 11th month on my amortization schedule. The result would be to save the next 10 months of regularly scheduled interest, saving me thousands of dollars and reducing my loan term by 10 months. Is this possible?"  more...

Will owner's marriage double home-sale tax exemption?

By Robert Bruss, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

DEAR BOB: I read your recent response to that reader saying a married couple can qualify for the full $500,000 principal residence sale tax exemption even if only one spouse held title. My mother is soon going to sell her house where she has lived for 23 years. She is getting married this month. If she sells her house after the wedding, can she qualify for the full $500,000 tax break? Her Realtor says that because her new husband never lived in the house, she only qualifies for $250,000 tax-free. Is he right? – Stephanie R.  more...

Do-it-yourself home-sale considerations

By Dian Hymer, Sunday, August 22, 2004.

A couple who was trying to save money buying a new home and selling the old one decided to do it on their own, without hiring a real estate broker. The husband figured it would be easy. He was commercial real estate salesperson. How difficult could it be to sell residential?

He wrote an offer on a listing that he and his wife wanted to buy. He told the sellers that he had already accepted an offer to sell his home. His buyers had already done their inspections, and there were no contingencies remaining in the contract. It was a sure thing.  more...