By Janis Mara, Monday, July 11, 2005. A real estate investment partnership in Florida seeking the names and credit histories of new buyers to use in real estate purchases could leave borrowers stuck footing the mortgage bill, an industry watchdog warns. An ad, which went up on eBay at the end of June, sought investors with good credit and offered individuals up to $18,000 to participate in real estate deals with Charles Gunter Jr., a Florida licensed mortgage broker, and Bruce Sarafian, a Florida licensed real estate sales associate. The two men are seeking individuals willing to buy investment property in centr more...
By Inman News, Monday, July 11, 2005. Darren Ross is no stranger to the paperless real estate transaction. As director of electronic commerce for Stewart Information Services Corp., Ross is active in the research, development and implementation of paperless real estate transactions, electronic mortgage transactions and e-closings utilizing enforceable electronic documents, digital signatures, and secure virtual transaction folders for all real estate transaction participants. more...
By Inman News, Monday, July 11, 2005. Ellie Mae today announced the release of ePASS Express, an add-on utility the company is offering free to Calyx Point users to make it faster and easier for them to submit loans to lenders. Ellie Mae said that ePASS Express provides a faster, easier way for CalyxPointusers to pre-qualify, price, register, lock and submit loans to 29 leading lenders. more...
By Inman News, Monday, July 11, 2005. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this Thursday will host its first roundtable discussion on improving the home-buying process. The forum is slated for Thursday from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT at HUD's headquarters on 7th Street in Washington, D.C. The event is the first in a series HUD has planned to get input from consumers and industry professionals on how to improve the mortgage settlement process. more...
By Inman News, Monday, July 11, 2005. The Los Angeles-area man accused of killing his Realtor ex-wife is undergoing a preliminary hearing on the charges. Erwin Percy Howard, 51, is facing murder charges in the death of Julia "Deede" Keller, a popular real estate agent in L.A.'s South Bay area who disappeared July 8, 2004. more...
By Inman News, Monday, July 11, 2005. Home builder Meritage Homes reported a record second quarter, with over $1 billion worth of new orders. The dollar value of sales orders generated in the second quarter increased 44 percent over the same period last year. The company's backlog at June 30, 2005, also reached an all-time high, increasing 83 percent over the June 30, 2004, level, and set a second-quarter record for home closing revenue, with an increase of 51 percent over last year's second quarter. more...
By Inman News, Monday, July 11, 2005. ScreenDreamer, an online marketing service for real estate agents, has launched a consumer incentive program through a new partnership, the company announced today. Available through a partnership with Baton Networks of Conshohocken, Pa., the program allows real estate agents to offer incentives to online visitors to their individual Web site from such companies as Sears, Target, Sherwin-Williams and ADT security systems, among others. more...
By Inman News, Monday, July 11, 2005. A major mortgage industry group today released its three-year economic forecast update, projecting robust economic growth of 3.5 percent through 2007, fueled in part by continuing record-high home sales. The Mortgage Bankers Association predicted that total residential mortgage production in 2005 will be $2.74 trillion, the third-biggest year behind 2003 and 2002. more...
By Inman News, Monday, July 11, 2005. Home sales in the Greater Nashville, Tenn., area climbed in June to a monthly record, according to figures provided by the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors. There were 3,845 home closings reported for the month of June, up 6 percent from the 3,625 closings reported for June 2004. In addition, second-quarter numbers are up, with 10,575 closings reported, a 4.9 percent increase from the 10,078 closings reported through the second quarter of 2004. more...
By Janis Mara, Monday, July 11, 2005. Editor's note: In this four-part series, Inman News looks at real estate security in the Internet era. It's no longer just a matter of keeping clients' home keys in a safe place. The Web has opened up vulnerabilities to data scraping, and new responsibilities for consumer privacy, MLS passwords and lockbox pass codes. more...
By Inman News, Monday, July 11, 2005. Long-term mortgage interest rates continued higher Monday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield edged up to 4.1 percent. The 30-year fixed-rate average gained to 5.24 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate increased to 4.83 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 3.74 percent. The 30-year Treasury bond yield remained at 4.34 percent. Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. more...
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