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Simple-interest mortgage can be a trap

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, November 13, 2006.

The more I learn about simple-interest mortgages (henceforth SIMs), the more aware I have become that my previous articles on the subject understated the risks they pose for borrowers. I placed too much emphasis on the fact that a borrower with disciplined payment habits can manage a SIM at no more cost than a standard mortgage with the same interest rate and term. But most borrowers slip up now and then, and for them a SIM can be a trap.

Interest on a SIM Versus a Standard Mortgage: On a SIM, interest accrues daily instead of monthly.  more...

Home staging takes listing from drab to fab

By Dian Hymer, Monday, November 13, 2006.

Staging a house for sale is a concept foreign to many home sellers. But, it has been immensely popular in the San Francisco Bay Area where sellers have reaped huge benefits from their efforts.

You don't have to fix up your home before selling. A home can be sold in virtually any condition, if it's priced right. There are basically two reasons why sellers go to the effort and expense to prepare their homes for sale. One is that it helps to bring a higher price. The other is that it usually results in a quicker sale.  more...

Investing in pre-construction home can be disastrous

By Robert Bruss, Monday, November 13, 2006.

DEAR BOB: About a year ago, I had an opportunity to buy into a pre-construction, out-of-town development. I checked out the local market, which at that time was a "hot" seller's market. So I invested a $25,000 deposit on a fourplex. Unfortunately, the developer was a crook who filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Is there any way to get my $25,000 back? --Todd Y.

DEAR TODD: If you are a regular reader of this column, you know I do not recommend investing in real estate that is more than an hour's drive from your home.  more...

Eppraisal.com launches as agent's lead-generation tool Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, November 13, 2006. Editor's note: In this three-part report, Inman News catches up with a few of the latest developments to cross our desks.  more...

Jeronimo Center sold, conversion eyed

By Inman News, Monday, November 13, 2006.

Faris Lee Investments negotiated the sale of Jeronimo Center, an 82,782-square-foot mixed-use shopping center in Mission Viejo, Calif.

The value of the transaction was $25 million.

Remodeled in 1998, the property is located at 25800 and 24001 Via Fabricante on more than seven acres. It was 92 percent occupied at the time of sale to tenants that included Jack in the Box, Quiznos, FedEx, Kinkos, EZ Lube, Frazee Paints, Hertz and Papa John's.

Locally based PASSCO sold the property to Warmington Capital Partners, also based in Irvine.  more...

Westcore sells chunk of Silicon Valley

By Inman News, Monday, November 13, 2006.

Westcore Properties LLC completed the sale of a 1.6 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in California's Silicon Valley for $352.5 million.

Houston-based Hines Interests LP, a privately held development and property management company, acquired the 44-building portfolio of office, R&D, industrial and flex buildings in San Jose, Fremont, Foster City, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Redwood City and Campbell.  more...

Younan buys Chicago skyscraper

By Inman News, Monday, November 13, 2006.

Younan Properties Inc. purchased a 630,000-square-foot high-rise in downtown Chicago for an undisclosed amount.

The class A property, 200 North LaSalle, rises 30 stories at the northwest corner of West Lake and North LaSalle streets. Built in 1984, the property was 92 percent occupied at the time of sale by tenants that include St. Paul Travelers, AMA Insurance Inc., Broadwing Financial Services, and Interpark Holdings.

Chicago-based Transwestern Investment Co. sold the property to Younan, which plans to make upgrades to the building's common areas.  more...

Web 2.0: 'Attitude,' 'fashion trend' or mainstay?

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, November 13, 2006.

NEW ORLEANS -- Web 2.0 may be less about technology and more about attitude, said Errol Samuelson, president of Top Producer Systems and senior vice president of the software group for National Association of Realtors-affiliated Move Inc.

Samuelson, who spoke during a "Web 2.0 and Mashups" presentation Sunday at a National Association of Realtors conference, also said that new technology typically takes about 20 years "to become an overnight success," citing the example of the dot-com boom, bubble, burst and resurgence.

Panelists during the session attempted to define the con  more...

KB Home CEO steps down after stock-options probe

By Inman News, Monday, November 13, 2006.

KB Home, one of the largest home builders in the country, said its chief executive officer Bruce Karatz has resigned, the latest among dozens of executives to leave publicly traded companies in a widening stock-options scandal.

Karatz, who has led the building company for 34 years, agreed to pay $13 million to KB Home after an investigation found that the Los Angeles-based company had incorrectly reported stock-options grants, according to a statement released Sunday.

Jeffrey T.  more...

HomeAway scores $160 million in financing

By Inman News, Monday, November 13, 2006.

HomeAway Inc. has secured a record $160 million in debt and equity financing to fund the vacation-rental Web portal's continued expansion, the company announced today.

Expansion plans include the acquisition of Vacation Rentals by Owner, VRBO.com, one of the largest vacation-rental Web sites in the United States.  more...

Twin Cities' buyer's market endures

By Inman News, Monday, November 13, 2006.

Home sales in the Twin Cities, Minn., area were down for the seventh straight month in October, as near-record inventory finally cut into home prices, according to reports from two Twin Cities-area Realtor associations.

Realtors recorded 3,895 sales of existing single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses last month, down 19.6 percent from 4,843 sales in October 2005. During that period, the median home price in the 13-county region slipped from $230,000 to $228,000 -- a 0.9 percent decline.  more...

Partnership aims to spread e-signatures

By Inman News, Monday, November 13, 2006.

Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions, a division of Fidelity National Information Services, and real estate technology company VREO have teamed up in an effort to spread adoption of electronic signatures by real estate brokers and agents.

The companies will bundle VREO's Real Estate Dashboard e-signature software for Tablet PCs with Fidelity's TransactionPoint transaction and document management platform, the companies announced today.

"Electronic signatures are t  more...

Internet lead response system debuts

By Inman News, Monday, November 13, 2006.

In response to the real estate industry's low response rate to consumer Internet inquiries, the Enterprise, part of Move Inc.'s Real Estate division, launched a lead response system for real estate brokers.

First Responder addresses the industry challenge of meeting consumer expectations for rapid response to their Internet inquiries.  more...

Overnight real estate rates in 4-day slump

By Inman News, Monday, November 13, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates continued to drop Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield slipped to 4.59 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dropped to 5.76 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate decreased to 5.49 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.34 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield sank to 4.7 percent.

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

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.  more...