Home

FSBO Web site seeks to overturn N.H. real estate law Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

A lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire charges that state real estate law related to the display of property information on a Web site stifles consumer choice and First Amendment rights.

The Massachusetts company that operates ZeroBrokerFees.com, a site that features for-sale-by-owner property ads, alleges that a state law requiring it to obtain a broker's license is unconstitutional.  more...

Haas building sells in South Florida

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

RJS Realty Group negotiated the sale of the 57,822-square-foot Haas Office Building in Jupiter, Fla.

The value of the transaction was approximately $18.9 million.

The eight-story building, located near the Jupiter Inlet, at the intersection of U.S Highway 1 and A1A, was built in 1981.

Glenmorris LLC, which had acquired the property in April 2001 for $7 million, sold the property to an undisclosed buyer.  more...

Auto parts manufacturer sheds Tennessee facility

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

Binswanger recently announced the sale of Accuride Corp.'s 341,072-square-foot industrial building in Columbia, Tenn.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Accuride, which manufactures ball-bearing slides and other commercial vehicle components, sold the 58-acre property to Mobile Internet Technologies LLC, which specializes in the online automotive marketplace.

Located at 981 Industrial Park Road, this one-story, fully air-conditioned building features ceiling heights to 22 feet, 25,000 square feet of office space, and abundant truck loading.  more...

Suburban Mass. apartments sold

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

CB Richard Ellis/New England recently arranged the sale of Tatnuck Arms Apartments, a 120-unit apartment community in Worcester, Mass.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Tatnuck Associates sold the class B property to Northland Investment Corp.  more...

Study: Online mortgage borrowers more likely to use search

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

Borrowers who applied online for home loans were more likely to have used search and product select tools than those who didn't apply, a June 7 study suggests -- and very few online mortgage sites are successful at getting visitors to apply online.

Nearly one in five online mortgage applicants used search, compared with only 7 percent of those who visited online mortgage-related sites but did not apply, according to "Online Mortgage Shoppers' Paths To Purchase: Navigational And Survey Data Uncovers How Prospects Use Sites," a study by Compete and Forrester Research.

The stud  more...

Canadian real estate sales hit record

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

The Canadian Real Estate Association reported today that actual home sales via the Multiple Listing Service in Canada's major markets rose 4.4 percent, topping the previous record set last May. And sales activity for the first five months of the year was up 5 percent compared to the same period last year.

Existing-home sales activity in Canada's major markets continued to soar in May, with actual sales activity breaking all previous records.  more...

Borrowers rush market despite rising interest rates

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

Overall mortgage applications climbed 7 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, with refinancings fueling the growth, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased by 4.8 percent to 414.6 from 395.6 the previous week, and the refinance index increased by 10.6 percent to 1,499.4 from 1,356 one week earlier.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 35.7 percent of total applications from 34.2 percent the previous week.  more...

Overnight real estate rates barely budge

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were mostly flat again Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield slipped to 4.97 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dipped to 6.17 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate held at 5.88 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up slightly at 5.26 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield held at 5.02 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...

Online communities build buzz for real estate biz Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

Editor's note: Real estate agents are learning that online community sites can be useful in reaching their target audience. Agents can use community Web sites to raise awareness about their services and drum up local business, while consumers can use the sites to rate, review, recommend and reach agents in their desired locations. This three-part series uncovers how a few savvy agents are using these sites and building their own.  more...

Mexican town revamps image, lures second-home buyers

By Tom Kelly, Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

(This is Part 1 of a two-part series. See Part 2.)

MANZANILLO, Colima, Mexico -- The airport has been remodeled, the downtown refurbished, the roads improved and new equipment has just arrived to clean the beaches.

While this waterfront community has been under the second-home radar screen compared to the more popular Mexican Pacific Coast destinations of Los Cabos, Ixtapa, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan, it clearly is on the move.  more...

Summer is prime time for painting leaky wood

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

Q: I have just replaced a support pillar with a new piece of 6-by-6 Douglas fir. It is bleeding pitch, or resin, on two sides. I plan to prime and paint it when the weather improves.

How best can I remove the pitch and reduce the chance of the pitch reappearing after I paint? How long should I wait before tackling this job?

A: To get a good-looking, long-lasting paint job, you need to wait for the wood to adjust to its new environment.

The lumber you bought is probably construction-grade fir. This lumber grade is used for its strength, not its looks.  more...

What happens when neighbor builds fence on your lot?

By Robert Bruss, Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

DEAR BOB: We live about 50 percent of the year in our Florida house and the remainder of the year in our other home "up North." This past winter, when we returned to our Florida home, we were shocked to discover our neighbor had built a very ugly concrete block fence between our properties. At first glance, it looked to me like he tried to "grab" at least 5 feet of our lot. Although I didn't say anything to him, I hired a professional surveyor to determine where the lot line is located. It turned out the neighbor took almost 7 feet along our lot line.  more...

Homeowner destroys house with stupid mistake

By Robert Bruss, Tuesday, June 13, 2006.

Homeowners Derrick and Carol Scott have a homeowner's insurance policy with Allstate Insurance Co. On April 16, 2004, a fire severely damaged their home and its contents.

Derrick Scott stated that on the day of the fire he noticed a "wet spot" on the floor of his garage. He decided to investigate the nature of this "wet spot" by lighting it with a match.

Purchase Bob Bruss reports online.

When he dropped the match to the floor, the liquid ignited and flames shot into the air.  more...