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Online real estate guru has Navy roots Premium Content

By Inman News, Wednesday, December 3, 2008.

Saul Klein is CEO for two companies: Point2 Technologies and InternetCrusade. He will speak about the future of the multiple listing service system during the Inman News Real Estate Connect conference in New York City, which runs from Jan. 7-9.

A self-described "Internet Evangelist," Klein is a co-creator of the RealTown online real estate information and community site.

He responded to a set of questions posed by Inman News:  more...

Get the squeal out of bathroom faucet

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, December 3, 2008.

Q: I was hoping you could help me with some plumbing problems. In my downstairs bathroom, which doesn't get much use, the hot-water faucets on both sinks squeal when they are being turned off. The cold faucet doesn't squeal. It doesn't happen in the other bathroom, which is in the master suite. My neighbor in the attached townhouse has the same problem.  more...

Century 21, RE/MAX lead in brand awareness

By Inman News, Wednesday, December 3, 2008.

Century 21, RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker and Prudential are among the leaders in real estate brand awareness, according to the results of an online consumer survey.

They survey, which is based on 875 online interviews between March 3 and Aug. 10 with U.S. adults who bought or sold a home in the past two years or plan to purchase or sell a home in the next two years, was conducted for Century 21 by Millward Brown, a market research company.  more...

Taking a SWAT at the cold call Premium Content

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, December 3, 2008.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/markhillary/964441032/" target=blank>markhillary</a>.

Have we not learned anything?

Our industry is a little under the weather lately, and a whole lot of agents are in some serious pain. I'm reminded of the old joke where a man says, "Doc, it hurts when I do this." The doctor's obvious reply is, "So, don't do that."

Sometimes the answer is just that simple. If it hurts to do something, don't do it anymore. Do something else.  more...

Sizing up remodeling returns

By Inman News, Wednesday, December 3, 2008.

Siding and window replacements and wood decks had among the highest return of project costs upon resale, according to a report prepared by research company Hanley Wood LLC in cooperation with the National Association of Realtors' Realtor Magazine.  more...

Real estate needs more regulation Premium Content

By Marcie Geffner, Wednesday, December 3, 2008.

Among all the mistakes that have led to the current real estate wreck, it now seems clear that lax government regulation should be at the top of the list. Ivory-tower economists may tout the undeniable theoretical benefits of unfettered markets, but those benefits clearly depend on the health of the entire system. When regulation backs off to the point of systemic failure, free-market enthusiasts have gone too far.

Here are seven areas in which inadequate government control or oversight contributed to the current real estate crash:  more...

Roommates.com liable under Fair Housing Act Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, December 3, 2008.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/dreamsjung/2561877896/" target=blank>dreamsjung</a>.

A federal district judge has ruled the Web site Roommates.com can be held liable for violations of the Fair Housing Act because it requires users to disclose their gender, sexual orientation and family status, and allows them to use the same information about others to facilitate roommate matches.

But the site continues to collect such information from users, and an attorney representing parent company Roommate.com LLC says the company intends to appeal the decision -- all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary.  more...