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South Carolina MLS prepares for DOJ legal battle Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Sunday, May 11, 2008.

A broker-operated multiple listing service in Columbia, S.C., which changed some policies in response to a U.S. Justice Department investigation, is now gearing up for a legal battle with the federal government.

The Justice Department last week announced a lawsuit against Consolidated MLS, charging that its rules illegally restrict competition among brokers and limit consumer choice in real estate services.  more...

Homeowners avoid tax on $1 million capital gain

By Benny Kass, Sunday, May 11, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: Friends of mine recently sold their home they owned for 22 years for $1.5 million; they paid about $500,000. They told me that they did not have to pay any capital gains tax, because their tax advisor claimed that they must have spent at least $1 million on improvements over the 20 years they owned it, although they did not have any records. He told them that it was within IRS guidelines, and their tax return was accepted without any problems.  more...

Buying to flip not smart in today's market

By Dian Hymer, Sunday, May 11, 2008.

There are deals to be made in the current real estate market. Home buyers in many areas finally have the upper hand. Ironically, buyers tend to pull back when the market is soft and buy when the market is high.

Savvy investors attempt to buy when the market it low and sell when it's high. But, it's impossible to time the market, so there is always an element of risk involved. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind if you're considering buying a home in the current market.  more...

Borrowers, insurers would save with new mortgage insurance

By Jack Guttentag, Sunday, May 11, 2008.

(This is Part 2 of a five-part series. Read Part 1, "Lenders wise to beef up default-risk reserves.")

The first article in this series pointed to a serious weakness in the way the mortgage system deals with default risk. Interest-rate risk premiums collected from borrowers that are not needed to meet current losses are paid out as income to investors and not reserved to meet future losses.  more...

Chewing on rent-versus-sell decision

By Alison Rogers, Sunday, May 11, 2008.

So I wrote last week that I had gone on two "soft" listing presentations -- situations where I was in a property and met the owner, though I wasn't necessarily pitching them at the time. As a result of these low-key situations, I was relaxed … and then it hit me, after the fact, that these had been practice sales calls. So I sat down with Bernice Ross' CDs, "List and Sell Real Estate Like Crazy!" and graded myself after the fact.  more...