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Be careful what you say about landlord online

By Janet Portman, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

Q: I own a large apartment complex. I'm worried about the effect of an online message board on my business. Hosted by a large Internet service provider, the message board solicits input from tenants about housing issues, and there's currently a string of messages concerning my complex, complaining about the rent, security-deposit return practices, and general management. Two posters have written rambling, flaming rants about our employees and business practices. This is very damaging stuff if it's read by prospective tenants.  more...

Neighbor sabotage kills home sale

By Benny Kass, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

Q: We listed our home for sale about a month ago, and our real estate agent has been conducting open houses. On more than one occasion, our next-door neighbor has made derogatory or rude remarks to the Realtor, potential buyers and other agents visiting on open house days.

One particular couple was very interested and even came back to see the house a second time -- only to have our neighbor "snap" at the wife. The couple's interest completely vanished following that incident.  more...

Moving to a new city? Web's got you covered

By Helene Lesel, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

Q: I'm relocating to another city and don't know which area to consider. How can I tell if a neighborhood is convenient, safe and close to what I want to do?

A: Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, checking out a new area is easier than ever before. Assuming you've figured out your budget, try pinpointing possible neighborhoods that fit into your needs by asking friends, colleagues or co-workers. Also make a list of your location must-haves, such as convenient commuter routes or favorite type of off-time activities.  more...

Regulators ready to cut Freddie Mac more slack

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

Federal regulators say they'll give Freddie Mac more room to purchase and guarantee mortgages if the company follows through on a plan to raise billions to counter its losses.

Freddie Mac narrowed its first-quarter net loss to $151 million -- down from $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007 -- but company officials said they still need to raise $5.5 billion in new capital.  more...

Real estate poker game misses a full deck

By Teresa Boardman, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

Real estate is local, but my experiences over the past several months are similar to those of real estate agents around the country. My job is like playing poker without a full deck. Not all of the homes I list will sell. A few years back getting a listing almost guaranteed a paycheck, and no agent would admit that they can't sell every listing. Today, the only guarantee is that listings will generate expenses, and sometimes we need to say no to a potential seller.  more...

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Realtor: No slow market in Rapid City

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Bruce Curington, a Realtor for Rossum & Neal Real Estate in Rapid City, S.D., who is attending a National Association of Realtors conference here this week, said home prices and sales have risen year-over-year in Rapid City.

For-sale inventory is up, though, compared to last year, and financing is tougher now for some buyers but foreclosures aren't a factor as they are in some other market areas, he said. "Interest rates are down, but it's a little harder for buyers because no one's giving away mortgages anymore," he said.  more...

NAR chitchat on Twitter: chocolate sculptures and more

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Association of Realtors is twittering about its Midyear Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo, an annual event in the nation's capital.

Twitter.com is a site that allows users to instantly share text messages with a Web audience, and can function as a sort of real-time, train-of-thought blogging platform.

Some twitter tidbits from NAR: "Strangest sight of the day: Iwo Jima and Einstein made out of chocolate, outside Thurgood Marshall North meeting room" at the conference site.  more...

Real estate dream team

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A vendor at the National Association of Realtors' mid-year trade expo, which opened today, uses celebrity names to promote personalized nameplates and license plate frames.

Offshore investor buys N.Y. Citibank portfolio

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

In a transaction valued at roughly $100 million, an unnamed Irish investment group purchased 47 Citibank branches in the New York City metro area and has agreed to lease the properties back to Citigroup.

The portfolio includes a 157,312-square-foot combination of bank branches and offices. The 47 properties range in size from 2,000 square feet to 8,000 square feet and are located in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Westchester, Suffolk and Nassau counties.  more...

RexCorp announces Long Island leases

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

RexCorp Realty LLC today announced it inked 86,215 square feet in new, renewed or expanded leases in its Long Island, N.Y., portfolio over the first quarter of 2008.

The total value of the transactions was not disclosed.  more...

Mobile home park sells above $14M

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

An owner of a large number of mobile home parks in the western United States has added another property to its portfolio with the purchase of Oakcrest Estates Mobile Home Park in San Jose, Calif.

The ground lease, purchased for nearly $14.8 million from a large, unidentified mobile home park owner, includes 158 spaces on a lot that totals 27 acres. The property is located at 4271 North First St. and was built in 1979.

The sales price represents $93,670 per unit.  more...

Walk softly, carry a big stick

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

Joel Burslem has been keeping a close watch on Google's stealthy moves in the real estate space on Future of Real Estate Marketing -- which consist not only of adding property listings from many sources to classified platform Google Base, but creating a generic Google Base housing search page -- a possible step toward a "Google Rea  more...

Keller Williams sending listings to Zillow

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

Keller Williams Realty Inc. will automatically feed the listings of the company's 73,000 associates to Zillow.com on a daily basis, the companies announced.  more...

REA Group increases stake in Italian portal

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

The REA Group, a global online real estate advertising company based in Melbourne, Australia, has acquired an additional 10 percent of Italian real estate site casa.it for $2.44 million (1.5 million euros) from its founder, Antonio Fregnan.

This increases the REA Group's stake in Italy's number one real estate portal to 69.4 percent. The acquisition signals the REA Group's continued belief in the Italian market and its long-term importance.  more...

Trulia launches vertical ad network

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

Real estate search and marketing site Trulia.com has launched a real estate ad network to allow real estate brokers, lenders and other advertisers to target home buyers and sellers on multiple real estate niche sites with a single point of contact for billing and reporting.  more...

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