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Inman News doubles down on content

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

Social media manager Joel Burslem has been promoted to vice president of content at Inman News and deputy editor Glenn Roberts Jr. has been promoted to managing editor.

Inman News also recently strengthened its editorial team with the addition of two new columnists, Kris Berg and Teresa Boardman, and will soon announce other new columnists.

Inman News will also be announcing new video and editorial content in the coming months.  more...

Don't withhold rent for slow repairs

By Robert Griswold, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

Q: I am a renter and we have lived in the apartment for more than two years. At the end of March I informed the landlord that one of our kitchen drawers and the cabinet door below it were in need of repair. The landlord came by to take a look at the problem but did not take them away at that time. He came back a couple of weeks later and removed them.  more...

Divorcee should wipe name from mortgage

By Benny Kass, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

Q: My ex-husband and I bought a house in 1995. We divorced in 1999, and pursuant to our divorce decree, he kept the house and I moved out. We both remarried in 2000. My new husband and I have a new mortgage on our home, after fighting to prove to the lender that my ex has the previous house.

I know my ex has changed something on his mortgage. He was making higher payments for a year after he fell behind a couple of months. I really don't know the details because I no longer own the house.  more...

Help! My tenants are illegal aliens

By Janet Portman, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

Q: I am a landlord in a Southern border state. I've just learned that a family on my property is in the United States illegally. On the one hand, I really don't care -- these are good tenants who pay the rent and cause no problems. But I remember that some churches in our state were charged with illegally "harboring" illegal immigrants many years ago, and I'm wondering if I am at risk for being charged with harboring this family. --William P.

A: "Harboring" a person who is illegally in the United States has been a federal crime since 1917. It's been used against human trafficking rings and, in the 1980s, against the Sanctuary Movement that involved churches and individuals giving shelter to Central American asylum seekers.  more...

Foreclosures are NOT bargains Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

Radio ads, printed ads, Web sites, news broadcasts and television shows give consumers the message that they can find bargains or even achieve wealth by purchasing bank-owned homes. Media hype is all around and in my market we even have bus tours of foreclosed homes.

Real estate agents are bombarded with information on how to get rich selling foreclosures. Opportunities exist for investors and agents who want to run a high-volume, low-commission business. The homes and the opportunities are not as wonderful as the marketing leads us to believe.  more...

Alliance Bank signs $10M lease

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

Los Angeles-based Alliance Bank has signed a 127-month lease for a 25,125-square-foot office building in Irvine, Calif., for $10.2 million.

The property is located at 1901 Main St., situated next to the John Wayne-Orange County Airport. The property also boasts easy access to the 405 and 55 freeways.  more...

NAI BT brokers deals in West, Deep South

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

NAI BT Commercial this week announced it brokered industrial and multifamily sales in Mississippi and California for a total of nearly $5.7 million.

In the first deal, Space Point Associates LLC sold a 100,000-square-foot industrial building in Jackson, Miss., for a price of nearly $3.1 million. The property, located at 851-861 Boling St., was sold to Jason and Carol Morehouse. At closing, Huttig Building Products Inc. fully leased the space.  more...

Developer snags 13 NYC buildings

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

The Orbach Group, a New Jersey-based owner, developer and manager of luxury rental units, has made the move into Manhattan with the purchase of 13 rental apartment buildings containing 254 units. The five-story walk-ups are located on the south side of West 49th Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues, directly across the street from World Wide Plaza.

An unidentified entity sold the Clinton neighborhood buildings for $70 million.  more...

RealSeekr marries social to search

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Wednesday, June 4, 2008.
Screenshot of RealSeekr.com

RealSeekr.com, a real estate search and networking site created by a Florida real estate broker, launched with about 1.6 million property listings and there are plans to reach 2.5 million listings by the end of July.

The site currently has relationships with brokers in about 20 states to supply property information. Since the site went live in mid-May, property feeds for an estimated 170,000 additional listings have been secured for addition to the site, company officials reported.  more...

So many businesses, so little time

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.
Greg Tracy

Greg Tracy is president of BlueRoof360.com, an online real estate platform that offers Realtors and brokers custom Web sites, lead and business management systems, and a community area for networking and learning.

BlueRoof360 spun off Tracy's Salt Lake City-based brokerage company, BlueRoof.

Tracy, a real estate industry veteran who founded BlueRoof, is now devoted to the new venture.  more...

Mortgage insurers create workout Web sites

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

PMI Mortgage Insurance is the latest private mortgage insurer to launch a Web site aimed at helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Citing a Freddie Mac study that showed lenders are unable to contact more than half of all borrowers in foreclosures -- and knowing that many homeowners look for help on the Internet -- PMI said today the company created the site to make accurate information available.  more...

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2008

Medication time, Mr. McMurphy

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

This is one of several vids PMI Mortgage Insurance has posted on YouTube as part of a new foreclosure prevention initiative.  more...

Inman Poll: Insiders expect market bottom this year

By Jessica Swesey, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

We asked. You answered.

In a recent informal Inman News reader poll, 44 percent of respondents said they expect the housing market to hit bottom in the second half of 2008.

Following up were 21 percent who said they expect a market bottom in the first half of 2009.

Another 19 percent said they expect the bottom to hit in the second half of 2009, and the remaining 17 percent are remaining bearish with no expectations for a market bottom until early 2010.

Here's a look at the latest home sales numbers:  more...