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Study: Wealth no protection from discriminatory lending

By , Thursday, July 31, 2008.

An analysis of mortgage lending patterns in 2006 reveals that minorities were more likely to get high-cost loans than whites, and that the problem was even more pronounced as income levels increased.  more...

Real estate firm charged with racial discrimination

By , Thursday, July 31, 2008.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a fair-housing organization, charging a RE/MAX brokerage and an affiliated agent in northern Illinois with housing discrimination.

The lawsuit, filed July 18 in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois, charges that testing conducted by the National Fair Housing Alliance revealed discrimination based on race and national origin.  more...

Loan servicers rewarded with double pay

By Inman News, Thursday, July 31, 2008.

Freddie Mac offers carrots for short sales, loan workouts  more...

Mercury Cos. exits three states

By , Thursday, July 31, 2008.

Mercury Companies Inc. is closing down its title and escrow subsidiaries in California, Texas and Arizona, after the Colorado-based company was denied additional credit by lenders.

In California, Mercury subsidiary Financial Title Co., a title and escrow service provider with 57 offices in 10 counties, closed its doors Wednesday much the way sister company Alliance Title did in December -- abruptly, and with little warning to employees, clients or regulators.  more...

Workouts let thousands keep their homes

By Inman News, Thursday, July 31, 2008.

Loan servicers report record workouts
The HOPE NOW coalition of mortgage loan servicers engaged in a record number of workouts with borrowers facing foreclosure in June and the second quarter of 2008, the group said today. Servicers completed more than 181,000 workouts in June and 522,000 in the second quarter -- loans that otherwise would have gone into foreclosure, the group said.  more...

Social networks: Think outside the real estate box

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, July 31, 2008.

There was a lot of information about social networking at the Inman Real Estate Connect conference last week. Many of us who attended the conference participate in online social networks. Several speakers mentioned LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook as must-haves for real estate pros.

What I find interesting about social networking among real estate pros is that there seems to be a lot of connecting with other real estate pros. There is a whole world outside of the real estate industry. I have found some of it by using TwitterLocal. With TwitterLocal I can put in my ZIP code and connect with twitter users located within a 1-to-20-mile radius. So far none that I have met are Realtors.  more...

New water heater? Not on landlord's dime

By Janet Portman, Thursday, July 31, 2008.

Q: I've developed a painful skin condition that requires treatment with large amounts of very hot water. The water in my apartment isn't hot enough and it takes too long to heat up the amount of water I need, so I've asked the landlord to install a new water heater or give me a device that makes hot water at the sink.  more...

Tenant: Splitting cost of new floor is unfair

By Robert Griswold, Thursday, July 31, 2008.

Q: I live by myself and have a large home. To help cover my mortgage I decided to rent out a couple of the extra bedrooms. My two roommates each have their own bedroom and bathroom, and we share the living room and kitchen and rest of the house.  more...

Postlets syndicates real estate data to search sites

By Inman News, Wednesday, July 30, 2008.
Postlets screenshot.

Editor's note: Tech Profile is a new Inman News feature that provides details about real estate technology companies.

Company name: Postlets.

Company headquarters: San Francisco Bay Area.

Contact information: feedback@postlets.com.

Number of offices: 4 virtual offices spread across San Francisco Bay Area and Boston.

Web site: www.postlets.com.  more...

REBNY: NYC prices and permits rise, sales fall

By Inman News, Wednesday, July 30, 2008.

The following is a roundup of real estate news items:  more...

FHA changes make housing bill a 'mixed bag'

By , Wednesday, July 30, 2008.
President signs housing bill.

President Bush signed historic legislation today that props up mortgage financers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and authorizes a $300 billion expansion of Federal Housing Administration loan guarantee programs.  more...

Mixing business with 'friends'

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, July 30, 2008.

I am now accepting friends.

It became a little running joke at the Inman Real Estate Connect conference last week. For reasons known only to the sloppy vendor responsible for my brain's faulty wiring, I felt compelled during a panel discussion to publicly announce that I was, more or less, friendless. "I have 12 Facebook friends!" I blurted, and I was actually bragging when I said it. Having started the morning with a high "five" on my Facebook tally board (median age 16.8), I was feeling somewhat empowered.  more...

Condo 'passes financing' but is it structurally sound?

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, July 30, 2008.

Often our response to a question posed by a reader triggers another question from another reader on a related but different topic.

A couple of weeks ago a reader wanted to know if it was necessary to have the interior of a condominium inspected before purchase. We encouraged him to do so. That column sparked this question from another reader:  more...

First-time home buyers can tap IRA

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, July 30, 2008.

A friend of mine is a single mom who became a real estate salesperson several years ago following her divorce. She had a consistent flow of buyers and sellers until the beginning of the year when the market slowdown became even more apparent in many Pacific Northwest neighborhoods.

She postponed a long-awaited kayak trip because an out-of-state buyer was coming into town with a reportedly all-cash offer for a waterfront cottage. I laughed and teased her about postponing the trip when I found out the man was single.  more...

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