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The bad business of 'Friends of Angelo' Premium Content

By Marcie Geffner, Monday, July 14, 2008.

Quick quiz: Which mortgage company chieftain took home $140 million in compensation last year while the company he founded lost $704 million?

If you said Angelo R. Mozilo, CEO of Countrywide Financial Corp., take a bow. And add a couple of gold stars if you knew Mozilo's pay was comprised of more than $120 million from exercised stock options and more than $22 million in other compensation, according to a Reuters' report based on the mortgage company's year-end filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  more...

Locale partners with Frontdoor

By Inman News, Monday, July 14, 2008.

Locale adds listings to Frontdoor.com  more...

That's the last time I call a TV plumber

By Barry Stone, Monday, July 14, 2008.

Dear Barry,

I've owned my home for 25 years and have never had a serious plumbing problem. But recently, the toilet has been running off and on for no reason. Several times an hour, the water runs in the tank for about 15 seconds, as though the toilet had just been flushed.  more...

Fed draws up new rules for mortgage lenders Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, July 14, 2008.

The Federal Reserve Board Monday unveiled rule changes intended to curb deceptive mortgage lending practices, most of which will take effect in October 2009 and apply to all lenders whether they are supervised at the state or federal level.

Although lenders have drastically cut back on the subprime loans targeted by the most restrictive of the new rules, the rules could also apply to some jumbo mortgages and alt-A loans that carry high interest rates and hamper the recovery of lending to borrowers with blemished credit.  more...

Feds give Fannie, Freddie access to capital Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, July 14, 2008.

Fears that the government might have to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have sent the companies' share prices plummeting, but the turmoil in financial markets hasn't translated into higher mortgage rates or tightened underwriting standards.

A contingency plan announced by federal regulators Sunday to provide Fannie and Freddie with access to more capital is aimed at calming investors in the companies, and the crisis may ultimately have little impact on mortgage lending or the housing downturn, analysts said.  more...

Restoring the housing market Premium Content

By Bradley Inman, Monday, July 14, 2008.

At the peak of the housing boom in 2005, my pal Mitch asked me, "Does someone truly own a house when they put nothing down?"

His question gets at the core problem with the U.S. housing market: a disregard for the rule of law. Fundamental rules of real estate have been dismissed, such as requirements around good credit, full disclosure, transparency, a meaningful down payment, rational fees, common-sense loans and personal responsibility.  more...

FSBO.com president grew out of tree business

By Inman News, Monday, July 14, 2008.
Michael Malkasian

Michael "Mike" T. Malkasian is president of FSBO.com, a for-sale-by-owner real estate search site.

He will speak during Bloggers Connect at Real Estate Connect in San Francisco, July 23-25, 2008.

Malkasian answered a set of questions posed by Inman News:

What do you see happening in the real estate market in 2008?  more...

N-Play brings online purchase offers into play Premium Content

By Inman News, Monday, July 14, 2008.
N-Play, where buyers can make nonbinding purchase offers for real estate.

A new online system aims to reduce the stress and guesswork in preparing and accepting purchase offers in home-sale transactions by ranking Internet-based offers according to seller preferences.

The system, called N-Play, allows buyers to post anonymous and nonbinding offers that can be viewed by other interested buyers.  more...

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