Home

Would-be tenant has specific parking needs

By Janet Portman, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Q: I manage a mid-sized apartment complex, and have recently been asked by a prospect who uses a wheelchair for a parking space next to the unit she is considering. We can do that, though we have a waiting list for parking, but it will involve reassigning other tenants' parking spaces, buying signs and painting the pavement, and creating curb cuts. Who pays for all this work? --Sean D.  more...

Repair credit best for fixing home defects

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Q: I decided that this was a good time to buy, and found this really great house at a great price. It's an older home, and very charming, but there is about $10,000 worth of various electrical and termite repairs that the inspectors have found that need to be done. I know that's not that much compared to the $300,000 I'm paying for the place, but I'm going to be pretty house-poor after escrow closes. I'm afraid I'm going to lose my dream house over these issues. What should I do?  more...

Humor and other real estate superpowers

By Teresa Boardman, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Recently, I have been reading some articles written mainly by people who provide coaching to the real estate industry about the types of skills that are needed to succeed as a Realtor.

Some of the skills are soft skills like communication and negotiation. Everyone seems to agree that technical skills are a must-have and that it helps to know how to write. Some are hard skills like money management and understanding numbers.  more...

Can Web save the 6% commission?

By Joel Burslem, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.
In its September 2008 issue, alongside its reviews of tub cleaners and organic produce, Consumer Reports turns its critical eye on the real estate industry.

The publication polled a sample of 3753 readers who sold or tried to sell a home, 4029 readers who bought a home and 7368 readers who did both. The results are illuminating to anyone in the industry; especially some of its findings which will surely be controversial.

Let’s look a bit deeper at the numbers.  more...

Estately.com adds 3 California market areas

By Inman News, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Real estate search and agent referral company Estately on Thursday announced an expansion into three new markets, all in California: Los Angeles, Orange County and Sacramento. The company has added 90,000 for-sale homes and condos from participants in five multiple listing services in those areas, and the company now offers property data from participants in 12 MLSs since its launch four months ago.

The company offers an online inventory of about 240,000 homes and condos in major West Coast markets in Washington, Oregon and California.  more...

RE/MAX system surpasses 5 million leads

By Inman News, Wednesday, August 20, 2008. Real estate franchise company RE/MAX International reported that the company's online lead management system, called LeadStreet, has passed along over 5 million leads to RE/MAX associates through its remax.com Web site.

   more...

Zillow report: 45% of '06 buyers underwater

By Inman News, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Real estate technology company Zillow released a market report this month revealing that 29.1 percent of homeowners who purchased in the past five years owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth. The company also reported that about 45 percent of those who bought at the national market peak in 2006 now have negative equity, and about 60 percent of homeowners in the Western region of the country who purchased in 2006 are now underwater.  more...

Rethink real estate search Premium Content

By Marc Davison, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Real estate search's final hour … has not arrived.

Not by a long shot.

Here's why:

Think about who actually engineered search for real estate. Programmers -- guys and gals with 180 IQs -- guided by folks who get their kicks from Excel.  more...

Investors fear Fannie, Freddie bailout

By Inman News, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Investors continued to dump shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week amid growing fears that the government will be forced to bail the companies out.While a bailout could wipe out shareholders and be costly to taxpayers, it would allow the mortgage finance companies to continue purchasing and guaranteeing loans.  more...

Appraisers can take online orders

By Inman News, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Appraisers can now take orders from loan originators online and retrieve property data at the same time using mortgage software and services provider Ellie Mae's Encompass Appraisal Center in conjunction with First American CoreLogic's Property Pak. Encompass Appraisal Center is a free online service that lets appraisers take orders from loan originators who use the company's Encompass Mortgage Management Solution. Ellie Mae says about 250,000 appraisals are ordered through the center each year.  more...

Ease in rates fails to spur home loan apps

By Inman News, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Interest rates eased but a drop in refinancing activity pushed mortgage applications down a seasonally adjusted 1.5 percent during the week ending Aug. 15 from a week ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.  more...

HUD won't withdraw proposed RESPA rule changes

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development says it's willing to modify, but not withdraw, a proposal to overhaul loan disclosure forms and revamp rules governing the provision of settlement services -- resisting calls by industry groups and a majority of members of the House of Representatives to scuttle the plan.  more...