Home

Jan

16
2009

Anger management

By Matt Carter, Friday, January 16, 2009.

Wondering what Barry Ritholtz -- who last week told attendees at the Inman News Connect Real Estate conference in New York City that housing rescue proposals to date amount to little more than "the hair of the dog that bit you" -- thinks of the government's $100 billion+ backstop of Bank of America and the breakup of Citigroup (the recipient of $45 billion in TARP funds)?  more...

CALMLS plans to acquire one or more MLSs Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Friday, January 16, 2009.

Directors for a statewide multiple listing service initiative in California are considering whether to buy up one or more regional multiple listing services, according to a status report posted at the trade group's Web site.

CALMLS, a nonprofit subsidiary of the California Association of Realtors that is pursuing the statewide MLS system, has plans to "acquire the assets of at least one regional MLS and potentially two or more in cooperation with  more...

Judgment day for 'imperial' CEOs

By Lou Barnes, Friday, January 16, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/midweekpost/152179693/" target=blank>midweekpost</a>.

Mortgage rates popped up today, but not far. A 1 percent origination fee still buys a "four" in front. The rise came partly in normal protective selling in advance of a four-day weekend, including MLK and inauguration.

However, other upward pressures may be more durable. Refinance demand is overwhelming. Also, flight-to-quality buying of bonds abated when the stock market reinforced its November low, and upon signs of effective banking-system rescue by the "Obamanauts."  more...

Feds backstop BofA's Merrill Lynch play

By Inman News, Friday, January 16, 2009.

The government today announced a plan to backstop Bank of America against mounting losses driven in part its acquisitions of Countrywide Financial Corp. and Merrill Lynch, as bank reported a $1.79 billion fourth quarter loss.

The Treasury, Federal Reserve and FDIC are providing loan guarantees, access to liquidity and capital to Bank of America, including protection against any "unusually large" losses on $118 billion in loans mostly acquired in Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch.  more...

Study evaluates top brokers' SEO practices

By Inman News, Friday, January 16, 2009.

PCMS Consulting has released what the company describes as a comprehensive study looking at how effectively the 50 largest real estate brokerages are using search engine optimization.

The study, by Randi Thornton, evaluated traffic ranking, search terms, Google page rank, number of pages indexed by Google, meta descriptions, page titles, and Web site validation errors.  more...

Roller covers key to great paint job

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, January 16, 2009.

Painting is certainly one of the perennial favorite projects for do-it-yourselfers. You can transform a room in just a short time, and perhaps best of all, you need only a few basic tools.

In addition to a good paint brush, a quality roller cover is one of the essentials. And as with brushes, professional-quality equipment costs only a few dollars more than the low-end stuff, and the difference in ease of use and the quality of the finished product makes the small additional expense well worth it!

ROLLER COVERS  more...

How NOT to design front walkway

By Arrol Gellner, Friday, January 16, 2009.

Not long ago, I came across a house that was set back some distance uphill from the street. The house itself was rather charming, but this is how you got to the front door: Assuming you spotted the narrow flight of concrete steps hidden among the shrubs and didn't clamber up the driveway instead -- as most baffled visitors did -- you were rewarded with an additional hike over uneven and badly spaced stepping stones that drifted aimlessly up the hill.  more...

RE/MAX leads real estate franchiser rankings Premium Content

By Inman News, Friday, January 16, 2009.

RE/MAX International Inc. topped the list of real estate brokerage franchises in an annual survey by Entrepreneur Magazine, ranking 44th overall out of 500 companies.  more...

Homescape rebrands

By Inman News, Friday, January 16, 2009.

Real estate search and information site Homescape recently announced a name change to HomeFinder.com after focus groups decided the new brand more "clearly reflects what the Web site offers and what consumers want -- to find a home."  more...

Renters at foreclosed properties get break

By Janet Portman, Friday, January 16, 2009.

Q: I'm a renter and have just learned that my home is being foreclosed. My landlord thinks the bank will evict me, because my lease began after he used the property as collateral for his mortgage (which he's defaulted on). Is there any way I can stay? I've always paid the rent and been a good tenant. --Sam S.  more...

Finding opportunity in foreclosures Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Friday, January 16, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/respres/2539334956/" target=blank>respres</a>.

Many people are predicting that 2009 will be even worse than 2008 in terms of foreclosures. The real issue is not how many people end up facing foreclosure, but how many work out their issues and are able to stay in their homes.

While the headlines continue to highlight the volume of foreclosure filings and substantial price declines in many markets, Hope Now released a fascinating report outlining how many people they have helped stay in their homes.  more...