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Atlanta broker, GMAC Real Estate split Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, October 26, 2009.

GMAC Real Estate LLC and one of its largest franchisees, Metro Brokers Inc., are parting ways, with GMAC claiming in a lawsuit that it's owed nearly $350,000 in unpaid fees and other losses on a 10-year franchise agreement that wasn't due to expire until 2014.

Atlanta-based Metro Brokers, which boasts 2,100 agents at 26 offices, maintains that the company terminated its franchise agreement on Oct. 1 because of doubts about the direction in which GMAC Real Estate's parent company, Brookfield Residential Property Services, is taking the franchise.  more...

House-hunting personality test

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Monday, October 26, 2009.

I recently had the great fortune to become acquainted with Danielle LaPorte, co-author of a book called "Style Statement." The book's purpose is to lead each reader through a series of questions resulting in a unique, two-word style statement. A style statement describes your personal style, and according to the book, "define(s) the true you …Your style statement is where your essence meets your expression."

Sample style statements from the book include "Enduring Bold," "Sacred Elegance" and "Structured Soul."  more...

Real estate top performers' tips Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Monday, October 26, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/london/44070187" target=blank>jonrawlinson</a>.

In real estate, there is no single recipe for success. Nevertheless, if you examine the characteristics of top-producing agents, there is a consistent pattern linked to their success.

Do you know the secret recipes that are associated with success in virtually every type of sale? If not, here's what most top performers know that can help you in your business.

1. Write down your goals
Do you have a written business plan with specific goals? If so, you are part of a select group of about 3 percent of all salespeople.  more...

Make your short sale shine

By Dian Hymer, Monday, October 26, 2009.

Short sales, where the lender agrees to take less than amount due to them, have tended to sell for less than similar homes in the area. One reason for this is that short-sale listings usually don't look as good as the competition. Another reason is that short sales require lender approval.

Last year, lenders often took three to six months to respond to a short-sale offer. If the response was no, the buyer was out looking for another home after having wasted a lot of time. Many buyers who expected short sales to be good deals shied away from them altogether after having a few bad experiences.  more...

No benefit to refi with current lender?

By Benny Kass, Monday, October 26, 2009.

DEAR BENNY: I am shopping for a new mortgage (I will refinance about $160,000 remaining on a condo worth about $300,000) and discovered my mortgage holder wants about $2,200 in closing costs. I just financed with this bank three years ago and have stellar credit. There seems to be no special benefit for refinancing with this lender. Their broker told me as much. I don't understand why they wouldn't want to keep a good customer. Any insight? --Janelle

DEAR JANELLE: I am not a defender of banks, but just because they did a title search and a refinance three years ago does not mean that there are no clouds (i.e., impediments) on your title now. The bank must have clear title in order to make you a loan. Accordingly, they have to do a title search. Additionally, there are administrative costs that have to be paid because the lender will have to look at your financial situation again.  more...

Longtime innovator gives voice to vendors Premium Content

By Mary Umberger, Monday, October 26, 2009.
Greg Robertson

A friend recently ribbed Greg Robertson that his Vendor Alley blog was "the TMZ of real estate."

Likening Robertson's frequent postings at VendorAlley.com to the wildly popular but often-notorious celebrity news site is a stretch, he says.

Nonetheless, he does get attention in the industry -- like the time just a few weeks ago, when he adapted the subtitles in a clip from "Downfall," the German-language film about the last days in Adolf Hitler's bunker, to poke fun at efforts by the calREDD ...   more...

Avoiding costly mortgage mistakes

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, October 26, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddsock/2640764495/" target=blank>oddsock</a>.

Shortly after starting my Web site, I decided to add a feature on some of the common mistakes borrowers make, and how to avoid them. Today, there are about 100 mistakes on the list, and it continues to grow.

Recently, I decided to take another look at this list as I pondered a different question: Why do mortgage borrowers make so many mistakes, and are there changes in the system that would reduce them?  more...

Estately: We're in the black

By Inman News, Monday, October 26, 2009.

Estately Inc., a Seattle-based real estate brokerage company that works on a referral basis, says it reached profitability in the third quarter.

Company founder and CEO Galen Ward said in a blog post that the company achieved the milestone by slowing down its expansion into new markets, freezing new technology purchases, boosting conversion rates, and shipping two "white label" products, or unbranded versions of Estately.  more...

Until recently, Ward said, "we considered white labeling to be a potentially fatal distraction." But he had a change of heart after talking to the founder of another company, NetConversions, that got through the dot-com crash by doing side projects