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Real estate's gender factor

By Inman News, Wednesday, October 7, 2009.

Join Tara-Nicholle Nelson -- Inman News columnist, real estate broker, attorney and author -- from 10 a.m. PDT to 11 a.m. PDT Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2009, for a free webinar, "Three Low-Cost Ways to Make More Money by Connecting with Women Real Estate Consumers" (click here to register).

Nelson will highlight important gender differences that factor into the homebuying process. "Women make or influence a whopping 91 percent of real estate decisions," and "think about, shop for and buy homes differently than men," according to information assembled for this webinar.

Nelson writes five columns per week -- Monday through Friday -- for Inman News, on topics ranging from buyer psychology to book reviews to real estate-relevant court cases.  more...

Management changes at Listingbook LLC

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, October 7, 2009.

Listingbook LLC says it's hired a new senior vice president of sales and partnerships who will build a sales force as part of management changes intended to help the online client management platform continue to expand its national footprint.

The Listingbook platform integrates client management, sales productivity, and direct-marketing tools by allowing agents and brokers to provide their clients with access to multiple listing service data through client accounts.  more...

Wider access denied for landlocked lot

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, October 7, 2009.

In the case Stevens et al. v. Parker, a lot owner subdivided the lot into two, carving out a 10-foot-wide easement for the landlocked parcel across the other parcel to get to the public road. The easement was too narrow to meet municipal code requirements for emergency vehicle access, so the lot owner signed a document releasing the city from all liability for damages arising from the inability of emergency vehicles to access the lot, in order to obtain the city's approval for the subdivision. The lot owner sold both lots.

The owner of the non-landlocked lot (the Parkers) desired to fence their lot up to the edge of the easement. The easement holders (the Stevenses) filed suit, seeking to prohibit the fence and asking the court to declare ...  more...

Leaving the real estate nest

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, October 7, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/3613154786/in/photostream/" target=blank>mikebaird</a>.

My daughter had a monumental crisis on her hands this week. It seems that a certain feline we call Fluffy (and who, for the record, isn't) had chewed through her iPod earphones again.

"Get me new ones!" my daughter wailed.

And in that moment, she's like a real estate agent working in the '90s.

Back in the '90s, her broker would have immediately shoved aside everything he was doing at that moment, like gazing smugly at the production board or interviewing a new daughter, and dutifully rushed to give her what she needed.  more...

California's rollercoaster ride to end?

By Inman News, Wednesday, October 7, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kapkap/516838605/">_PaulS_</a>.

The up-and-down rollercoaster ride that California home sales and prices have been on for the last several years could finally even out in 2010, although the state will continue to have a bifurcated housing market, the California Association of Realtors said today.

The "new normal" for California housing markets -- brisk sales and lean inventory on the low end, coupled with continued roadblocks to closing deals on the high end -- could produce a slight increase in the state's median home price, even as sales cool down a bit, CAR said.  more...

Gas pipe removal risky

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, October 7, 2009.

Q: I read your recent column about how to deal with old gas lines found in houses. My 100-year-old house has several. I have not yet found anyone who can tell me whether any of the pipes are still in use.

My assumption has been that the ones for the lights are neither hot nor connected to the gas lines for the water heater and stove.

Your article described how to remove such pipes, which clearly presupposes that the pipes are not connected to any gas source. I want to be absolutely sure that this is the case.  more...

Mortgage demand spikes

By Inman News, Wednesday, October 7, 2009.

Mortgage applications surged 16.4 percent last week as demand for both refinance and purchase loans registered double-digit increases, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in releasing the results of its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

An index measuring demand for applications to refinance was up a seasonally adjusted 18.2 percent from the week before, to its highest level since mid-May, the MBA said.  more...

Move Inc. downsizes headquarters

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, October 7, 2009.

Realtor.com operator Move Inc. says the company will save about $1 million a year in rent by vacating nearly half of the office space it's occupied for the past nine years at its headquarters in Westlake Village, Calif.

Move's new seven-year lease with Arden Realty Limited Partnership provides the company with 76,000 square feet on two floors at 30700 Russell Ranch Road, compared with 138,000 square feet under its previous lease, signed in 2000.  more...

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Were you at REbarCamp Silicon Valley 2009?

By Matt Fagioli, Wednesday, October 7, 2009.

My first official act as an Inman employee (other than the obligitory HR paperwork and such) was to attend part of REbarCamp Silicon Valley. I flew in from Atlanta just in time for the very beginnings of happy hour (nice timing, huh?).  I didn't actually attend any sessions because the alure of the VIP lounge was just too strong for me to resist.  I've been to a bunch of barcamps so I was way more interested in seeing people and catching up.  more...

Everything is nothing Premium Content

By Robert Hahn, Wednesday, October 7, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hape_gera/2929195528/">HaPe_Gera</a>.

We start today's column with a visualization exercise. So sit back, relax, close your eyes (well, in just a moment, as this requires that you stop reading), and think about a single word. Ready?

OK. What one word describes your brand?

You may now close your eyes and begin the reflection. Come on back when you're done.

Done already?  more...

Does your builder stack up?

By Mary Umberger, Wednesday, October 7, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyprice/3819965222/">a L p</a>.

In case you hadn't noticed, we live in uncertain times.

For homeowners who are in the enviable position of being financially confident enough to build a custom home or undertake a major remodeling project -- and they're still out there -- the economy has nonetheless manufactured an additional layer of anxiety: Setting aside concerns about construction competence, the question of the hour is whether the builder/contractor of choice is financially able to see a project through to completion.  more...