Home

Bill would scuttle RESPA changes

By Matt Carter, Thursday, April 30, 2009.

A sweeping bill aimed at curbing predatory lending, which passed a congressional committee Wednesday in a 49-21 vote, has been amended to suspend implementation of new standardized loan disclosure forms and settlement procedures proposed last year by the Bush administration.

The real estate and lending industries have opposed the changes to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, or RESPA, which the Department of Housing and Urban Development has said would save consumers billions of dollars (see story).  more...

Toddler turf could be toxic

By Janet Portman, Thursday, April 30, 2009.

Q: I've been reading about the presence of lead in the fake grass, or turf, that's used on playing fields and playgrounds. We have this turf in the toddlers' area of our apartment's playground. I snipped a bit off, and took it to a lab to be tested. The technician told me it's way over our state's permissible lead levels, and poses a threat to the health of the children playing on it. How should I approach my landlord about this problem? --Sandy C.  more...

Rounding up your real estate listings

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, April 30, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/smaedli/2808114720/in/set-72157607006623469/" target=blank>smaedli</a>.

It is 10 o'clock; do you know where your listings are?

After moving to a new real estate company a few weeks ago I had to update my profiles, which are scattered all over the Internet. It forced me to review my online presence. It took some time, but I learned a few things in the process.

There are a number of national real estate Web sites where property listings information can be advertised. Some are also social networks where we can interact with buyers and sellers if we choose to do so.  more...

Mortgage rates stay at record lows

By Inman News, Thursday, April 30, 2009.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate eligible for purchase by Freddie Mac tied a record low this week, averaging 4.78 percent with an average of 0.7 point.

That's down from 4.80 percent last week and 6.06 percent a year ago, Freddie Mac said, and ties an April 7 low in records going back to 1970.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.48 percent this week with an average 0.7 point,  unchanged for the third week in a row but down from 5.59 percent a year ago. It's the lowest the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage has been since Freddie Mac began tracking those loans in August, 1991.  more...

The cult and culture of Zappos

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, April 30, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lachlanhardy/83702051/">Lachlan Hardy</a>.

In the Zappos universe, managers are monkeys, culture is king, customers are fans, and work is fun.

And, for the record, Zappos is a real, profitable company. It is an online reseller of shoes, clothing and accessories including watches, handbags and eyewear, and it rang up $1 billion in gross sales last year.  more...

U.S. foreclosures go international

By Inman News, Thursday, April 30, 2009.

RealtyTrac, an online real estate site focusing on foreclosure and pre-foreclosure properties, this week announced a deal to put foreclosure-related property information on Enormo, a global real estate search portal.

RealtyTrac provides information on about 1.5 million properties that are in default, scheduled for auction, or have already foreclosed and are now owned and listed for sale by banks -- the site hosts about 3 million unique monthly visitors.  more...

Save $2,500 on home improvement

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, April 29, 2009.

Q: We are planning to have a vapor barrier installed in our crawl space. When the estimator was here, he said he saw what might be mold and recommended that we have a mold inspection, and if necessary, cleanup, done first.

I just had the mold inspector out, and fortunately, he says there was no mold, but he did say we had a lot of efflorescence built up on our piers and that for $2,500 they could come in, clean it up and disinfect the crawl space.  more...

Lost equity puts boomers' future in doubt

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, April 29, 2009.

Baby boomers -- the largest, healthiest and wealthiest group ever appearing on the U. S. growth landscape -- never met a loan they didn't like. After leveraging appreciation and location in their starter and move-up homes to pay for cars, college tuitions and trips, their home probably holds most of the equity in their lives.

According to a new report by Washington, D.C.-based Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), that home is not worth what it used to be. Coupled with the recent turmoil in the stock market, many boomers will be completely reliant on Social Security and Medicare to support them in their retirement years.  more...

MetroList MLS adds Dwellicious

By Inman News, Wednesday, April 29, 2009.

MetroListMLS.com, a public-facing real estate search portal created by a multiple listing service in California, has integrated Dwellicious, a real estate tool that allows consumers to "bookmark" properties they find online.

MetroList Services Inc., an MLS that provides service to about 25,000 real estate professionals in Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Yolo, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced counties, draws about 300,000 visitors per month to its consumer Web site.  more...

Social media: icing on the cake Premium Content

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, April 29, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/melloveschallah/3440131767/" target=blank>melloveschallah</a>.

Marketing our real estate services, marketing any business for that matter, is a lot like a decorating a cake. You can put all the cherries and chocolate sprinkles in the world on top but if the cake itself sucks, no one is going to want any.

Seth Godin wrote back in July 2005: "Please understand that book publishing is an organized hobby, not a business. The return on equity and return on time for authors and for publishers is horrendous. If you're doing it for the money, you're going to be disappointed.  more...

Brokers OK'd to negotiate loan mods

By Inman News, Wednesday, April 29, 2009.

The number of real estate brokers authorized by California regulators to collect advance fees for negotiating loan modifications and short sales on behalf of homeowners has grown from less than two dozen in mid-November to almost 600.

California requires real estate brokers who negotiate with lenders to enter into agreements with borrowers detailing the services they will provide if they plan to collect their fees upfront. Fees collected in advance are placed in a trust account can only be drawn down as services are performed.  more...

Zillow debuts iPhone app  Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, April 29, 2009.
Zillow's iPhone application

Imagine strolling through your neighborhood and, with a glance at your iPhone, finding out instantly how much just about any home you walk by last sold for.

What if your iPhone could also display your location on a map that pinpoints nearby homes for sale and any that have recently changed hands?  more...

New rules for Fannie, Freddie appraisals

By Inman News, Wednesday, April 29, 2009.

Many lenders aren't prepared to comply with new rules going into effect Friday governing appraisals on loans to be purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a company that offers software for managing the appraisal process.  more...

20-city price index plummets 18.6%

By Inman News, Tuesday, April 28, 2009.

A monthly home-price index recorded unprecedented year-over-year drops in the price of resale single-family homes in February 2009 compared to the same month a year earlier, with 15 markets showing double-digit percentage declines.

The composite index for the 20 metro areas, down 18.6 percent year-over-year in February, did not set a new record -- breaking a string of 16 record-setting months.  more...

Old condo violates plumbing code

By Barry Stone, Tuesday, April 28, 2009.

DEAR BARRY: I live in an old condo complex and recently replaced my water heater. The fixture is located in an upstairs closet, and the new codes require an overflow pan with a pipe to the exterior to prevent water damage if there is a leak. Unfortunately, the condo board has refused to allow this pipe because it would alter the outside appearance of the building. I've argued the point, but they are as stubborn as cement. Do they have the right to deny compliance with the state plumbing code, or can I install the pipe without their permission? --William

DEAR WILLIAM: The condo board could use some common sense in place of blind adherence to outdated restrictions. If any water heater in the complex develops a leak, someone will be paying to repair water damage, and that someone could be a member of the board.  more...

123456789…next ›last »