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'Suicide-tight underwriting' pervades markets

By Lou Barnes, Friday, May 15, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/royblumenthal/3268717205/">royblumenthal</a>.

To "V" or not to "V" ... that is the question.

The optimists see the steep far side, the middle-roaders see bottom nearby, and the skeptics see the economy still declining, just slower, with possible multiple bottoms ahead.

A 0.4 percent drop in April retail sales was less than the 1.3 percent dive in March, but the weakness still surprised the optimists, who are happy today with an "only" 0.5 percent decline in April industrial production.  more...

NAR board to rule on data 'scraping' vs. 'indexing'

By Inman News, Friday, May 15, 2009.

WASHINGTON -- In a move that would protect the right of brokers participating in data-sharing agreements with other brokers to allow search engines to index their listings, the National Association of Realtors' Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee has issued a recommendation to revise a 4-year-old policy that might otherwise allow local Realtor boards to bar the practice.

If adopted by NAR's board of directors Saturday, the policy change would resolve a dispute that arose when the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors -- acting on a complaint from a member broker -- demanded that real estate agent Paula Henry and her broker take steps to prevent other brokers' listings from being indexed by Google and other search engines (see story).  more...

NAR survey: lean times for newer agents Premium Content

By Inman News, Friday, May 15, 2009.

Realtors' median gross income plunged 14 percent in 2008, to $36,700, forcing many less experienced Realtors to leave the business, according to a survey of members by the National Association of Realtors. 

NAR's 2009 Member Profile showed the median age of Realtors rising from 52 to 54 and average years of experience increasing from eight to 10. Overall NAR membership fell 10.5 percent from December 2007 to December 2008, to 1.2 million, and dropped another 6.4 percent through April.  more...

Hard lesson in choosing contractor

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Friday, May 15, 2009.

Q: I recently bought a bank-owned home. It was in a great neighborhood, good school district, and seemed perfect for my kids and me. It did need some work, but it was mostly cosmetics I wanted to upgrade before we moved in, such as changing the kitchen tile floors, the kitchen counters, and the bathroom sink and fixtures.

My Realtor gave me some referrals to contractors to get bids from during escrow, but after closing, a friend of mine referred another guy who offered to do much more for the same price. I checked his license, called his past clients and even went to see work he had done before -- everything checked out.  more...

Going 'green' in the backyard

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, May 15, 2009.

Everyone loves the oasis of calm and beauty that's created by a nice green yard. But what about a yard that's "green" at the same time? There are a number of steps you can take to reduce noise, pollution, waste and water usage in your backyard, and save yourself some time and money at the same time. Simple changes all add up, and the following are a few tips to get you started.

Reduce your lawn area: The easiest way to reduce the impact of lawn mowing is to simply reduce the lawn in the first place. Instead, consider planting all or part of your lawn area with lush, green, low-growing ground covers -- you'll get much the same look with a lot less water and a big reduction in maintenance.  more...

Mortgage rates stable

By Inman News, Friday, May 15, 2009.

Interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages were largely unchanged this week, while rates on adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans dipped slightly, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.  more...

'Virtual lawn sign' to appear with listings

By Inman News, Friday, May 15, 2009.

Long & Foster's listings on Realtor.com will prominently display the company's branding and a "virtual lawn sign" under a marketing alliance between the two companies.  more...

Co-signing FHA loan has strings attached

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Friday, May 15, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ethorson/19864261/">ethorson</a>.

Q: We have income that we are unable to document on our FHA loan application. We need to qualify for just $50,000 more than we are approved for. We have elected to have a co-signer, but we would like to have a co-signer release after 12 months of on-time payments built into the loan. We do not want our co-signer to have any ownership interest in the property and he will not be on the title. Is it possible to do this with FHA loans?

And if he co-signs on our FHA loan and is removed after 12 months of on-time payments, will he need to wait three years from that point before he can apply for his own FHA loan or could he apply immediately once removed?  more...