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'Hope for Homeowners' revamp planned

By Inman News, Thursday, May 7, 2009.

The Senate has approved legislation that's intended to revive the little-used Hope for Homeowners FHA refinance program by providing incentive payments to loan servicers and originators.

S 896, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, would also create a legal "safe harbor" for loan servicers who modify loans, protecting them from lawsuits by investors in mortgage-backed securities.

Loan refinancings and modifications are at the heart of the Obama administration's "Making Home Affordable" plan, which seeks to help 9 million distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure.  more...

Zillow: Estimated home values fall 14%

By Inman News, Thursday, May 7, 2009.

Zillow.com, which offers online automated home valuations and other real estate information, this week announced that its index for estimated U.S. home values plunged 14.2 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, to $182,378.

The company's latest quarterly Zillow Home Value Index is based on estimated value changes for homes in 161 U.S. metro areas.  more...

Sellers' debate: Arbitrate or mediate?

By Bernice Ross, Thursday, May 7, 2009.

DEAR BERNICE: We just received an offer on our home. In the offer, the buyers had checked both the binding arbitration provision and the mediation provision. It also said that if we agreed to these provisions, we would be giving up our right to sue. What should we do? Our agent said she couldn't advise us on this. --Randy P.

DEAR RANDY: First, your agent was correct. Unless the agent is a licensed attorney, the agent could lose his or her license for giving you legal advice. Having said that, many Realtor associations have this language in the boilerplate of their contracts.  more...

Tenant uproar over assigned parking

By Robert Griswold, Thursday, May 7, 2009.

Q: I live in a 39-unit apartment complex where parking is becoming a real problem. Our building is older and was built with only a single parking space for each unit. Unfortunately, there are often several residents per apartment who own vehicles.  more...

Real estate tech for non-techies

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, May 7, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wfryer/448477161/" target=blank>Wesley Fryer</a>.

I recently gave a talk on social media and property marketing on the Internet. The event I spoke at was through our local board of Realtors and they called it a technology fair.

Our president introduced me as some kind of a technology expert, and even though 3.75 continuing education credits were involved I didn't want the group to start leaving the room so I quickly reintroduced myself as a Realtor who uses the Internet for social interaction and networking in my real estate business.  more...

Seeking closure on short-sale holdups Premium Content

By Gilbert Mohtes-Chan, Thursday, May 7, 2009.

All too often, short sales are really l-o-o-n-g sales -- it can take many weeks and months to close a deal.

And patience is increasingly wearing thin across the country as real estate agents become more vocal over the agonizing process. They argue that clearing the nation's huge inventory of distressed properties is paramount to resuscitate an ailing housing market and sputtering U.S. economy.  more...

Need-to-knows when buying REO

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, May 7, 2009.

Q: My husband and I are in the process of buying a foreclosure property, as is. The property is not in bad shape, but it is missing the air-conditioning units and a few other items. The bank did sell us the property at a low price, but I am afraid of the hidden things that I don't see. Can I make them give me a disclosure statement? Do they even have one?

A: You've clearly stumbled across one fundamental truth of buying an REO: You're not buying from a person! You're buying from an organization -- an institution -- a corporation. This has numerous, different implications at every point of the buying process. The decision-makers have totally different motivations and guidelines than individual sellers do.  more...

Hoping for a renters' insurance miracle

By Janet Portman, Thursday, May 7, 2009.

Q: When my tenants moved out leaving the place a mess, I hired a handyman to do some cleaning and repairs. While doing the work, he fell through the floor, which had become spongy with rot. Apparently, the pipes had been leaking for some time, and the tenants never told me.

My helper has medical bills and missed a couple of weeks of work. He has no insurance, and thinks he can be covered by my insurance policy. But it just occurred to me -- these tenants had renters' insurance. Because they caused the problem during their tenancy, aren't they (and their insurance policy) responsible for the results of their carelessness? --Dan P.  more...