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VOWs: Power to (understand) the people

By , Monday, August 10, 2009.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bill Chee, a former National Association of Realtors president, said he worked in the real estate business for 44 years, and "37 of the years were wasted."

"I was spending all of this time with (property) data" over the decades, said Chee, president of Prudential Locations in Hawaii, though in 2002 there was a realization to "start doing more to learn about people," as real estate is inherently a people business.  more...

Finding the right loan mod company

By Bernice Ross, Monday, August 10, 2009.

If your clients are facing foreclosure and ask for help in obtaining a loan modification, how would you advise them? Can you legally assist them or do you have to refer them elsewhere?

Last week's column looked at how loan modifications work. The next question to address is whether working with loan modifications makes sense for your business.  more...

Desperately seeking real estate status

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Monday, August 10, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/j242/2788382414/in/photostream/" target=blank>Jessep242</a>.

It is said that marriage is a public statement of two individuals' commitment to each other. (This supposedly explains the need for witnesses -- though in my crowd, nuptial attendees view their job description as limited to eating, drinking and merrily gifting Crate & Barrel place settings.) In terms of life steps and commitments, a close second to getting hitched is getting housed -- buying and owning a home.

This begs the question: What does your house say about you? More importantly, how do buyers and homeowners consider the "public statement" factor, if at all, when they are choosing and customizing their homes?  more...

Final walkthrough a buyer's best friend

By Dian Hymer, Monday, August 10, 2009.

Imagine this. You move into your new home for the first time after closing and, although you transferred the utilities into your name, the lights don't turn on. There isn't a single light bulb left in the house, the yard is overgrown and the leaky faucets the sellers were to have fixed still leak.

Most homebuyers aren't faced with such an unpleasant surprise. You can gain some degree of control over the situation by completing a walkthrough inspection of the property within five days of closing.

Your purchase contract should include a clause that grants the buyers permission to do a final walkthrough inspection sometime close to the closing date.  more...

Real estate techies burn midnight oil

By , Monday, August 10, 2009.
Philip Pond (from left to right), Mike Griffiths and Morgan Carey compete in a Connect Create developers competition. Copyright 2009 Inman News.
Related Podcast/Video: 
Connect Create

SAN FRANCISCO -- On Thursday morning, Mike Griffiths was zipping along under the influence of caffeine -- a monstrous can of Monster Energy drink and a can of Red Bull energy drink stood beside his laptop as he typed code.

That capped off the "espresso or two this morning," he acknowledged, and "I don't usually have coffee."

That wasn't the only "java" that Griffiths, 22, was tapping into.  more...

Agent commissions vary on rentals

By Benny Kass, Monday, August 10, 2009.

DEAR BENNY: How do agents get commission on rental property? --Peter

DEAR PETER: To my knowledge, there is no standard formula to compensate a real estate agent for finding a tenant for you. From my experience, most agents will want a one month's rent for their commission.

However, this is negotiable. If, for example, you want the agent to manage the property for you (which is usually a good idea so that you won't be bothered every time the tenant wants a light bulb changed), the agent may take a percentage of the monthly rent -- ranging between 6-10 percent.  more...

Avoiding mortgage rate-lock problems

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, August 10, 2009.

Locking the price of a mortgage is full of potential problems for the unwary borrower. Locking is especially problematic in today's market because prices can jump around from day to day, and lenders take much longer than in pre-crisis years to approve an application, and often can't.

Locking means that the lender commits that the price at closing will be the lock price, even if the market price is higher at closing than it was on the lock date. The price commitment holds for a specified period, usually 30 to 90 days, with longer periods priced higher. Whether the borrower is equally committed if the price at closing is lower depends on the lender's policy, see below.  more...