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Date

Aug

19
2009

Connect Create: Two awesome apps, two winners

By Jeff Bernheisel, Wednesday, August 19, 2009.

Connect Create, a developer challenge held during Real Estate Connect SF, has received TONS of buzz.

You've also been asking, "who won?"

Real Estate Webmasters and Diverse Solutions - the two teams remaining after a couple last-minute cancellations - both created amazing applications in just 48 hours. (Click here to read an Inman News article about the competition.)  more...

A back-to-school real estate story

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, August 19, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/editor/71486347" target=blank>Editor B</a>.

Back to school -- three little words that delight and at the same time take a few years off a poor parent's life expectancy.

Back when my children were young, before they thought they had rights or could even conceive of a day that they would see me -- not as a larger-than-life beacon of authority and truth, but as an unenlightened, not-so-bright, general poster child for all that is wrong with the world -- I at least felt in control of the back-to-school process. This is because they needed me.  more...

'Signature' defense won't stop foreclosure

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, August 19, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wrobel/281135463/">Gunnar Wrobel</a>.

In the case Karnitz v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., homeowners Joel and Tanya Karnitz built a home with a construction bridge loan in the names of both husband and wife, then refinanced into a permanent home loan with lender Wells Fargo. At close of the refinance mortgage transaction, the lender's documents requested only that Joel Karnitz sign to obtain the loan and mortgage, despite the fact that both Joel and Tanya were on the title and the construction bridge loan for the home.

As a result, Tanya never signed -- and was never asked by Wells Fargo to sign -- the loan or mortgage documents.  more...

Fraud scars image of reverse mortgages

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, August 19, 2009.

Comparing every loan's shortcoming -- real or perceived -- to a "subprime" product needs to stop.

For example, U.S. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan made an astonishing remark in a prepared statement recently in Orlando: "Consumer compliance risks with reverse mortgages are real, and indeed, I am struck by some of the similarities to the risks of subprime mortgages."  more...

Squeaky linoleum gets permanent fix

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, August 19, 2009.

Q: I eagerly read your column about fixing squeaky floors by renailing from the top. But my problem is under the linoleum in the kitchen. Do you have any suggestions on how I can fix a small (roughly 1-by-2-foot) section? When the linoleum was laid, it went wall to wall and then the floor cabinets were placed over it. My basement is unfinished, so I would have access to the joists and subfloor. Any ideas?

A: Do not despair. There's a much better than even chance you can silence the squeak with little effort and at practically no cost.  more...

Cities fight blight of foreclosed homes

By Erik Pisor, Wednesday, August 19, 2009.

In cities where foreclosures remain an epidemic, it is not uncommon for homes to sit vacant and abandoned for prolonged periods of time.

These vacant properties aren't always properly maintained or secured by the lenders and servicers who have taken responsibility for them, which can make them prime targets for vandalism, squatting and raging parties.  more...

Your real estate trading card

By Robert Hahn, Wednesday, August 19, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/trialsanderrors/2861795441/" target=blank>trialsanderrors</a>.

At the Inman Real Estate Connect conference earlier this month in San Francisco, one of the coolest new sessions was something called Connect Create.

Developers were challenged to create something cool and useful within 48 hours and two teams -- from real estate tech companies Diverse Solutions and Real Estate Webmasters -- stepped up to the challenge.

Diverse Solutions came up with an online tool dubbed "Agent Scouting Report," and I believe it has some great potential.  more...