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'California MLS' off to rocky start Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, September 2, 2009.

Backers of a plan to create a statewide multiple listing service in California are downplaying the long-term impact of a decision by the Fresno Association of Realtors to put participation in the system on hold just two weeks after its launch.

Fresno was one of three Realtor associations on board for the Aug. 17 launch of calREDD, a service of the California Association of Realtors' CALMLS (California MLS Inc.) subsidiary. Ten other Realtor associations are slated to start using calREDD in the coming months.  more...

Cracking down on bailing buyers

By The Real Deal, Wednesday, September 2, 2009.

In this weak real estate market, new condo developers possess relatively little in their arsenals to arm themselves against the onslaught of purchasers seeking to back out of contracts. But there are a few measures developers can take to protect themselves without scaring off potentially legitimate buyers.

Some developers, for instance, are using new clauses designed to prohibit buyers from litigating their way out of deals.  more...

Executing the real estate hat trick Premium Content

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, September 2, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/invisiblehour/3042421343/" target=blank>Invisible Hour</a>.

It has become one of my favorite lines of all time, and it was delivered in the epic movie, "Legally Blonde." When Elle's unrequited love remarks, "You got into Harvard Law?" she responds matter-of-factly. "What? Like, it's hard?"

That's the way I tend to look at most things these days. The fact is, when you take a step back, most of the things we do really aren't that hard. Or at least they shouldn't be. It's just that we make them seem that way. We obsess, we fret, we get overwhelmed, and then we find ourselves frozen wide-eyed in the headlights of oncoming traffic.  more...

Buyers fight commissions on new homes

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, September 2, 2009.

In the case Blough v. Holland Realty Inc., four couples contracted with new-home builders and subdivision developers to have new homes custom-built on particular lots in several Boise, Idaho, subdivisions.

The builders and developers had pre-existing agreements in place with exclusive real estate brokers, whereby brokers would receive a fee or commission on every lot sale and, also, every new home constructed in the respective subdivisions.  more...

Restore popcorn ceilings to 1960s luster

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, September 2, 2009.

Q: I have a popcorn ceiling that has been stained a rust and oil color when a cast-iron pipe leaked. The ceiling is more than 40 years old but is still in perfect condition. I don't know whether asbestos was included in the ceiling material.

My questions are:

1. Can I use a stain blocker primer on these stains before a color coat that matches the popcorn color?

2. Should I apply the new paint with a brush, roller or sprayer?

3. How do I cover the stain without brushing off the popcorn material?  more...

Consumers can 'Ask a Realtor'

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 2, 2009.

A new "Ask a Realtor" service from Realtor.com allows site visitors to submit questions about buying or selling a home, mortgage issues and local market trends, and receive a response from a Realtor by e-mail.

Answers are e-mailed directly to the consumer by a Realtor.com moderator, and will be archived on Realtor.com Blogs for future reference, listed chronologically and by subject. Questions can be posed anonymously or with a request for a follow-up by the responding Realtor, Realtor.com said.  more...

Honey, the appraisal shrank our home

By Barry Stone, Wednesday, September 2, 2009.

DEAR BARRY: Our 70-year-old house was appraised this morning, and the appraiser refused to count two of the bedrooms. In fact, she officially downgraded our house from a three-bedroom to a one-bedroom home. One bedroom was discounted because it is too small -- about 7 feet by 8 feet -- and because it has no closet. The other bedroom is in the basement, and the window is too small to meet code. The appraiser listed both rooms as dens. This doesn't seem fair because these rooms have always been used as bedrooms, and this appraisal drastically lowers the value of our home. What can we do? --Jeff

DEAR JEFF: Regardless of how those rooms were used in the past, appraisers are bound by the constraints of established building standards and the risks of professional liability.  more...

ForeclosureRadar enters 4 new states

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 2, 2009.

ForeclosureRadar, a subscription-based service that allows users to search for and track properties through the foreclosure process, is expanding into Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Based in the San Francisco Bay area, the company has provided services in California since its May 2007 launch.  more...

A real estate client in name only Premium Content

By Robert Hahn, Wednesday, September 2, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mugley/513515114/" target=blank>mugley</a>.

Folks who know my work on Notorious R.O.B. know that I go out of my way to avoid controversy in the same way that "congresscritters" go out of their way to avoid lobbyists. In that spirit then, I'd like to tackle a topic that is sure to generate only agreement and head-nodding in all readers: forced registration on a Web site.

The impetus is a challenging and perceptive blog post by Redfin Chief Executive Officer Glenn Kelman in which he posits that hiding the address of a listing hurts the client. It appears that some multiple listing services allow a listing agent to withhold the address of a listing "without registration," and Kelman thinks this is bad juju:  more...