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Fed stretching out mortgage purchases

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

The Federal Reserve will stretch out purchases of mortgage-backed securities that have helped keep mortgage rates low, extending the $1.25 trillion program's sunset from the end of this year to to March, 2010.

Mortgage market observers welcomed the move, saying the Fed would have been hard pressed to use up by the end of the year the program's remaining capacity for more than $600 billion in MBS purchases, the Associated Press reported.  more...

Bill seeks finance agency compromise

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

The Obama administration's proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency shouldn't have authority over real estate brokers and other businesses that bill customers after services are provided, such as doctors and lawyers, says Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee.  more...

The hybrid real estate agent Premium Content

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, September 23, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeyw/3187214717/" target=blank>Michael R. Wolfe</a>.

I've been thinking about hybrids a lot lately, and not just because Daughter No. 2 rear-ended one this week. Rather, it was the combination of our recent office meeting and a video I saw mocking the value of technology in our business that sent me off on my latest tangent.

You're reading this online so, as my junior driving instructor would say, you are already "down" with the importance of technology. But much like telling my little one-girl destruction derby to stop running into people, telling an agent that technology is important is both painfully obvious and woefully vague, at least where the specifics of successful implementation are concerned.  more...

Early mortgage payoff shocker

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

In the case Madura v. Countrywide Home Loans Inc., Full Spectrum Lending mailed borrowers loan documents to sign and the borrowers signed and returned the documents via mail.

(Of the borrowers, the husband signed the loan documents, and the wife only signed to exclude herself from the transaction.) Based on this, Full Spectrum extended a loan of $87,750 that was secured by the borrowers' principal residence. Five days later, Countrywide Home Loans purchased the loan from Full Spectrum.  more...

Cashing in on vacationers

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

It was only for eight days, yet it was a first.

The retired couple at a remote mountain lake had just rented out their waterfront cabin -- once the family getaway and now serving as their primary residence -- for the first time in the 42 years they have owned the property. Instead of leaving the place vacant when they went to their niece's July wedding in upstate New York, they pocketed $1,600 tax-free dollars.

According to the most recent HomeAway Vacation Rental Marketplace Report, the couple is not alone.  more...

Low rates spur refi applications

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

Applications for refinancings jumped 17.4 percent last week as interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dipped below 5 percent for the first time since May, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in releasing the results of its Weekly Applications Survey.

Applications for purchase loans were also up 5.6 percent from a week earlier, helping push an index measuring all applications up by a seasonally adjusted 12.8 percent for the week ending Sept. 18, the MBA said.  more...

Inspectors clash over vapor barrier

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

Q: When I purchased my home, the home inspector's report mentioned that the basement crawl space "soil is wet and includes a moisture barrier that should be removed."

The termite inspector's report said the moisture barrier is necessary because the moisture in the soil could entice termites. What is your experience with moisture barriers? Is it best to leave it in place or should I remove it?  more...

Bidders score condos for half off

By The Real Deal, Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

On Sept. 21, Lofts 881, a new condominium located in downtown Bridgeport, Conn., auctioned off 13 of 19 unsold apartments in the building, which has 38 total residential units.

The hour-long auction, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the state, took place in a conference room in a Marriott Hotel in the town of Trumbull, Conn., amid candy bowls and a two-piece jazz band.

The 60 people there bid on one- and two-bedroom units that range in size from 540 square feet to 1,452 square feet, with granite counters, bamboo floors and stainless-steel appliances.  more...

Low-cost fixes to 'green' your home

By Mary Umberger, Wednesday, September 23, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spine/436145642/">rick</a>.

Given the ceaseless environmental drumbeat we hear, it seems practically un-American not to want to green-up the old homestead these days.

On the other hand, it also would seem practically un-American to be a big-ticket spender, given the current state of the economy.

But sustainable living doesn't always have major dollar signs attached to it, according to its advocates.  more...

UPI taps ex-NAR staffers for new site

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

United Press International is partnering with two former National Association of Realtors staff members on a new residential estate section on UPI.com, UPI Real Estate.

Former NAR chief economist David Lereah and former vice president of public affairs Steve Cook will oversee and provide content for the site, UPI said.  more...

Make your real estate stats count Premium Content

By Robert Hahn, Wednesday, September 23, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/myklroventine/3355106480/" target=blank>Mykl Roventine</a>.

I recently took part in the most amazing panel on Internet marketing ever. Two other panelists and I spoke on Internet marketing, Web site optimization, and social media at a fantastic conference on distressed properties. Well, that was supposed to be the topic of the panel, at least.

The other two panelists decided that the more interesting topic was how to run a brokerage focused on selling bank-owned properties (REOs), and I spent most of my time trying to make the point that marketing shouldn't be an afterthought. I have no idea how successful I was in trying to get that message across.  more...