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Yardi Systems acquires Point2

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, September 30, 2010.

A major player in the online collection and distribution of real estate listings information is under new ownership -- the second such deal in as many weeks.

Yardi Systems, a real estate investment and property management software company based in Goleta, Calif., has acquired Saskatoon, Canada-based Point2 Technology Inc., a software company specializing in the distribution of property information and other tools and services for the residential real estate and heavy equipment industries.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Yardi Systems officials were not immediately available for comment.

Just days ago, on Sept. 21, Realtor.com operator Move Inc. completed a deal to acquire Threewide Corp., which operates ListHub, a national property listings syndication platform that distributes an estimated 2.4 million property listings from about 270 MLSs and 38,000 brokers to a group of about 70 real estate websites.  more...

Fannie, Freddie, FHA loan limits extended

By Inman News, Thursday, September 30, 2010.

Congress has approved legislation extending for one year the existing loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration, allowing the loan guarantee and insurance programs to continue backing loans of up to $729,750 in markets with the highest cost of living.  more...

Chase puts hold on 56,000 foreclosures Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Thursday, September 30, 2010.

In what's been dubbed the "robo-signing" scandal, JP Morgan Chase and Co. has joined GMAC Mortgage in temporarily halting foreclosure proceedings in judicial foreclosure states, following allegations that workers the companies employed failed to follow the proper legal procedures in filing paperwork demonstrating that the lenders had the right to foreclose.

In the past, such allegations -- often brought by attorneys representing homeowners in disputed foreclosure proceedings -- have mostly delayed, not stopped foreclosure proceedings.

But the robo-signing allegations could affect other lenders who rely on a paperless loan registration system developed for the industry by Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. (MERS), slowing foreclosure proceedings in courts nationwide.  more...

Landlord drops 1-year lease bomb

By Janet Portman, Thursday, September 30, 2010.
Flickr photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetruthabout/4526736969/">TheTruthAbout...</a>

Q: I have a friend who has been renting for two years under successive one-year leases, and now his landlord is threatening to evict him if he does not agree to sign a third one-year lease (my friend wants to go month-to-month). I thought that in some states it is illegal to refuse a tenant the ability to pay month-to-month. Is this the case in New Jersey?

It all seems pretty unreasonable, because it means that the tenant can move only at one point in the year (before signing another yearlong lease), and the fact is that our lives don't (and shouldn't) revolve around our landlords. --David T.

A: As disappointing as it may be for tenants, there's no explicit law in New Jersey protecting tenants from landlords who insist on renting with leases rather than on a month-to-month basis.  more...

Cash out to buy second home?

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, September 30, 2010.

Q: I want to purchase the house next door for my son. The owner has passed away and the children want to sell. We offered them $25,000 and they accepted. We have 100 percent equity in the home I live in now. Would it be in my best interests to do a home equity loan to purchase the other house or should I look into other options?

A: Great question! A few years back, home values rose so much, so quickly and mortgage money flowed so freely that home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and loans were the average homeowner's go-to source -- for better or for worse -- for big bucks.

These funds were frequently parlayed into the purchase of another property. Now, though, mortgage markets and home equity have both dried up, as has the average American's desire to even own a home -- period, much less a second or third one.

   more...

Too-good-to-be-true mortgage offers

By Tom Kelly, Thursday, September 30, 2010.

There's a new buyer-beware issue in the mortgage banking game that smells a lot like what was cooking in the "mortgage elimination" kitchen a few years ago.

Internet marketers have been sending messages to borrowers indicating that they can get their "mortgage canceled or principal reduced" by signing up for a $320 mortgage matrix that could magically eliminate debt with their lender. One offering purported to have saved a client $61,000 in late fees while reducing the principal portion of the loan by $50,000.  more...

Is real estate app ready for the real world?

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, September 30, 2010.
Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivyfield/4498291838/sizes/z/in/photostream/">Yutaka Tsutano</a>.

It is always wise to use a little common sense before taking advice from others. I don't think people have to experience selling real estate to recommend products or services that might be useful to active practitioners, but I don't think they always have a clear understanding of our jobs, and they don't always make the best recommendations.

Case in point: A new product for the iPad was released in Apple's App Store. I have installed it on my iPad and tested it, and it does everything it is supposed to do. It is called Open Home Pro and it is free.

It serves as an electronic open-house sign-in book. It has been declared an innovative breakthrough and a must-have for agents who conduct open houses.  more...

Former employee sued for client data theft

By Global Edge, Thursday, September 30, 2010.

Editor's note: This item is republished with permission from Global Edge Marketing Ltd. View original post.  more...

RealtyTrac: Share of foreclosure sales drops in Q2

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 29, 2010.

Embargoed until 9pm tonight

Homes in the process of foreclosure accounted for 24 percent of all residential real estate sales in the second quarter, according to a new quarterly report by foreclosure data site RealtyTrac.  more...

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate grows in California

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, September 29, 2010.
Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.lumaxart.com">lumaxart.com</a>.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Realogy Corp.'s Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC continues its rapid expansion, with company officials today announcing a 20-year franchise agreement with a former Prudential Real Estate brokerage that has 1,900 agents working out of 36 offices in Northern California and Nevada.

Handling $2.8 billion in home sales in 2009, Pleasanton, Calif.-based Mason-McDuffie Real Estate Inc. -- which has done business for the last 13 years as Prudential California Realty and Prudential Nevada Realty -- was ranked by REAL Trends as the 19th-largest brokerage in the U.S. by sales volume. The company claims to be the sales leader in the San Francisco area's East Bay market.

Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services Inc. -- which oversees Prudential's real estate franchise network of about 60,000 sales associates and 1,700 offices (as of June 30) in North America -- was prepared for the switch, announcing a new affiliation with a 200-agent brokerage in San Ramon that expects to sign Mason-McDuffie agents who wish to remain affiliated with the Prudential brand.  more...

Pinpointing roof leak no easy task

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, September 29, 2010.
Flickr photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kikisdad/21149538">Ctd 2005</a>.

Last week, a reader asked if we knew of a quick fix for a leak that showed up after her garage was expanded and a front porch was remodeled.

We offered a temporary solution, giving her a primer in the sometimes-confusing world of caulk. Today, we would like to tell her how to begin getting rid of the leak once and for all.

Water is the bane of all homebuilding, whether new construction or renovation. It will seek the weak point in the structure and find its way inside. What's more, leaks can be tough to locate. Their source and the place they ultimately show up inside the building can be many feet apart.  more...

Escrow role puts broker in hot seat

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, September 29, 2010.

Homeowner Neil Bradford signed a listing agreement under which Coldwell Banker would market and sell his Boston condo for $1.35 million.

The total commission Bradford agreed to pay under the agreement would be 5 percent of the purchase price.

Under the agreement, Coldwell Banker would pay half the commission to its own listing agent and the other half -- 2.5 percent -- to the buyer's broker or agent, according to court records (see: Zang v. NRT New England Inc.).  more...

Sawbuck expands to Houston

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 29, 2010.

Online brokerage company Sawbuck Realty has expanded to Houston and partnered with local brokerage Prudential Gary Greene Realtors, the company announced this week.

Sawbuck also partnered with a local brokerage in its last expansion to Phoenix, Ariz., in July. As with that partnership, Houston area buyers will be able to search for-sale homes and recent sales by property type, neighborhood, or address on Sawbuck's website (in standard or mobile format) and then a Sawbuck adviser will connect the buyers with agents at the local brokerage to handle their transactions.

Sawbuck's website also offers prospective buyers local market data, new-home listings, bank-owned and short-sale property listings, and information about contracts, price changes, and open houses. The Houston expansion adds more than 305,000 homes, including 42,000 active listings, to Sawbuck's database.  more...

Loan demand remains weak

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 29, 2010.

Demand for purchase mortgages rose last week by a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent from the week before, but was off 32.4 percent from a year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in releasing the results of its latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

For the week ending Sept. 24, demand for refinancings was down 1.6 percent from the week before, although requests for refinancings still accounted for 80.7 percent of all mortgage applications.  more...

'Refis for everybody' bill revamped

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 29, 2010.
Flickr photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/soschilds/790808573">Viajar24h.com</a>.

A bill introduced this week by U.S. Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif., would allow virtually any owner-occupant with a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to refinance at today's low rates -- regardless of whether they are underwater or in default.

HR 6218, The Housing Opportunity and Mortgage Equity (HOME) Act, would affect up to 30 million mortgages held or backed by Fannie and Freddie, Cardoza said in a press release announcing the bill's introduction.

Language in the bill would prohibit Fannie and Freddie from requiring appraisals of properties to be refinanced. Loans servicers would be paid fees of up to $1,000. Fees for refinancing would be rolled into the mortgage and penalties would be waived.  more...

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