Clarification

A guest column that appeared in Inman News on Sept. 15, 2004, titled "$10,000 to real estate nirvana" contained information obtained from an interview that was conducted approximately two years ago. Information regarding Trinity Consulting, which was featured in the article, is no longer accurate, according to company executive Andrew Wardein.

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FTC updates identity theft rules

The Federal Trade Commission has issued its final rules under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) regarding further definition of the terms "identity theft" and "identity theft report"; the duration of active-duty alerts; and the appropriate proof of identity needed by consumers to block fraudulent trade lines in their consumer reports, place or remove fraud or active duty alerts, or truncate their Social Security number in their file disclosures.  more...

Realty Executives mourns loss of founder

Realty Executives founder R. Dale Rector has passed away at the age of 84. Rector's real estate career spanned nearly half a century. 

Rector began his real estate career in 1953 in his native Pueblo, Colo., and founded Realty Executives in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 1965. He was known as an innovator and a soft-spoken champion of real estate professionals industry-wide.  more...

Countrywide forms new real estate partnership

Countrywide and Century 21 Advantage Gold today announced the formation of Mortgage Funding Solutions, a mortgage company that will serve home buyers in the Philadelphia region.

Mortgage Funding Solutions, an operating series of Countrywide Mortgage Ventures, will offer qualified home buyers zero-down-payment loans and a variety of fixed- and adjustable-rate options with optimum flexibility on rate and terms.

The joint venture is the latest in a string of joint ventures Countrywide has announced this year, including ones in northwest Montana, Hawaii and New York.

Coun  more...

Realtors to play role in emergency relief efforts

New York State Association of Realtors is partnering with the New York State Emergency Management Office to provide Realtor assistance to relief and recovery efforts following any natural or manmade disaster in the state.  more...

Wireless MLS sends real estate on the road

Interealty and Executive Wireless have launched a new product – MLX Wireless – that will give real estate professionals mobile access to detailed Multiple Listing Service data using a variety of wireless handheld devices including the Palm, Pocket PC and BlackBerry.

With MLX Wireless, real estate professionals can search and retrieve listing data in seconds – including full color property photos – for their customers anywhere and anytime, without having to make time-consuming trips back to the office or unnecessary calls to an assistant.  more...

New York real estate sales cool

Sales of existing single-family homes in New York slowed in September, while the median selling price grew more than 15 percent from a year ago, according to preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of Realtors.

The September 2004 sales total of 8,897 represents a 6.1 percent decrease compared to the September 2003 sales total of 9,473. The September 2004 sales total fell 17.5 percent from the exceptionally high 10,779 sales total posted in August 2004.  more...

Overnight real estate rates move higher

Long-term mortgage interest rates were slightly higher Monday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield gained to 4.08 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 5.28 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate jumped to 4.68 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 3.25 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.84 percent.

Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  more...