By Glenn Roberts Jr., Tuesday, February 22, 2005. Members of the Texas Real Estate Commission voted this week to propose a state rule that would change the way some discount brokers do business in the state. Under the proposed rule, real estate brokers would be forced to accept and present offers and counteroffers to buy, sell or lease property on behalf of their clients; assist clients in developing, communicating, and presenting offers, counteroffers and related notices; and answer their clients' questions relating to offers, counteroffers and notices. Opponents of the rule argue these minimum-service requirements would a more...
By Howard Brinton, Tuesday, February 22, 2005. Did you sell a home to a prospective buyer this week? No? Did you ask anyone to buy a house this week? Sometimes that's all it takes to get a deal in the works. Closing the deal can be a huge barrier in the home-selling process. Agents, especially inexperienced ones, don't recognize closing signs and don't know what to say to push the deal to a finish. It's a good habit to ask buyers the simple question, "Do you want to buy this house?" after every favorable showing. Here are some common buying signals:
By Inman News, Tuesday, February 22, 2005. Primedia's Consumer Guides, a national publisher and distributor of apartment, new home and auto guides, has purchased American Home Guides, the Hollywood, Fla.-based provider of Internet marketing for new-home builders, developers and their agencies. The resulting combined offline and online products will create a powerful media outlet for home builders. more...
By Inman News, Tuesday, February 22, 2005. Ellie Mae today announced a strategic alliance with A la mode that aims to expedite the loan origination process by seamlessly merging the desktops of both loan officers and appraisers. more...
By Inman News, Tuesday, February 22, 2005. Austin, Texas-based One Percent Realty Inc., a residential real estate brokerage built around 1 percent commissions, has expanded into the Phoenix marketplace. Operating under the brokerage name OPRAZ LLC, all services and products of the company will be made available to home buyers and sellers in Arizona's greater Phoenix and Scottsdale areas. more...
By Inman News, Tuesday, February 22, 2005. Mortgage foreclosures in the United Kingdom are expected to soar by two-thirds, from 6,000 in 2004 to about 10,000 by the end of 2006, the Financial Times reported today. The U.K.'s Council of Mortgage Lenders said it expected rising bankruptcies to be one factor pushing up mortgage repossession figures, the Times reported. Also, figures from the U.K.'s Department for Constitutional Affairs show that the number of mortgage repossession actions going through the courts has reached the highest level for five years, according to the Times. more...
By Inman News, Tuesday, February 22, 2005. A major public awareness campaign that hopes to safeguard consumers against predatory lending and other financial abuses has taken off in Northern California. The City of Sacramento, mortgage financier Freddie Mac, and the Home Loan Counseling Center are major participants in the new campaign, dubbed "Don't Borrow Trouble," which features an education and counseling service to help families avoid predatory lending scams such as exorbitant interest rates, excessive fees and pressuring tactics. more...
By Inman News, Tuesday, February 22, 2005. An Electronic House Expo this week in Orlando, Fla., will feature home networking and home automation technologies among other high-tech gear designed to make your home more connected. The expo will also highlight WIFI, security systems, distributed audio, lighting control, home theater and flat-panel technologies. More than 325 manufacturers and distributors are expected to display their products at the conference trade show. more...
By Inman News, Tuesday, February 22, 2005. Real estate attorney Jimmie Ray Lawson II of Axton, Va., is in a big heap of trouble, the Roanoke Times reported. Lawson, 33, who has been practicing law since 1998, is being sued by Richmond, Va.-based Lawyers Title Insurance Corp.; he has been charged with felony embezzlement and contempt of court; and former heavyweight boxing champion Riddick Bowe successfully sued him in January, the Times reported. more...
By Inman News, Tuesday, February 22, 2005. Title companies now can automatically request property tax certificates or search for property tax records when processing residential real estate transactions through a new partnership between National Tax Search and Hall Settlement Systems. more...
By Inman News, Tuesday, February 22, 2005. The Conference Board today announced that its consumer confidence index dipped in February, reversing a two-month increase during the December-January period. The index now stands at 104 (1985=100), down from 105.1 in January. The present situation index increased to 116.4 from 112.1. The expectations index, however, declined to 95.7 from 100.4 last month. "Although expectations cooled this month, consumers are more optimistic today than they were a year ago," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. more...
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