First, Edmund Andrews, an economics reporter for the New York Times (who makes $120,000 a year), falls in love, and then he buys a $460,000 house in Silver Springs, Md., by taking out two mortgages (a primary mortgage of $333,700 and a "piggyback" loan for $80,300).

Here's how his broker convinces him not to worry about the loans: "'Don't worry,' " Bob reassured me, saying what almost everybody else in real estate was saying at that moment. "'The value of your house will be higher in five years. You'll be able to refinance.' "

And then the credit-card debt starts piling up; and then his wife gets laid off; and then they default on their mortgage, but JPMorgan Chase is so busy dealing with the mess of the housing market that the bank is too busy to foreclose on his home.

Wondering how he, an economics writer, failed to understand what he was doing (well, he knew he was gambling), Andrews ends his essay this way: "Eight months after my last payment to the bank, I am still waiting for the ax to fall."

Reposted with permission from Curbed.com. Click here to view original post.

Copyright (c) 2009 Curbed.com LLC

***

What's your opinion? Leave your comments below or send a letter to the editor.

The program for Blogger's Connect SF '09 is filling out very nicely.  The entire day is jam-packed with information and tips that everyone from the novice to the expert will find useful.

As Blogger's Connect continues to evolve in order to meet the needs of the audience, there have been all kinds of changes.  This year, you'll notice that some of the time slots have two sessions.  This will help people maximize their time and learning potential by choosing the session that best fits their needs and level of expertise.  

The Blogger's Connect Keynote is gonna ROCK!

Another big change to the program this year is the rebirth of the Blogger's Connect Keynote.  We didn't want to bring the keynote back unless we could find someone who we knew would blow away our audience with knowledge and useful takeaways.  There was much debate and discussion over who could do this the best, and when all was said and done, we were thrilled to announce that Sonia Simone, Senior Editor of Copyblogger.com, will be this year's Blogger's Connect Keynote speaker.  

Copyblogger was one of the first blogs that I found when I started blogging a few years ago, and am I glad that I found it.  On a regular basis the writers at Copyblogger share their insights and expertise on how to make dynamic, compelling content that will not only attract new readers and customers, but get them to act, so that you can grow your business.  

Sonia Wants to Get to Know You a Little Better

After graciously accepting our invitation to be the keynote speaker, Sonia asked if she could get to know a little bit more about the Blogger's Connect audience.  Like any good presenter, she wants to make sure that the content she is delivering is not only relevant, but also valuable.  She asked if we could send her some examples of real estate and mortgage blogs so that she could get a feel for the audience.  

I could have picked 20 or so and sent them to her, but what fun would that be?  One of the great things about being the Community Manager for Inman News is that I get to engage our community and watch it grow.  I thought it would be kinda presumptuous of me to send a list of blogs to Sonia, so I'm asking for a little help from the community of Blogger's Connect attendees.  

If you are planning on attending Blogger's Connect SF '09, and you have a blog, leave a link to the URL as a comment on this post (NO KEYWORD LINKING! SERIOUSLY.)  

I'll make sure that Sonia reads the post, and she can see for herself the kind of bloggers that will be in San Francisco.  How's that sound?

So, do yourself a few favors-- 1) Head on over to Copyblogger.com so that you can make yourself a little more familiar with Sonia (you can follow her on twitter, too), and 2) Leave your blog URL in the comments so that she can get to know you better.  

Don't Miss Out!

And hey, if all of this sounds like great fun and and awesome opportunity to learn from the best in the business-- that's because it is!  Don't be left out of the fun.  Register for Connect SF '09 right now!

See you in San Francisco!

From Future of Real Estate Marketing blog

Inman News has launched a survey to study the experiences agents and brokers are having with real estate-owned (bank-owned or REO) properties and short-sale properties.

Complete the survey for a chance to win a $200 Amazon.com gift card. Survey respondents can also choose to receive a free copy of the survey results.

The survey is a part of this month's focused coverage on "Fixing the Foreclosure Crisis."

Click here to take the survey.

Some of what's going on in the world of real estate today, as seen through the window of Twitter:

Within 40 minutes of landing in Washington, D.C., Phoenix-based broker-owner Jay Thompson has remarked twice about the horrible traffic and then declared "apparently I am now in Maryland."

NAR has paid Thompson's way to the midyear conference in order to provide feedback on the trade group's IDX policy -- which according to the latest staff interpretation, allows MLSs to require that brokers block search engines from indexing other brokers' listings (see story).

1000Watt Consulting's Marc Davison fumes that "The next broker who complains they don't have $25,000 2 develop an app then takes a month off 2 cruise Mediterranean, why return?"

For additional context, check out Davison's Inman News column today (welcome back Marc).

Davison writes about his frustration with what he sees as the failure of some in the real estate industry to recognize the potential of the iPhone, which runs an operating system that makes it possible for companies to develop customized applications. Trulia and Zillow are among those who have seen the light -- Davison reports that Zillow's Spencer Rascoff says Zillow's new iPhone app was downloaded 150,000 times in eight days and generated 25 percent of the site's searches last week.

Another Inman News columnist, Bernice Ross -- CEO of RealEstateCoach.com -- tweets that "I am conducting a training class on Twitter at Long & Foster in McLean Virginia -- all but 2 people are new to Twitter."

If any of this sounds interesting and you are not Twittering, here's a recent post that can get you started. It includes links to a list of real estate profesionals using Twitter, and blog posts by Gahlord Dewald on using Twitter for lead generation, customer service, trend spotting and reputation management.

This month, Inman News will gauge the depth of the U.S. real estate foreclosure problem with a series of articles, a reader survey and other news and features.

We'd like you to share you personal experiences in working with homeowners and properties facing foreclosure, and to hear your suggestions about ways to treat the financial and emotional wounds inflicted by the foreclosure wave and to minimize the impact of foreclosures on individuals and communities.

We are offering a $200 Amazon.com gift card to the author of the best essay we receive this month on the topic of "Fixing the Foreclosure Crisis." Essays should be 500-1,000 words in length, should not be promotional in nature and Inman News will retain all copyrights for published works. Send essays to: future@inman.com.

We will also award a free pass (for new registrations only) to the upcoming Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco to the author of each essay we choose to publish in full at Inman.com.

Click here for more details.

Flickr photo by austrini.

What is Century 21 Real Estate LLC doing now that they've moved out of national television advertising to increase the footprint of their cutting-edge online marketing strategies like social media?

Poking fun at old Century 21 TV ads by highlighting them on the company Facebook page. This hooter starring Vincent Price aired in 1988. Babies born at the time are reaching the legal drinking age this year.

Century 21's Facebook page also directs you to this 1986 ad that shows the pronounced and lingering impact the 1970s had on hairstyles and telephones.

Then there's this 1983 Canadian spot, in which our gold-jacketed hero, working on behalf of a hopeful but cash-strapped young couple, walks the printout of their mortgage amortization table (spit out by a state-of-the-art workstation with a 9-inch screen) over to financing and demands, "We've got to lower those monthly payments." And he does! With hybrid ARMs yet to be invented!

Whether you're the leader of an agent team, part of an agent team, or thinking of forming an agent team, you'll love the information we have to share during our FREE "Leveraging the Power of Teams" webinar. Here is just a sample of the things you'll learn:

• Learn what makes teams such a powerful selling force

• Learn how to overcome growth obstacles and maximize your team's potential

• Learn about tools and technology that can make your team more productive in the office and in the field

Daniel Rothamel, Inman News Community Manager and member of a successful agent team, will be there to share his knowledge and experience and answer your questions. If you want to make the most of your agent team, don't miss this webinar!

When?
Thursday, April 30, 2009
10:30 a.m Pacific Time / 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time

How Do I Sign Up?
Registration for the "Leverage the Power of Agent Teams" webinar is FREE and on a first-come, first-served basis.
Space is limited, so sign up quickly!

In case you might have missed it, the schedule for Blogger's Connect SF '09 is up in our Events section.  Whether you have attended previous Blogger's Connects, or you are thinking of making this one your first, there is sure to be content you will find exciting and valuable.  This year, there will be an opportunity to choose different sessions during Blogger's Connect.  So, whether you are new to social media and interested in getting started, or if you have emersed yourself in social media for years, we've got you covered.

Another exiciting feature is the "Live Lab."  During this time, we'll break out the laptops and everyone can help eachother by answering questions, working through difficult problems, or just helping however they can.  The best part is that it will all be hands-on and on the fly.  You'll walk out of the room in better shape than when you walked in. Pretty cool.  

One thing you'll notice about the schedule so far is that we haven't slotted any speakers or presenters.  This has been done intentionally.  To be quite honest, we haven't sent out a single speaker invite to Blogger's Connect-- yet.  Before we start inviting folks, I want to hear from you.  I want to know who YOU want to see at Blogger's Connect.  Take a look at the program, and let me know if you know of someone that would be perfect for leading the discussion on any of the topics.  Heck, the person you have in mind could be YOU!  That's fine, too.  

Then, just send me your suggestions:  Daniel@Inman.com  

 I'll put them all together, we'll discuss them, and then we'll begin inviting presenters.  Is there someone you really want to see present a topic at Blogger's Connect, or does one of these topics just jump off the page at you?  LET ME KNOW! 

The feedback that I heard as a result of my previous post about the Blogger's Connect schedule was extremely helpful, and we were able to integrate some of it in oder to produce this dynamite program.  I know you've still got some of that awesome feedback and insight left in the tank, so get to sharing!

I came across the following video of a Seth Godin presentation as a result of a post on his blog.  The video is about 20 minutes long, but as is the case with Seth Godin, it is worth every minute of your time:

Seth Godin at Gel 2006 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

This got me to thinking ...

The real estate and mortgage lending industries have received a whole lot of attention recently, mainly for all the wrong reasons.  I'm wondering how much of this attention is simply the result of things that are broken and could easily be fixed. 

What are the things out there that are broken, and how can we fix them?  

And, perhaps more importantly, what things out there really need to be broken?