Primary market
Cooling temperatures around Capitol Hill make me think of ways to get the old home place ready for the winter months in the fickle Mid-Atlantic area and that usually means spending some money on insulation, caulking and the usual home maintenance that keeps the cold air out and warm air in.
Question: We are in the process of refinancing our $440,000 monthly ARM to a fixed rate. I called my current lender who offered us a 6.375 percent 30 year fixed loan with no points. The loan officer faxed us a Good Faith Estimate and we noticed that closing costs totaled $4,200.
An epidemic of identity theft is fueling a growth industry of companies promising to protect you from data thieves.
One of the hottest unanswered questions in the home real estate market has just been restoked by a new federal court decision: Can lenders and other settlement service providers "mark up" fees to home buyers without limit?
Bye-bye credit lines? Hello cashout refis? In the wake of the Federal Reserve"s quarter-point boost in short-term rates last week, floating-rate credit lines -- arguably the fastest-growing product category in the U.S. home mortgage market for the past three years -- are certain to be less popular among homeowners.
Credit scores still just don"t quite add up for many consumers and that could mean they won"t make the grade when it comes to getting their mortgage application approved at the best rate -- or at all.
When consumer confidence about the economy hits its highest level of the year, mortgage rates hit the lowest in decades, and home sales jump by amazing percentages in key markets, all in one week, what do you think that adds up to?
It appears that most financial writers in the media have jumped on the Interest-Only Bandwagon, thanks to the immense popularity of these products. Most of what I have read in the media on the subject gives an overall pessimistic viewpoint -- a warning to those who are thinking of taking out an interest-only loan that they carry considerable risk.
Question: Our house deed has the following language: "grant and convey unto John Doe and Mary Doe, his wife, to hold as tenants by the entirety ... ." Can you please clarify this for us? If one of us should die, is the remaining spouse the sole heir of the property? In these days post-Terri Schiavo, I want to make sure that my "house is in order."
The latest example of the conflict between PR and policy, concerns the effort to standardize loan rules nationwide.
Question: We are thinking of taking out a 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage in the amount of $275,000 at 4.25 percent. The APR is 4.57 percent. We would be paying 2.50 points and rolling them into the loan.
I got the impression at the recent National Association of Realtors convention that most folks believed that President Bush"s re-election meant no change in the status quo.
Thanks to the way provisions in a new federal regulation are being administered, you can keep tabs on your credit report more frequently than consumer experts typically advise -- and you can do it for free, beginning today if you live in the West.
If you"re looking to buy a mortgage note as an investor, or if you want to sell, two new online auction sites could be extremely helpful.
It"s no surprise that interest-only mortgages have gained popularity. For home buyers, interest-only loans increase affordability -- something that many homebuyers need after the last few years of skyrocketing home prices.
What your credit card company isn"t telling the national credit bureaus could cost you big money when you go to buy a home.
Forget about deducting mortgage insurance premiums on your federal taxes this year. Despite having passed the Senate and co-sponsorship by more than 220 House members, Congress did not include it in its massive, eleventh-hour tax legislation last week.
The mortgage community is heavily populated with hundreds of loan programs. There are loans for different types of buyers:
A state attorney general is warning consumers to be wary of companies that offer to help save their home from foreclosure.
Here"s a compelling reason to keep closer tabs on your credit report -- 79 percent of credit reports examined in a recent survey contained either serious errors or other mistakes of some kind.
You may not be quite ready to accept the idea that housing on a national basis has moved beyond bottoming out and is now in slow recovery mode.
As Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must continue to increase homeownership, buy more loans and overall have a big, fat, happy life, they need to find other people to make loans to, right? If the current homeownership rate is hovering near, give or take, 68 percent, then what about the other 32 percent who don"t yet have homes? Well, maybe they don"t have enough money for a downpayment while at the same time their credit is not so good. For these folks, it might not be their best choice to grab a conventional loan. It might be better to go sub-prime.
As any loan officer will tell you, almost every borrower is shopping around for the best interest rate. And why not? Borrowers are supposed to do that, right? But some of these loan officers have been around the block a few times and know how to structure a rate quote that looks a lot better than it actually is.
Question: In March of 1973 I settled on a residential property. My 30-year mortgage was for $55,000, at an interest rate of 7.5 percent. The first payment was due on April 9, 1973. I have made the exact amount of payments over these many years, and thought that my mortgage would be paid off in April of this year. However, my lender -- which is not the original lender -- has advised me that the mortgage would not be paid off until August of this year.
Question: I have mortgage insurance on my primary residence that I"ve had for a year and one month. I originally did a ten percent down loan with my lender. We did lots of improvements on the home, which is in a great neighborhood, and appreciation has been good. I paid for an independent appraiser to re-appraise our house. Our equity now is about 24 percent. I sent a copy of the appraisal along with a request for my lender to drop the mortgage insurance, however, they refused, saying it was their policy to wait two years regardless of the equity we now have. They would not honor an independent appraisal and now we would have to pay one of their appraisers after the two years. Is this right and legal?
The most far-reaching reforms to the American credit system -- touching virtually ever home buyer, every mortgage applicant -- passed the House of Representatives last week by a 392-30 vote.
How does a 2 percent loan sound? Great, doesn’t it? Well, there’s always a catch and here’s just the minimal information consumers should understand about these three ARMs that plenty of buyers and investors use to provide lower monthly payments. The interest rates on these three programs are super low. The index as of July 1, 2003 was 2.130 percent for the COFI, 1.419 percent for the CODI, and 2.140 percent for the COSI.
Too many credit reports continue to contain errors, maintaining vast data banks of consumer credit information raises security and privacy concerns and consumers are just beginning to grasp credit scores.
If you are an online mortgage lender, broker or other mortgage Web site, put a useful mortgage calculator on your site and spring for some original, objective editorial content.
Landscaping is a homeowner association asset that can and should improve with age. However, diligent attention is required in order to make this happen. Skilled maintenance work, along with occasional and ongoing improvement work are essential.
A little-known California law that allows consumers to protect themselves against identity theft by placing a freeze on their credit files has raised the mortgage community"s hackles. Not because they don"t think they have a right to guard their Ids, but because they fear the entire lending process could be shut down if the idea catches on.
Before you sign for that mortgage, whether it"s a purchase mortgage, refinance or equity loan, read the small print -- the small print on your credit card agreements.
I was in Chicago this past week giving a speech to some mortgage industry professionals. We discussed the differences in mortgage lending over the past ten years or so. One of lending’s old guidelines, that of Credit Explanations, had been mostly tossed to the wayside in today’s lending environment. When the speech was over, I naturally gathered with some of the attendees and we shared some of the credit explanations given to us over the past decade and had a lot of fun doing so.
Question: After months of watching the rates, I decided to refinance my $300,000 mortgage to 6.125 percent. This rate was a lot higher than the ones I see advertised but my mortgage broker convinced me that a higher rate with no points or closing costs is better than locking into a lower rate that carries all kinds of fees and points. Do you agree?
Often it can take days, even weeks, to finalize all the necessary paperwork
If you have an interest in financing or refinancing an unusual window of opportunity may now be closing. Mortgage rates at this time are as low as they"ve been in decades, but whether such interest levels can continue is less certain each day.
The 1-Year Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) slipped to a record 3.89 percent last week, the lowest the rate has been since Freddie Mac began tracking them back in 1984, according to Freddie Mac"s Primary Mortgage Market Survey ending January 31, 2003.
The recession is over. A Reuters news wire story last week, quoted "an elite economic panel," which pinpointed November/December 2001 as the bottom of the recession. We"re on the way up as far as the economy goes – but here"s the proviso (and there"s always a proviso): We just don"t know if we"re going to have a "double dip" recession or not.
Household debt is now at a record high level relative to disposable income, according to the Federal Reserve. This latest bit of news explains why there’s “no early end” in sight to bankruptcy filings as consumers recover from their debt incurring binge of the 1990s, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute in Alexandria, Va.
The warning espoused by the mortgage business to beat back legislation aimed at reining in abusive lenders, namely that low-income borrowers will lose access to credit, has been debunked by two new studies.
North Carolina"s home buyers and legislators are breathing a sign of relief that they didn"t wait for a federal anti-predatory lending law or bow to industry criticism that state laws curb subprime lending.
There"s a new credit line in the pipeline.
Builders and real estate agents never again would have to disappoint unqualified home buyers, thanks to a new referral network formed by a leading provider of downpayment assistance and a national non-profit credit counseling organization.
Sometimes it happens that an owner of a residence that is being rented, may decide that he or she wants to sell that property. If the landlord can work out a purchase arrangement with the tenant, or if he is able to sell it to someone already interested, that may be all well and good. But what if the owner wants to put the property on the open market and make it available to a wide range of prospective purchasers? That is typically not what a tenant has bargained for, and it has the potential for causing considerable inconvenience. Are there any rules that protect the tenant"s privacy and quiet enjoyment of the property in this situation? Yes.
Are there any advantages to specializing in a certain area of the real estate market or, is it better to be a general practitioner? This is a question that certainly faced another professional organization a few years back -- doctors.
Old Rule: The dot-com era was the peak of the Internet.
Being a real estate agent is a business where image matters in a big way. Your clients and prospects will be investing hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars through you, and they want to know that you"re someone who is fully capable of representing their best interests. So everything you present about yourself makes a statement to your clients, and prospects about whether you"re the agent they"ll want to work with... or not.
For those trying to figure out what LendingTree and it"s rapidly growing sibling Realestate.com are up to these days, USA Interactive Corporation"s Financial Services and Real Estate"s President and COO Tom Reddin has graciously agreed to explain how the company works and where it"s headed to Realty Times readers.
Last weekend my son-in-law , Kevin, and daughter Kara bought a home from a for-sale-by-owner for six percent over appraised price, and could not be happier.
It is a mistake to build one"s Internet business on the basis of organic search results. You are not in control, the search engines are.
When I was a kid growing up in Santa Monica, California, I would occasionally play with a group of boys that included a boy named Tony Alva. One day Tony decided to ride his skateboard and do tricks inside of a dry swimming pool instead of on the pavement, and the kid literally transformed himself into a skateboarding legend. An entirely new era in skateboarding was born on that day, and all of today"s skateboarding parks and competitions evolved from Tony"s idea. Today Tony is looked upon as the person responsible for transforming skateboarding into the popular sport that it is today.
The listing presentation is not just for the seller"s benefit. It is also an opportunity to demonstrate your ability, and get the listing. It is your chance to differentiate yourself and place yourself above the competition for consideration.
The National Association of Realtors is growing fast: its membership has now swelled to over one million agents, from a low of 740,000 just a few years ago. Real estate’s incredible run over the last five years is attracting hundreds of thousands of new agents. Most states are being overrun with people taking the real estate test. At the same time the “churn” in real estate, which is the number of agents failing and leaving the business, has to be rising as well. It is becoming harder and harder to make a living in real estate.
Old-fashioned personal letters add a powerful punch to your marketing campaign. Don’t overlook this proven method to build rapport with your prospective clients.
How many times have you walked onto a property that a client has just enlisted you to sell only to find the yard riddled with children’s toys, old bicycles, and/or a hibachi sitting on the front stoop? Then, when you walked into the home you are greeted with sights of chaos, grime, and decorating styles reminiscent of early yard sale specials. While this example may seem extreme, the reality is that properties that look rough command 10-15 percent lower sales value then comparable properties that have had some cosmetic work to make them more appealing.
Are you meeting a friend for lunch? According to "The Farmer"s
Real estate crooks and cons have even more reason to worry these days. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a multi-agency crackdown is set to target scams and frauds, as well as bolster state and federal action and efforts to protect homeowners.
Does the Web make farming obsolete? Not when you combine traditional postcard farming with an effective Web site.
What did the most recent speakers you heard or articles you read suggest that you do about technology? Did they urge you to buy a laptop computer, digital camera, personal digital assistant, virtual tours and your own web site complete with an auto-responder and ghost keywords? Do you need laptop presentations for all your prospects?
Have you ever noticed that some brokers or agents seem to get more than their share of free publicity?
In police forces, S.W.A.T. team members (Special Weapons and Tactics) are trained for the most challenging situations. This serves two purposes - to eliminate the financial and logistical burden of training officers who are do not wish to or are unable to qualify to be part of a special force, and to have appropriately trained personnel that can be deployed as needed.
Question: Can a homeowners association force unit owners to use its contractor to repair unit interior damage when the HOA is responsible for repairs? In this case, water seeped in due to failed waterproofing and damaged carpet, drywall, paint, baseboards and insulation. The HOA is paying a contractor to do both exterior and interior repairs but I do not want to use this contractor. I"ll accept the HOA"s cost estimate to do my interior repairs but want to get my own contractor.
Editor"s note: In a Realty Times exclusive, Realtor.com is announcing it"s bold new I-LEAD program for Realtors. I-LEAD spokesperson Clay Aldrich will monitor and respond to all responses from agent readers in the Realty Times interactive forum. If you would like to know more about I-LEAD XL, please log in and post your questions and comments at the end of the article.
A proposal by the Ontario government that would force homeowners to conduct an energy audit before they could sell their home has stirred up lots of controversy within the real estate industry.
Emphasizing no additional costs to its customers, Realtor.com is introducing exciting new improvements to its website and enhanced listings offerings that promise to help individual Realtors compete with national information providers on the Web. Increasingly, consumers want more information than home listings, they want detailed "community information, school comparisons, local interactive maps, recent home sales and published expert commentary from agents," among other features.
Because of rising concerns for Realtors" safety, the National Association of Realtors has initiated a number of actions to address personal safety and property loss issues among members. The NAR has conducted a survey of members to ascertain Realtors" feelings about safety, including which situations are more likely to provide higher risk to personal safety or property loss.
The National Association of Realtors Marketing Research Department has conducted an online "Safety Survey" for members to find out Realtors" experiences with personal safety while on the job. Out of over 4,337 respondents, over half reported experiencing safety concerns, incidents, or harassing situations while working as a Realtor.
The success of NAR"s educational classes and Innovation Showcase at the NAR convention in New Orleans In November 2002 has resulted in the award of a bigger budget and more creative leeway for senior vice president Frank Sibley, who oversees NAR"s conventions and publications.
Sen. Shelby, a cosponsor of the Community Choice in Real Estate Act (S. 1839), spoke at length during a public policy political forum about why banks should not be allowed to enter real estate. When the 108th Congress convenes in January, he is likely to assume the chairmanship of the Senate
Vacant homes often don’t appeal to buyers. So, these days, some real estate companies are suggesting house-sitters to help keep the home maintained and give it a lived-in feel.
travel rewards program to NAR members in connection with the Realtor® Platinum Visa card.
Anyone operating old-fashioned rabbit ears or roof top antenna to get television signals at home has been given a reprieve before they"ll have to make changes to tune into digital television.
The legal staff at NAR"s Chicago headquarters are celebrating in the summer heat with a mid-afternoon ice cream treat. In fact, the whole building of employees is passing smiles and congratulations to one another.
Despite the current economy and decline in the housing market, builders have not abandoned home technologies, according to new findings in the 7th Annual State of the Builder Technology Market Study released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The study found that a majority of builders remain committed to home technology and recognize its importance in marketing new homes. According to the CEA, consumer desire for electronics helped preserve builder revenue in the current housing market.
ARELLO"s Executive Vice President Craig Cheatham and Liaison to Honduras Wayne Ciddio have been asked to address the 7th
According to National Association of Realtors attorney Laurene Janik, the
There have been many postings in recent days questioning NAR"s actions and motives in its technology
The e-PRO 500, the first class of the National Association of REALTORS® Internet mastery course is graduating. What do they think about the course, and should you take it?
One thing I have realized through my travels as a consultant and presenter of handheld technology is that there really is not a lot of information readily available for Agents to refer in order to decide what tools they should adopt to achieve success in their real estate business.
Often we discover by accident an incredibly timesaving tool, which we COULD have been using for years in our computer work, but just had not known about. Well, you will bless the day that you learned here about this true time saver.
With more to-do"s on your "technology plate" than ever before, the number of Internet marketing technologies may seem too overwhelming to consider: Websites, IDX, PPC, blogs, social networking sites, and lead capturing, to name a few. The good news is that these technologies provide you -- the REALTOR® -- with more opportunities then ever to maximize your marketing dollars. Better yet, you don"t have to learn them all at once, and you are completely free to decide which technology or combination of technologies is right for you.
For Part I of this article, please click here.
The advancement of technology is meant to ease the burden of everyday living by making things more efficient, accurate and less expensive but when it comes to determining the value of real estate, can technology really be better---or, take the place of a certified appraiser?
The real estate industry has moved on-line with good reason -- that"s where today"s tech-savvy and Internet oriented homebuyers have gone. Real estate sales methods are being redefined, as people increasingly rely on search engines to locate precisely the house they want.
Typically, many agents" workdays slow considerably as the holidays approach. On the flip side, real estate services companies are working in overdrive right now as they prepare to show off hot new technologies at the annual National Association of Realtors Conference & Expo in San Francisco, Oct. 28-31.
Old Rule: The Internet will disintermediate real estate professionals.
You take a look at the home pages of two different agents" websites. Each home page is packed with content, with links that lead to more content. But one page is like a dream to navigate and the other, well, ever wind your way through a labyrinth?
How would you like to see the results of your redecorating without picking up a paint brush? With Benjamin Moore"s great new tool, you can change the color combinations in your home with a mouse click and if you don"t like the looks of your creation just start over and see another masterpiece in two minutes.
The copy you find on most real estate sales associates" websites makes for excellent bed-time reading, especially if you are suffering from a bad case of insomnia! This is such a lost opportunity, because with a little thought, structure and effort your web copy can launch a flowing stream of wonderful and profitable new relationships with your online prospects.
The real estate transaction has always been complicated by a myriad of confusing forms, disclosures, and participants. Security technologies have been the missing link needed to enable paperless transactions. However, most industry observers feel it may be five years, or more, before brokers, agents and MLSs make the shift to the trustworthy computing standards required for paperless transactions. These practitioners control 86 percent of residential transactions, and could be among the technology"s first victims.
How many monthly hours do you spend on the web typing in usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, etc? Or wrangling with printers, or mailers about postal pieces? Here is some software that will definitely save you time, if not your sanity.
Old Rule: Delivering leads is the only job for a website.
There are a lot of places on the Internet that offer technical support to computer users without cost. The trick is to find the right one, for the right job, and at the right time. Save Freebyte.com and use it when you have a hardware or software problem. This is a great spot to find a selection of places where you can get the help you need to resolve your issue.
Real-estate agents and brokers traditionally build business through a combination of referrals, direct mail, and newspaper and billboard advertising. Because of the cost of producing and placing effective ads, television -- the most influential advertising medium in history -- is generally avoided by real-estate professionals. Avoided, that is, until the recent fundamental shift in delivery technology and viewing patterns.
When times are bad, it seems there’s no shortage of scam artists around who try to make things worse.
Dallas" housing market may be slumbering, but not in neighborhoods with new and/or updated housing. That"s why it is mission-critical for real estate agents to know the latest in what homebuyers want in homes and why.
There are over 30 different elements to optimizing your real estate web site to win high rankings within the search engines. For the purposes of this article, we will only be focusing on the most important factors of website optimization.
Dear Mr. Internet,
The Treasury Department recently released a report, which include eligibility requirements to determine which homeowners qualify for relief under the plan. Following are the eligibility requirements as specified in the guidelines:
At the recent NAR convention in San Francisco, my virtual team and I decided to offer Mr. Internet® "Web Makeovers" at our booth. It turned out to be a huge hit with the throngs of Expo goers because within just a few minutes they saw how they could vastly improve their site"s ability to generate new business. Since it only takes just a few "tweaks" to make a big difference in Website performance, I will share with you some of the highlights of what we did for the folks at the show.
While companies such as Google and Yahoo! cite "relevance" to the consumer as paramount to Internet searches, each is adjusting its search results functions to stimulate Website operators to choose the surer route of "pay-for-click" or "sponsor" positioning.
What started out as a way to connect PCs and share an Internet connection,
Even seasoned website designers often see a webpage as a single vast empty expanse to fill with something at all costs. Nothing could be further from the truth!
Newspaper editors know that the most valuable part of a newspaper is the space "above the fold" when the paper is folded in half and lying on a table. Because they know this, editors ensure that only the most important news goes above the fold. Why? Because they know that is what you buy the paper for -- to get the news, ideally presented in order of its importance.
Dial-up growth is flat, if not falling. Broadband is "booming" according to recent reports, reaching almost 1 in 3 home users. Broadband users are the choicest demographic, too. Maybe it"s time to be less concerned about download speeds, and add more leading-edge features to your Web site. Differentiate yourself from the growing horde of online competitors.
By now, just about any serious computer user owns a digital camera,
Despite today"s challenging economy - and perhaps because of it - improving the ambiance of our homes and offices is a simple way to fight the doldrums and boost morale. Millions of Americans suffer from depression in the United States, and many have turned to exercise, reading, and listening to music are ways helping people cope.
The best way to implement technology improvements into your real estate business is to create a well designed plan that is both viable and realistic. To do this, you need to identify a “technology expert” who can help you implement your plan and accomplish your goals (not just tell you what to do). This expert should stay with you every step of the way until you can take these tasks over for yourself (of delegate them to an assistant if possible).
All too often in real estate, agents rush out to purchase some new software, technology, web services or a website believing it will be a quick solution to take their business to a new level of earnings, and closed production. We all look for the “Magic Bullet of success!” But does it exist? Success is something that cannot be earned just by throwing away your next commission dollar on, and not asking any questions. Our reality to achieve is sometimes so clouded by our enthusiasm that we blind ourselves to the real outcome, and effects. For example, one would assume that a very expensive website would bring a greater return that a template site that costs only a few hundred dollars, but does it? It depends how much knowledge you possess, and what questions you ask before you purchased it. It is often too late to make changes once a product is purchased without adding on additional costs.
Did you scan postcards or other images without permission for your Web site? If so, you could be setting yourself up - and your broker and web designer - for a costly lawsuit. There are artists and lawyers searching the Web right now for just such prey. I"ve seen six figure lawsuits and five figure settlements. No kidding. Consider the following true story.
In real estate we all too often hit a glass ceiling or brick wall, and feel it’s impossible to take our careers to the next level of achievement. All too often, we sit back and wonder how someone becomes a success, but we don’t have a clue on how they attained it. We look at other successful agents around us in our office, and would kill to know what techniques they use to be successful. Perhaps you even approached them and asked, but the answer you received was evasive and lacking. Why? It’s because you are in direct competition with them. If they share real knowledge, their fear is that you’ll take business away from them. So unless that successful agent is your broker, it doesn’t make any sense for an agent in your office to give you any real details.
Recent statistics regarding mortgages have brought the reality of the mortgage market front and center.
If you are a Broker and currently have an IDX solution on your Web site, or are thinking of implementing one, there are key things to keep in mind when you begin development. By practicing the following 10 simple rules, you’ll have a successful IDX Home Search Utility that earns your clients" trust and captures more leads for your company and its agents.
Following the success of the Real Estate CyberSpace Society"s 2002 National Real Estate On-Line Convention and Exposition in April 2002, the Society is hosting a special
Your Web site exists to get you leads, among other purposes. Many
Pending home sales declined on the heels of a weakening economy and with some buyers waiting for clarity on housing stimulus provisions, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Just when we figured that all the good free stuff on the Internet was vanishing like a taxi in a rainstorm, along comes a personalization platform that organizes and allows you to access all of your financial and other personal records on line! From your desktop (or your Palm or Web phone) you can click to your records, your e-mail, your news or your shopping and travel sites on Yodlee.com.
Dear Mr. Internet:
Bigfix.com is a new service that offers to install software on your computer which regularly connects to their Internet servers in order to find bug
Dear Mr. Internet:
To protect your home, you use alarms, barking dogs, and other deterrents you think will discourage break-ins. The same is true on the Web. There are a few steps you can take to protect the text and graphics on your Web site before and after someone tries to steal them.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but if you are thinking of copying the text or graphics from another Realtor"s Web site, you could end up paying up to $100,000 in damages per incident for copyright and/or trademark infringement.
The NAR"s IDX guidelines on how MLSs should implement the sharing of listing data between participating brokers is open to interpretation. Now, some MLSs Broker Reciprocity solutions are open to controversy. The question is: Who gets the lead?
It isn"t news when a broker graduates a class of new agents, but when a prominent local broker certifies her own agents in Internet-readiness, that signals an important trend worth watching in the industry.
The idea of using "e-mail auto-responders" (EAR) has been successfully
Not long ago, brokers and agents complained that they weren"t getting enough leads from the Internet. Now, with the proliferation of online lead generation companies (Web site providers) and MLS-enabled "Broker Reciprocity" solutions, the opposite is true. Brokers are finding warm leads are falling through the cracks, and it"s making them want to take back control of lead generation.
MLS information management market leaders FNIS and Interealty are aggressively launching cutting edge MLS-based lead generation products at the MLS and broker levels. How strongly will their solutions impact the growing trend toward local marketing solutions for brokers and agents?
There are so many hot housing and mortgage issues being added into the legislative hopper in Washington every week that it makes your head spin.
Outspoken SoCALMLS General Manager Russ Bergeron once told Agent News that anyone who pays an MLS over $25 a month for listing services is crazy. While some other large MLSs are charging members as much as $350 a month for Broker Reciprocity solutions, Bergeron has put his profits where his mouth is. With its long-time technology partner, HomeSeekers, SoCalMLS is debuting a new IDX solution called IDXnet(tm) to its 20,000 members - without adding new fees.
The results are in for the second monthly Mr. Internet/Realty Times survey, featured on Agent News. Four hundred and sixty five respondents, about a 13 percent increase over last month"s responses, answered questions about Broker Reciprocity and how important real estate professionals think it will be to their businesses.
Not long ago you"d pay an arm and a leg for software that can save complete
Reduced broker profitability is a pressure cooker about to explode. What"s pouring on the steam? High commissions paid to agents, commission cuts paid by consumers, technology expenditures to third-party vendors, and more. The answer? Find other revenue generators besides brokerage. That"s why you will see a new trend reaching maturity in 2002 - brokers as technology service providers.
Whispers of a housing recession are beginning. Despite optimistic housing statistics from the NAR, and the NAHB, many agents are reporting increased inventory and falling prices in certain neighborhoods and price levels. Will the market downturn be like others, or will this one be different?
Green homes are becoming increasingly more popular. Finding ways to advertise a home as being energy-efficient can spark a level of interest in prospective buyers. And as the seasons start to change and spring pollen floats into the air, having a solution to keep the pollen out of a home and save on a home"s electricity bill is a plus.
Need to do a search? Searchsystems.net is the biggest free database of powerful information for real estate owners, investors or agents I"ve yet to find on the Web. In the
Before he became one of real estate"s most well-known technology trainers, Stephen Canale was a portrait photographer. He never lost his love for imaging, and is an active proponent for digital cameras as a primary real estate marketing tool.
Many real estate web designers use "frames" to minimize
While most Windows users are at least somewhat familiar with the included Scandisk utility, often seeing it run automatically after their system crashes or restarts irregularly, few realize the advanced (and necessary) options that are available to them as part of their overall computer maintenance needs.
Brokers everywhere are being inundated with technology business solutions by eager Internet vendors. The attraction for many brokers is coupling client, office, agent and transaction management efficiencies with lead generation. But some tools, such as multiple Web sites and transaction management platforms, may be solutions in search of a problem, say some. As a broker, how do you know where to put your money?
There have been recent changes in search engine submission policies. Today to get your site indexed quickly, the most cost effective, and in some cases, the only way to get on certain search engines, is to pay for a guaranteed site review. The two best places to apply are through the Looksmart search engine network and the Yahoo directory.
Several prominent e-brokerages have gone out of business, but does that herald a significant trend? Many traditional brokerages would like to think so, but there"s just as much evidence that e-brokerages are here to stay, especially when they start adopting traditional practices like building a local market and hiring lots of Realtors.
While there is no rhyme or reason to it, there are people out there who are willing to destroy all your files for the sheer fun of making mischief. E-mail viruses have become a plague on the Internet, and they prey on the naivete of people to open contaminated e-mail and forward it to others. Some viruses are so insidious that they can forward infected viruses to your entire e-mail database without your knowledge.
Unemployment claims are skyrocketing. According to the Labor Department, this is near 8 percent rate. To trump the unemployment claims of the early 1980s, jobless claims would have to exceed the 1 million mark.
The online lead generation industry is shifting its focus from how to get real estate agents online to how to capture leads for them. Realtor.com"s new XLerator blind referral program promises to deliver hot leads to Realtors who are customers of its I-LEAD Web page product. Will the strategy work?
Is it just me, or are most of the sites owned by the local area offices of national realty chains and independent regional firms really bad sites? The Web has moved beyond the Web site as brochureware, but many of these local brokerages don"t know that yet. In fact, if your broker"s web site isn"t producing hundreds of consumer leads to you and other agents in the firm, it is a sub-standard Web site.
The battle between Homestore and MSN HomeAdvisor was beginning to look like the Arms race. Before it went nuclear, Homestore had beaten all comers in terms of which site gets the most traffic. Citing Media Metrix numbers for years, Homestore was suddenly surprised in March when the data source named HomeAdvisor first in traffic over Realtor.com
Coldwell Banker is beta-testing its new e-brokerage site, Blue Edge Realty. Designed to compete with the discount e-brokers who offer lower rates courtesy of the cost efficiencies of the Internet, Blueedge.com aims to fill an unmet need for do-it-your-self sellers who want limited help for reduced fees.