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Foreclosure starts surge in Western states Premium Content

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 13, 2011.
Flickr/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/respres/2539334956/" target=blank>respres</a>

Foreclosure starts jumped by double digits from July to August in four out of five Western states tracked by ForeclosureRadar, reversing what had been a declining trend over the past several months, the company said.

The increase in foreclosure starts seen in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington appeared to be driven primarily by Bank of America and related companies, which boosted notice of default and notice of trustee sale filings by 116 percent from July to August.

Wells Fargo and US Bank also ramped up foreclosure start filings, ForeclosureRadar said, while filings by JP Morgan Chase and Citibank were essentially flat, ForeclosureRadar said.

In California, foreclosure starts jumped nearly 70 percent from July to August, totaling 31,965 -- the highest level in a year. The average time to foreclose in California increased to 333 days in August, 49 days longer than a year ago.

Notice of trustee sale filings were up more moderately, rising 6 percent from July to August but still down nearly 24 percent from a year ago at 24,020.  more...

10 must-see real estate makeovers

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Tuesday, September 13, 2011.
<a href="http://www.abramsbooks.com/Books/The_Best_Homes_from_THIS_OLD_HOUSE-9781584799351.html" target=blank>Abrams</a>

Book Review
Title: "The Best Homes from This Old House"
Author: Kevin O'Connor
Publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2011; 228 pages; $35

Whether your normal preferences in reality TV fare run toward something starring a member of that ubiquitous reality show family that shall not be named (hint: starts with K), or "Ice Road Truckers," nature shows or the bizarrely fascinating "Pawn Stars," it's difficult not to get sucked into "This Old House" if you should come across it channel surfing.

The show is an institution, sure, but it also consistently presents the very best of real estate eye candy.

And while you won't see any pimped-out mega-Mansions or Versace toilets, what you will see is the best of classic American architecture, lovingly and painstakingly restored.

The show tends to focus on the restoration process itself, versus the finished product, until the credits roll over the top of footage of the amazing results of the crew's labor.  more...

Know your home real estate inspection rights

By Barry Stone, Tuesday, September 13, 2011.
Flickr/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/75001512@N00/4968800007/" target=blank>Joelk75</a>

DEAR BARRY: When we purchased our house, the home inspector didn't want us to attend the inspection. He simply mailed us the report, but we never got to meet him. Since moving in, we've found defects that were not reported to us, and now we feel that our presence at the inspection should have been allowed.

Among the undisclosed problems were ungrounded outlets (discovered later by our contractor) and several safety issues with our forced-air furnace (discovered by the man from the gas company). Not being allowed at the inspection should have been a red flag. After all, we paid for the inspection. Why shouldn't we have been there? --Ben

DEAR BEN: No home inspector with a healthy understanding of the profession would deny homebuyers the right to attend their own inspection. There is simply no excuse for such a ban. You paid the home inspector's fee, and for this you had every right to be there; to ask him questions; to learn, firsthand, what he observed at the home.

Inspectors who bar their clients from attendance have no concept of the service business they are in and should either re-evaluate their professional function or find another way to make a living. It's a matter of attitude, of realizing that the purpose of the inspection is to provide buyers with a thorough understanding of the condition of the property they are buying.  more...

(VIDEO) David Pogue: Augmented reality is the future of real estate

By Chris Smith, Tuesday, September 13, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-74155p1.html">James Thew </a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

David Pogue is officially my new role model.

After watching David present at Real Estate Connect in San Francisco with a brilliant combination of "tech wow" and humor, he has given me a new level to strive for when it comes to entertaining the tech-savvy masses.  more...

Startup rolls out 'apartment matching engine' Premium Content

By Andrea V. Brambila, Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

Apartment hunters and technology aficionados, take note: Vertical Brands, a San Francisco-based startup, this week officially launched what it claims is the "first online apartment matching engine."

ApartmentList launched in public beta in July. The site uses Facebook integration and users' answers to a series of questions posed on the site to offer personalized apartment recommendations.

The site allows users to log in using their Facebook account and then uses the information of where users and their friends check in to narrow down users' apartment search. Users can see where their friends have checked in on a map that also shows listing locations and Yelp-reviewed venues.

The site further narrows searches through answers to questions such as "Are you happy with your life?" or "What is your favorite birthday cake?" Users can skip any questions they prefer not to answer.

"Finding a new apartment should be a fun and exciting time that has instead become a painful experience for most people," said John Kobs, ApartmentList CEO and co-founder, in a statement.  more...

CoreLogic: Negative equity loans denting sales  Premium Content

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

Nearly three quarters of the 10.9 million homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth are paying higher, above-market interest rates on their mortgages, according to the latest numbers from real estate information and analytics provider CoreLogic.

Nevada had the highest share of negative equity mortgages at the end of the second quarter, with 60 percent of borrowers underwater, followed by Arizona (49 percent), Florida (45 percent), Michigan (36 percent) and California (30 percent).

The average negative equity share for the top five states has declined over the past year, from 41 percent to 38 percent,  primarily as a result of foreclosures, CoreLogic said.

But CoreLogic's analysis found that the federal homebuyer tax credit that expired last year contributed to a spike in loans with a high loan-to-value (LTV) ratio in 2009.

In the span of six months in 2009, the share of loans made with LTVs between 90 percent and 100 percent increased from 13 percent to 18 percent, "which is large given such a small time period," CoreLogic said.  more...

Build a better Twitter profile page Premium Content

By Gahlord Dewald, Tuesday, September 13, 2011.
Flickr/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/creative_tools/5360884710/" target=blank>Creative Tools</a>

Twitter has been and remains one of the social media tools that I find most valuable. It's a useful way for me to get information, and it's a useful way for me to share information with a group.

It's a useful way for me to communicate directly with someone. And because the relationship mechanism of Twitter is "asynchronous" (i.e., you don't have to be my "friend" to get my attention on Twitter or read my stuff), it's a handy way to discover new voices and ideas.

But one area that has always been lacking in Twitter is the profile page. Twitter profile pages lack usefulness for business users.

Even with recent refinements, a trip to the Twitter profile page of a business isn't going to give much insight or meaning into the organization. Rather, it may provide a picture, a background image, and whatever was most recently posted.

Compared to other social media sites, Twitter's profiles are just not that helpful for a potential audience member to figure out what the business is about or for the business to put its best foot forward.  more...

Mortgage interest tax deduction: safe until after 2012 election? Premium Content

By Ken Harney, Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

Congress' supercommittee -- the bipartisan, 12-member panel assigned the task of cutting $1.5 trillion from the federal deficit in the next 10 weeks -- met for the first time last Thursday, appointed top staff, and took preliminary peeks at alternative combinations of spending reductions and revenue increases that could get them to their goal by Thanksgiving.

Severe cutbacks or elimination of longtime tax preferences as the mortgage interest deduction and local real estate write-offs were on some of the menus that floated into the staff.

For example, the influential, bipartisan private-sector Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget urged members to "go big" and "go long" -- well beyond $1.5 trillion -- and offered several options on the mortgage interest deduction, including elimination of second-home interest write-offs outright, capping the primary home mortgage interest deduction at $500,000, and turning it into a credit.

Over a 10-year period, the group estimated that by limiting mortgage interest deductions and other itemized write-offs for high earners -- presumably those with household incomes above $250,000 or individual incomes above $200,000 -- it could knock $250 billion off the deficit.  more...