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A new business model for real estate agents, brokers: free help

By David Fletcher, Wednesday, September 28, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-142054p1.html">SVLuma</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

Thanks to real estate professionals, there are families across America making substantially lower mortgage payments on homes today that they may otherwise have lost to foreclosure or sold in a short sale.

Some of those agents and brokers who are reaching out to help have been through the real estate wringer themselves -- they may have personally experienced foreclosure, sold their homes in a short sale or modified their mortgage. And others just want to help.  more...

Walk Score offers tools for commuters

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 28, 2011.
Flickr/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/o5com/5081595200/">o5com</a>

Apartment hunters can now type in their work address at WalkScore.com and see apartment listings from craigslist.org sorted automatically by estimated commute time.

Walk Score Apartment Search also provides links to MyNewPlace and ForRent.com to search their national databases for rentals with easy commutes.  more...

Trulia's 'social media guru' moves to WellcomeMat

By Matt Carter, Tuesday, September 27, 2011.

Rudy Bachraty, Truila's social media guru and co-founder of the Sellsius blog, has a new job: chief educator for WellcomeMat, the video publishing platform for real estate professionals and brands.

Bachraty said that while video has been touted as the next big thing in real estate marketing circles for some time, it remains an underutilized medium.

Just as in the early days of blogging, there's "a huge opportunity" for brokers and agents to stand out from their competitors by embracing the medium.

"I think that over the last three to five years, people have been saying" video is the next big thing, Bachraty said. "The technology has really gotten to a point where it's easier for folks to understand how to use it."

Bachraty said he views his move to WellcomeMat as an opportunity to help brokers and agent make the most of the medium. The company's desktop and mobile video platforms are cross-functional for many devices, and WellcomeMat's videographer marketplace helps real estate professionals commission professionally produced videos if they choose.  more...

No-interest loan comes with tax bite

By Benny Kass, Tuesday, September 27, 2011.
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DEAR BENNY: My wife and I want to give our two grown children an interest-free loan for $360,000. They currently have a 15-year fixed 5 percent loan for this amount for a second home they both enjoy. With our given money they can immediately pay off the bank loan and pay us back $4,587 per month for approximately 6.5 years.

The $4,587 is their current monthly payment. Staying with the bank loan, they would fully pay it off in seven years and 10 months. Paying the loan off 16 months early will represent a savings to them of more than $73,000.  more...

3 things to consider before buying a home in 55-plus community

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Tuesday, September 27, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-470767p1.html">berna namoglu</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

Q: My parents, who are nearing 70 years old, currently live in a large home they had custom-built when my brother, sister and I went away to college.

They are both retired, and the house is nearly paid off, even though it's worth much less now than they had expected it to be at this point in time.

But it's a lot of work for them, they have way too much space, and it's very costly to maintain and repair -- even the basic monthly bills like electricity are extremely expensive.

They just mentioned that they are interested in possibly downsizing to a new home in a 55-plus community.

They can certainly afford the home, if they are able to sell theirs, but I am concerned about the additional costs for homeowners association dues and that this community offers no assisted living or long-term care ... facilities for them to move to if and when that time comes. What things should we be factoring in as we help them make this decision? --Alex C.  more...

Home prices post fourth month of gains

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 27, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-585046p1.html">Rufous</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

U.S. home prices inched up for the fourth month in a row, rising 0.9 percent from June to July, according to the latest Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

Only two of the 20 metro areas tracked by the Case-Shiller 20-City Composite saw month-to-month price declines: Las Vegas (-0.2 percent) and Phoenix (-0.1 percent). The index showed prices in Las Vegas down 59.3 percent from their August 2006 peak, hitting a new low.

Looking back a year, 18 out of 20 metro areas saw annual price declines, with the price index for Minneapolis falling 9.1 percent, Phoenix down 8.8 percent, and Portland, Ore., dropping 8.4 percent.

Detroit (up 1.2 percent) and Washington D.C. (up 0.3 percent) were the only cities to post annual gains in July, leaving the 20-City Composite down 4.1 percent.

But a dozen other cities -- Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland, and Tampa -- posted improvements in annual price declines compared to June.  more...

Real estate boundaries: real and imagined

By Gahlord Dewald, Tuesday, September 27, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-360643p1.html">megastocker</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

Since I've never been involved in a real estate transaction I'm often asked why I do so much work for the industry. It's a natural question. Especially when confronted with a lot "for real estate professionals, by real estate professionals" chatter.

One of the things that I enjoy about it is the diverse set of backgrounds and experiences of people in the industry. While some may decry the lack of standards or the need to "raise the bar," I personally enjoy the wide variety of paths people have taken on their journey to be successful in real estate.

I sort of wonder whether that life might get squashed in the name of standards and raising the bar. I'll write more about that in an upcoming column.

This week I want to talk about meaning and location, the other big thing that keeps me happy working for the real estate industry. The real estate professionals who I know are all very deeply aware of how the towns, cities and neighborhoods in which they do business "work."

They know the businesses, the hangouts, the schools, the traffic patterns -- pretty much all of the human factors of any given piece of the landscape. Some may know more about a certain aspect of the area but all have a very solid grasp of what is happening and how. And sometimes even why.  more...

California hits ZipRealty with $17M wage suit

By Matt Carter, Tuesday, September 27, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-1934p1.html">Pling</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

ZipRealty Inc. violated California labor law during a four-year period by failing to pay hundreds of real estate agents the state's minimum wage of $8 an hour and premiums for overtime, the state's labor commissioner alleges in a lawsuit seeking more than $17 million in back wages, damages and penalties.

ZipRealty agents often "worked six or seven days a week, far in excess of 40 hours in a week, and frequently in excess of eight hours a day," the lawsuit alleges. But the agents "typically received no pay for a large majority of the pay periods they worked after 2005," when the housing market tanked, the suit claims.  more...

Fannie and Freddie fee hike in states with long foreclosure timelines?  Premium Content

By Ken Harney, Tuesday, September 27, 2011.
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Could homebuyers and loan applicants in states with lengthy foreclosure timelines -- from notice of default to repossession of the house by the bank -- soon be subjected to targeted price hikes on new mortgages?

Could borrowers in places like New York, Florida, New Jersey and Maryland be heading for payback time? It sure sounds like it.  more...

Realtor.com doubles its Facebook fans

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 27, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-608038p1.html">CyberEak</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

Move Inc.'s use of social media to more than double the number of Realtor.com Facebook fans and build interest in the listing portal's iPad app and "Ask a Realtor" offerings make it the "Best Socialized" enterprise-level business, according to the judges of Digiday's SAMMY Awards.

Other companies taking home top prizes in the annual social advertising, media and marketing (SAMMY) contest included Wal-Mart, American Express, HBO and Nike.

Move won recognition for growing the audience of the Realtor.com Facebook page by 149 percent in one year (the page had 24,000 fans this week).

It's done so in part by making Realtor.com content, including real estate listings, easily shared via multiple social networks. Realtor.com users can now log in to the site using their Facebook accounts, and the company claims to reach more than 6 million Twitter users each month. Realtor.com's YouTube Channel features more than 300 videos that have been viewed more than 430,000 times.

The Realtor.com Facebook page also features promotions and content that's meant to inform as well as encourage interaction.  more...

Helping renters find a home

By Natalie Fonseca, Tuesday, September 27, 2011.
Screenshots of Nestio's mobile app for iPhone.

As someone who moved dozens of times before becoming a homeowner, I can attest to the fact that finding a new place to live can be stressful -- especially when you're apartment-hunting with roommates who have different ideas about what home sweet home looks like.

While online rental sites have made it easier to search for properties, it's still a chore for renters to organize all of the information they find. That pain point is what inspired Caren Maio, Matt Raoul and Mike O'Toole to launch Nestio, a New York-based startup that helps renters simplify their search.

Nestio's free service enables users to save rental listings from any site they visit so they're available in one place. Users can then add notes, sort listings and share them with friends and roommates. Nestio also alerts users when property managers update a listing.

Since getting their start as part of the TechStars New York startup accelerator program earlier this year, the Nestio team has completed its first "pivot" (their original concept was a review site named UrbanApt), raised over $750,000 in seed funding, and appeared on a reality TV show based on TechStars.  more...

Nestio also participated in Inman News' "New Kids on the Block" session on stage at the Real Estate Connect conference in July.

3 ways to buy into high-demand real estate market

By Dian Hymer, Monday, September 26, 2011.

You'd think with so many homes for sale, there would be no problem finding one to buy. However, plenty of buyers who would like to buy now to take advantage of low interest rates and prices can't find the right home.

One problem is that the most desirable areas don't have an oversupply of good homes for sale. Sellers who don't have a good reason to sell now aren't, so the supply of good listings is low.

Many listings that are available in these coveted areas either need a lot of work or are overpriced for the market.

Fixer-uppers aren't popular because they add to the uncertainty of the transaction. Most buyers are already concerned about the market, their jobs and the state of the economy. They shy away from homes that need a lot of work because it raises more questions and uncertainty. How much will it cost? Could it cost more than expected? How long will it take to complete the job?

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Buyers who have the vision to imagine a home in its fixed-up condition can keep costs down if they live in the home while the work is being done. Expect it to be a stressful experience and plan on the work taking longer than anticipated. Uncontrollable factors, like rain, can hold a project up due to no fault of the contractor.  more...

Your ticket to Gen Y real estate clients Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Monday, September 26, 2011.
Flickr/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelogon/5702716399/">joelogon</a>.

What will it take for agents to work successfully with the Gen Y buyers and sellers of tomorrow? Jimmy Mackin, the 25-year-old co-founder of the Tech Support Group for Real Estate Agents as well as TheMLSapp.com, reveals the secrets of what it takes to be successful when working with Gen Y.

I recently interviewed Jimmy Mackin for my "Real Estate Coach Radio" show. His insights about how to best work with his generation are important to anyone who wants to do business with this huge age cohort that is just now entering its peak buying years. Here are a number of the key do's and don'ts.

1. Don't waste your money on print advertising
When Mackin was growing up, he and his friends would never go to a movie without checking what their peers had to say about it first.

Gen Yers trust each other; they don't trust traditional advertising or marketing messages from companies. The idea that a buyer or seller would contact an agent based upon a newspaper, television, or other print marketing ad is completely foreign to Gen Y. In support of this fact, Mackin referenced an article on Forbes.com:

"Peer influence analysis shows that American consumers generate 500 billion impressions on one another regarding products and services every year. That's a big number, so let's put that in perspective. That's 2,841 impressions per online consumer per year that they're making on each other.  more...

Fannie, Freddie set strict rules for rental income in real estate purchase

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, September 26, 2011.

First-time homebuyers strapped for income have often looked to generate some rental income from the house they plan to purchase that will help them qualify for the mortgage. A common question:

Q: "I am looking to buy a property that I will occupy part of the year. The rest of the time it will be rented out for a guaranteed amount. Will the lender include the rental income in qualifying me for a loan?"

A: No. Under the rules established by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after the financial crisis, rental income can be included in qualifying income only as documented in the owner's tax return for at least one year. That means that rental income cannot help you qualify for the mortgage used to purchase the house that will generate the income.

And it gets worse. Because the rent is guaranteed, your transaction will be classified as an "investment" rather than a purchase for "permanent occupancy." Investment loans have always been priced higher, but since the crisis the down payment requirement has also been raised. Where 5 percent down is acceptable today for a borrower with good credit who is purchasing for occupancy, the same borrower purchasing as an investment has to put 20 percent down.

Since rental income cannot help you qualify, it is foolish to purchase the house as an investment. The wiser course is to purchase it as your primary residence or second home. At some future time, you could reconsider the possibility of renting it.  more...

3 things that make a home green

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Monday, September 26, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-587245p1.html">koya979/</a><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

For a long time, proponents of "green" living seemed sort of out there; the mere phrase conjured up granola-crunchy visions of yurts and not-so-effective toilets. Fast forward to 2011, and building materials and technologies have evolved so that what is "eco" is also effective, and often also luxe and chic.

Similarly, people from all perspectives have begun to embrace green living at home, out of concern for the planet, for their children's futures, and for their pocketbooks.

Thinking about going green at home, but not sure where to begin? Here are three different, and complementary, approaches to creating a green home.

1. Green homes are efficient. Buildings use 39 percent of the energy and 74 percent of the electricity produced every year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. And the average American household spends nearly $2,500 every year on water, gas and electricity.

Green homes can include bill-slashing, efficiency-boosting features like dual-paned windows that minimize leakage (they keep the cool in during the summer and the warmth in during the winters), low-flow toilets, tankless water heaters, and even solar energy systems.  more...

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