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App helps homeowners keep up with maintenance projects

By Inman News, Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-66588p1.html">Home improvement robot image</a> via Shutterstock.

If you'd like to use your smartphone to manage home maintenance and improvement projects -- you guessed it, there's an app for that.

HomeZada, a new online service and app, available on iPhone, Android and iPad platforms, helps homeowners track various home projects including maintenance, home improvement and home inventory.  more...

Study finds disparity in marketing, maintenance of REOs Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-461077p1.html">Houses image</a> via Shutterstock.

An evaluation of more than 1,000 homes repossessed by lenders in nine markets found properties in African-American and Latino neighborhoods were not maintained or marketed as diligently as homes in predominantly white neighborhoods.

The National Fair Housing Alliance said real estate owned (REO) properties in white communities "generally appeared inhabited, well-maintained and attractive to real estate agents and homebuyers," while foreclosed homes in minority communities were "more likely to have overgrown yards littered with trash, unsecured doors, broken windows, and indications of marketing as a distressed sale."  more...

Misconceptions about 2 common real estate tax breaks

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-50988p1.html" target=blank>Real estate taxes image</a> via Shutterstock.

One of the biggest financial advantages of owning a home is the mortgage interest deduction, but the amount many taxpayers submit is often greater than the allowed limit.

And, while home offices have become more popular because of convenience and the downturn in the economy, many homeowners may be better off not taking the deduction because of the depreciation recapture upon sale.  more...

Removing pet odors from subfloor

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-4997p1.html" target=blank>Cat image</a> via Shutterstock.

Q: I have an in-law apartment that I foolishly rented to a person who had two cats. One or both cats apparently had a lot of accidents, because even a year after she left I can still smell the cat urine.

I've replaced both the carpet and padding. Do I need to rip up and replace the wood subfloor also? I did not treat the wood with any chemical before I replaced the carpet and padding. I thought it would not be necessary.  more...

App intended to streamline homebuying process

By Inman News, Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
Screenshot courtesy of iDreamAgent

IDreamAgent, a new iPhone and Web application focused on helping home shoppers organize their favorite for-sale properties, launched this week.

The app, available on the Apple App Store for $4.99, was designed to streamline the homebuying process and help a home shopper drill down to the house he or she wants to buy, said a iDreamAgent representative.  more...

In real estate, use the right words at the right time Premium Content

By David Fletcher, Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-60375p1.html" target=blank>Word bubble image</a> via Shutterstock.

Why do we lose sales we should make? Because we can't sell?

I don't think so. We are not selling cars. We show homes. If our prospect likes the home enough, he may buy it, with or without our closing skills.

Could it be we don't show the right homes? Possibly.  more...

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate grows in Arizona Premium Content

By Inman News, Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-717385p1.html">Aerial view of Maricopa County, Ariz.</a>, via Shutterstock.

Move Time Realty LLC has affiliated with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC and acquired the franchise brand's existing Scottsdale, Ariz., brokerage, Phoenician Fine Properties Inc., which has operated as Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Phoenician Properties.

The combined company of more than 40 agents and brokers will be led by broker-owner Susan Paul and partner Matt Hage, serving Maricopa and Pinal counties as Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Move Time Realty.  more...