Open House - The Tour Sheet Blog

History of Housing Market

2008-04-03T09:17:00.005-06:00

A new video from the John Burns Team about the current Real Estate market cycle. It's a general overview cartoon and worth the time to watch plus a nice history lesson of housing from 1970 to today.

Real Estate Possible without an Agent?

2008-03-27T09:07:00.007-06:00

Many people in the country have been hurt by the mortgage crisis. People are getting foreclosed upon; they can't make their payments. Many people are trying to sell their homes themselves. Here are some ideas from Chris Pirillo to work without a Realtor, to save you some money.

My idea would be find a Realtor, and negotiate an acceptable fee for the services provided. It's like a free insurance policy. :-)

Related: Realtor As a Wing Man
How Much Money Do You Spend Marketing A House For Sale?
Problem: No Buyers Agent Available
How much house can I afford?

TurnHere's YouTube Channel

2007-03-14T14:24:00.000-06:00

A while back I covered TurnHere a professional digital videos production company and suggested that it could be used as a tool to research locations to purchase a home. Well I just received an email from Andrew at TurnHere who let me know that TurnHere is now distributing its videos on the major search engines, including YouTube (TurnHere Channel), Google, Yahoo! and AOL.

The TurnHere Channel on YouTube also has a real estate play list that displays videos that profile individual Realtors, real estate firms, neighborhoods and houses. The cost for producing your own professional video tour of your business, house for sale, neighborhood, personal message, etc. is $550. The ability to tell your story and/or sell your service or product with video is playing out to be a requirement for the competitive real estate industry.

The one complaint is that TurnHere has disabled the ability to Embed YouTube videos into other websites. Andrew who made that decision and why? Is it possible to give an option to the producer of the video to allow embedding? . Anyway here is the video I was going to include with my post~!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8edY7bUa18o

The Real Estate Conversation

2007-01-10T00:20:00.000-06:00

A Real Estate Market is social. Buyers and Sellers communicate to discover information and negotiate to exchange goods or services. From this I understand the Real Estate Market as a Real Estate Conversation.

Internet transparency is letting home buyers view Residential and Commercial MLS, FSBO listings on their own. It has reduced home buyers search costs, and given them access to multiple new product options to choose from when going into a real estate transaction. Also sellers have found new tools and services to attract home buyers and sell their houses, they can now leverage Internet market tools that are intended to increase the efficacy of transactional requirements.

This "conversation" transparency has made it difficult for Real Estate Agents, Appraisers, Lenders, etc. to collect the fees - tipping the balance of power towards the consumers. By opening access to information outside of the Brokers/Lawyers control, buyers and sellers now gain economic benefits that would be otherwise be received by market intermediaries or inappropriately distributed among the smart and connected deal makers of the financial world.

update: I added this to Wikipedia - *Still in progress.

Related: The Real Estate King Takes A Gabby Queen
InmanTV Video

Elvis "The King" Presley's Birthday

2007-01-08T18:50:00.000-06:00

Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in a two-room shotgun house in Tupelo, Mississippi. Vernon Presley, Elvis's father, built the house with the help of his father and his older brother in preparation for the birth. He took out what amounted to a mortgage of $180 from Orville Bean, on whose farm Vernan and his father occasionally worked. The birthplace has been designated a Mississippi landmark.

Elvis would have been 72 years old today.

Elvis was the KING of Rock N' Roll, is the King of Stamps, and its a bit of a s-t-r-e-t-c-h but unconsciously an icon of Internet culture with his understanding of Social Networking when he said, "We can't go on together - With suspicious minds.."

Think of trust as the currency of social capital.
PlaNetwork

Happy New Years Chicago

2007-01-01T11:34:00.000-06:00

Jack White and the Raconteurs lead Chicago into 2007 with Auld Lang Syne - LIVE - at the Riviera Theatre. After the ballons drop the band jams into the "Steady As She Goes" single. The show was incredible.

Problem: No Buyers Agent Available

2006-12-29T16:56:00.000-06:00

What client services are included when a home seller works with a Full-Service Realtor to list a home for sale?

Agent-2-Agent Networking - Yes
MLS Listing- YES
Advertise Property - Yes
Negotiate And Manage The Sale - YES
Show property to other agents clients - ???

Showing a property to other agents clients is a hot debate among Realtor groups and real estate consumers. This extra service from the listing Agent answers the demand of home buyers who want to see a property before they buy it and then submit an offer through a Discount Broker. Before the Internets' transparent introduction of letting home buyers view MLS listings and Open Houses on their own, the Buyers Agent would accompany the buyer and show the property. Now a relationship with a Buyers Agent, is less of a requirement, to find a home.

Touring homes with Redfin participating as the home buyers agent is done through a service called Redfin Direct. The first tour, for up to three hours, is free and there is no obligation whatsoever to use Redfin as the agent. Future tours are $125 per home or $250 for a three-hour tour. Also Redfin explains:

Calling a listing agents or touring a property on your own is easy and listing agents are typically happy to show the homes they are representing to qualified buyers. For first-timers, Redfin offers an outline of what to say on the call, and a spiffy one-page Redfin introduction for you to print and show the listing agent once you do the tour.

Kevin Boer explains via his comments on the Refin Blog that there isn't an obligation to show property to other agents clients. Keep in mind - don't shoot the messenger.

...though it seems really, really, really screwy to folks outside the industry, as it stands now, the listing agent does not have an obligation to show the property, and if he/she does, it's going above and beyond...

Even though it's not a legal obligation to make oneself available to show the property on behalf of a missing Buyers Agent, I feel it should be a moral obligation. The owner and Agent have an interest to sell the house. A licensed Realtor in this situation should set an appointment to show the property and allow the home buyer(s) to tour the property by appointment.

If you're working with an Agent to sell your home make sure to ask how they will handle home buyers that choose to tour homes without a Buyers Agent.

Global Real Estate Transparency and Knowledge

2006-12-25T23:31:00.000-06:00

Change happens fast and it's getting faster. The real estate industry boundaries are starting to give way to the advancements in technology and transparency into the Basic Steps Of A Real Estate Transaction. This openness is creating momentum towards a larger and more dynamic international market for the Internet homebuyers and global investors of residential and commercial real estate.

More info on Real Estate Transparency: (Global Transparency Index 2006).

The reasons for rapid improvement: Higher securitization levels, higher cross-border flows, and the introduction of more indices of listed (public) and unlisted (private) real estate performance.

If your looking to become more knowledgeable in the international real estate field check out the The Little Book of Real Estate Definitions authored by Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL).

Another reference tool can be found from The Global Real Estate Project for international real estate research. The information contained in these profiles has been compiled by the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver.

Also take note of www.joneslanglasalle-dictionary.com it covers all aspects of the real estate terms discussed in the "Little Book of Real Estate Definitions" for FREE (Tools Listed Below). How very thoughtful of JLL, considering they had revenue of approximately $1.4 billion in 2005.

Country Terms: Don't understand SEPP in Australia or first-tier city in China? Learn what real estate terms are unique to each Asia Pacific country.
Market Practices: Find all the specific market information: lease terms, rental payments, charges, property taxes and lease disposal.
Metric Conversion Tools: Here is your instant calculator. Just enter the value you want to convert, and select the measure you want to convert.
Office Building Grades: This section will provide you a glimpse of the real estate scenario in each country.
Definitions Glossary: Find out about unique real estate terms used in different countries.

Neighborhood Search Engine For Homebuyers

2006-12-21T23:43:00.000-06:00

NeighborhoodScout provides real estate search resources for homebuyers looking to buy a home, condo, or property in the neighborhoods that meets a consumers personalized search criteria needs. This Patent protected search engine is available on a subscription basis; However ZipRealty will gladly pay for you to take advantage of the service for Free.

FREE NeighborhoodScout Tools from Zip Realty

First Time Home Buyers | Family Communities | Luxury Communities | Retirement Communities | Build A Neighborhood | Match A Neighborhood | Neighborhood Profiles | Neighborhood Appreciation Rates
NeighboorhoodScout helps answer one of the first questions most homebuyers ask when looking for a home. "So, where should we focus our house search if we want to live in a neighborhood that has [Fill In The Blank] and doesn't have [Fill In The Blank]."

Note: NeighborhoodScout Real Estate and Relocation Services

Find a Realtor | Buying a Home | Selling a Home | Real Estate Investment | Relocation Services | Real Estate Loans

This neighborhood search tool is probably the best resource for an online word-of-mouth experience of researching unfamiliar areas. Just remember that technology is not a spoken communication like you would get working with a Realtor, although web dialogue, such as "blogs, message boards and emails" are now included in the Wiki discussion. NeighborhoodScout uses nearly 200 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile for each and every neighborhood (Census Tract) in America. These profiles are created from data mined sets of information captured by the U.S. CensusBureau, the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the U.S. Geological Service, etc. So what type of data does that include: school quality, housing costs, crime rates, income levels, the age, size and style of homes, the density of buildings, rental areas versus owner occupied, the proportion of families with children, the ages of persons in the neighborhood, ethnic and racial makeup, educational levels, languages spoken, types of careers of those living in the neighborhood, numbers of farms, coastal setting, and more.

If you are looking for good schools combined with reasonable home prices within 20 miles of New York City, NeighborhoodScout will uncover the best matching neighborhoods in your price range in less than five seconds using its patented search technology that reveals results to the sub-zip code level, so the best options are never missed. Want to find the neighborhoods within 30 miles of downtown Las Vegas with the highest appreciation rates, yet which are still affordable? NeighborhoodScout will instantly map your results so you know exactly where to buy from among the many hundreds of neighborhoods in the Las Vegas area.

Another service from the Location Inc. Group is HometownGuides.com a nationwide resource of local information that allows you to instantly view social and community information for the city of your choice.

New Version of The Tour Sheet Blog

2006-12-20T10:49:00.000-06:00

Google has now completed the Beta version of its Blogger service. New features include drag-and-drop template editing, posting article labels, and more. I've been waiting to switch over to the significantly better Blogger version because I wanted to keep the same URL's and avoid broken links. The process of switching the Tour Sheet Blog to the new Blogger version is a bit of a challange because I need to go back and "label" each article post and decide on the best available layout templates for the site organization.

I want to use the labels feature to add value and simplify the online real estate consumers search for information. Im still thinking of how I can take advantage of "post labels" which are perfect for indexing the articles I have written.

Draw A House

2006-12-18T17:22:00.000-06:00

The way you draw a house says a lot about your personality, according to DrawAHouse.com. After you draw your home answer some quesions based on your drawing - then find out what your house says about you.

Also the best looking, most imaginative houses are added to the Hall of Fame

FHA Brings the Holidays Home

2006-12-18T12:07:00.000-06:00

What better way to celebrate the holidays than by purchasing a home of your own. To help increase homeownership opportunities during this holiday season, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is launching the "FHA Brings the Holidays Home" sales campaign.

Homebuyers who purchase a HUD-owned home and finance the purchase with an FHA-insured loan will be entitled to valuable sales incentives including:

$2,500 Holiday Home Improvement Allowance
$500 Selling Broker Bonus
Minimum Required Downpayment of Only $100

The incentives are effective for HUD homes sold between Friday, December 8, 2006 and Friday, January 5, 2007.

In addition to the special holiday sales incentives, buyers may also receive a credit for up to three percent (3%) of closing costs, a benefit HUD provides on most of its home sales.

Real Estate Auction MashUp

2006-12-14T03:05:00.000-06:00

2RealEstateAuctions.com is a Google Map mashup built with eBay's API. It displays live eBay listings from Real Estate Auctions. One great feature is that the site allows users to view the listings next to the highest bid count - alerting the internet homebuyer of a strong demand and possible bargin. Also, U.S. Census data for housing & occupancy near the home is available.

If your wanting to view more auction inventory take a look at Realty Bid it is not a mashup filter of eBay Real Estate Listings. It is an auction site that works with real estate agents, corporations and banks to accelerate the sale of real estate. The site is for "motivated sellers, but not necessarily desperate sellers. All properties offered on RealtyBid.com are required to have discounted minimum reserve prices as compared to the list price." Note: RealtyBid.com is designed to be a tool for real estate agents only. The site is a Non-For-Sale-By-Owner (NFSBO) site.

In October, RealtyBid.coms monthly inventory of properties up for auction nationwide topped more than 1,000 for the second time in four months. Octobers inventory of 1,038 properties was an increase of 427 percent over October 2005. Source: Denver Post

What is a Building? Is it a Dwelling?

2006-12-13T16:00:00.000-06:00

Martin Heidegger wrote an article in 1951 called "Building Dwelling Thinking". The philosophical work ponders - What is it to dwell? - it's translated by Albert Hofstadter, 1971.

We try to fill the need by providing houses, by promoting the building of houses, planning the whole architectural enterprise. However hard and bitter, ... The real dwelling plight lies in this, that mortals ever search anew for the nature of dwelling, that they must ever learn to dwell... Rightly considered and kept well in mind, it is the sole summons that calls mortals into their dwelling

Not every building is a dwelling.

"In what way does building belong to dwelling? A bridge may serve as an example ... The bridge swings over the stream with case and power. It does not just connect banks that are already there. The banks emerge as banks only as the bridge crosses the stream. The bridge designedly causes them to lie across from each other. One side is set off against the other by the bridge."

<-- The "concrete bathtub" bridge over the Elbe River in Germany. Also located in Falkirk, Scotland - A giant wheel lifts and lowers canal boats from one canal to another. The move is about 200 feet.
When you watch the Falkirk Wheel video here is what to expect.

1min 30sec the giant wheet starts to turn
4min 30sec Half way there
6min 30sec both boats leave the wheel

Internet Marketing Exposure

2006-12-13T13:52:00.000-06:00

"Build your ad once. Get it on several top classifieds sites. Free."

Postlets are category-specific ads that you build just once and then they are automatically posted on several top classifieds sites quickly and easily. Postlets are currently available for cars & trucks, housing rentals and real estate. My favorite feature of Postlets is that it generates hosted HTML code that can be used (cut & paste) to post your ad on other classifieds sites such as craigslist and LiveDeal as well as on your blog or email newsletters.

The classified sites included to the automatically submit process: Oodle, Google Base, backpage.com, Propsmart, edgeio, Vast, HotPads and more.

Also make sure to review: Postlets Plus - a website dedicated to your property listing. It gives you all of the good things you've come to expect from postlets plus:

Multi-page listing.
Huge photos.
Integrated mapping.
School info and mortgage calculator.
Virtual/video tour and external links.
No advertising next to ad.

Another option to look at is the SinglePropertySites tool that allows you to make a website devoted solely to the property. SinglePropertySites is mainly used by Realtors but they also have a FSBO platform available. You can log in to your free account, create a website (no obligation, no contracts, no charge). Then you will see a FSBO option from the site build wizard. Simply choose the FSBO to build your FSBO site.

For Example:

1122 Main Street
www.1122MainStreet.com

A Technology Side Note

2006-12-12T02:02:00.000-06:00

The Houston Association of Realtors plans to upload MLS data onto Google Base for all homes for sale.

Some are predicting that by the end of the decade at least 80 percent of home listings across the country will be available on Google or some other searchable Web site. Source: MSNBC

A side note: Technology will simply allow inventory to be more accessible to consumers using the Internet.

With this news and Zillow's move into property listings - more brokers will start sending listings to search sites such as Google Base or Zillow. For that reason - I've added Google.Base to the TourSheet Blog 'index' page for Consumer Links.

How Did My Loan Balance Increase?

2006-12-11T12:21:00.000-06:00

Wow~! Take a look at these stats on negative amortization (or "pay option") mortgages in today's L.A. Times. This real estate stat is a bit scary - if the individual is unaware of the possible effect of just paying the minimum payment each month.

New negative amortization mortgages in California:
2003 -- 8 of every 1,000
2005 -- 1 in 5
2006 -- 1 in 3

Note: To all with this type of loan - Negative amortization starts when the mortgage payment is smaller than the interest due and that causes your loan balance to increase rather than decrease. Not sure if your loan has negative amortization - usually you can find an 800 number on your statement each month to call and ask questions.

Architecture From Around The World

2006-12-11T03:01:00.000-06:00

Hey there, thanks for coming back to hang out. I found a cool site and want to share GreatBuildings.com. Here you can find pictures, 3D models, and links to structures of all kinds. A great resource to view architecture from around the world and designs from leading architects throughout history.

Great Buildings

Roman Colosseum
Fallingwater <-- (Article & Video)
World Trade Center
The Alhambra
Sagrada Familia
Great Pyramid
Chrysler Building
Notre Dame Cathedral

Great Architects

Antonio Gaudi <--Casa Batllo is incredible.
Frank Gehry
Frank Lloyd Wright
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Le Corbusier
Alvar Aalto
Tadao Ando

Inventory of Homes For Sale

2006-12-09T18:02:00.000-06:00

As a homebuyer what are the most popular web sites to find homes for sale? I just thumbed through the 2006 Realtor Technology Survey, conducted by NAR's Center for REALTOR Technology in May 2006 - I remembered a graph and posted it below.

Obviously, the survey is dated but it shows that Agents place the majority of their listings with a local MLS site, the brokers site, Realtor.com and their own site.

"The fact is that buyers buy from the available inventory:" Gregg Swann

The MLS is an inventory. It is not universal, and a huge number of homes sold are not MLS-listed. Craigslist has an inventory. Zillow will have an inventory. Having a fairly comprehensive inventory is important to Realtors, but...

...The fact is, although there might be 45,000 homes in the Arizona Regional Multiple Listings Service right now, when I go out to show houses, I will have (those) listings with me... When buyers are ready to buy, they will buy from whatever inventory is available from the vendor they have decided to buy from. If they are convinced FSBOs are a bargain, the 29 houses on Craigslist just trumped my 45,000.

Possible Fake Zillow Ads

2006-12-08T18:02:00.000-06:00

With Zillow's free "Post Any Home For Sale" feature, it might become a new oppurtunity for fraudulent real estate advertisers. "In a effort to separate themselves from these false advertising concerns" - The Real Estate Group NY, who is a member of REBNY, publicly states on their website a guarantee that all the properties they list "are accurate and currently available according to the information provided to us by the property owners".
(Realated REBNY Article)

The Realtor As A Wing Man

2006-12-08T02:03:00.000-06:00

Will Smith acts as a dating coach in the 2005 movie Hitch. Who, for a fee, helps men woo the women of their dreams. This service style of a coach is nothing new to the Realtor/Client relationship and it looks to be growing in popularity with consumers. So as a consumer how do you make sure that your unique needs are going to be served? What role will you play in the processes of searching for a home, negotiating the transaction, getting financing, or handle the transfer of ownership, etc.?

As Galen Ward of Seattle's Rain City Guide explains:

We are leaving the time of the agent-"leads"-consumer model in the real estate industry and we are entering the time of the agent-"coaches"-consumer model.

If your getting ready to sell or buy real estate - here are some things you should think about before taking the next step. Remember, a good coach will provide the client with the necessary support and structure needed to help realize the participants dreams.

Define the Communication Performance: Make sure that an expected Turn Around time is understood. Ask great questions and explain your decision-making strategies.
Define Team Strategies: Alerts of new homes on the market, Neighborhood and community information for properties you find on or off the MLS, Advice while working with transaction service partners (lenders, appraisers, lawyers, escrow, fees), Access to property walk-through times/lockbox access.
Talk About Barriers to Performance: Set expected availability hours, Emergency contact availability
Manage each others emotional state while working together - close to the purchase agreement you might start lacking sleep. Make sure to use respect in all situations.
Mentor: Work with a Realtor that can lead or coach by experience.

A seasoned real estate professional might be the ever so valuable "wing" on your team to help catch the home or homebuyer that you're looking for!. Bonus: Teaching you how to do it yourself along the way ~!.

Zillow Homebuyer and Seller Tools

2006-12-07T17:27:00.000-06:00

Zillow is one of the top five most-visited real estate sites on the Web (according to Hitwise), with 3 to 4 million people visiting each month. Of these visitors, more than 85 percent are homeowners and more than half plan to buy or sell a home in the next 24 months. If you have a house for sale than why wouldn't you -the Selling Side - advertise it for free on Zillow?

Zillow has added some new features:

Post Any Home For Sale FSBO (view it)
Post Any Home For Sale Agent (view it)
Make Me Move Price (view it): Once you set your Make Me Move price, potential buyers can contact you anonymously via e-mail. Then it's up to you whether or not to sell your home.
Real Estate Wiki (view it): Contribute and share knowledge with others. This particular wiki is devoted to all aspects of real estate.

Update: More Real Estate Consumer Tools When You Register and get access to "My Zillow".

Use My Zillow to:

Track your favorites — Once you find a favorite home, add it to My Zillow to keep up-to-date on its Zestimate home valuation.
Create and save your own estimates — For any favorite you've saved, you can create your own estimate using My Estimator.
Manage your account — Update your communication preferences, e-mail account and password.
Claim Your Home — Claim ownership of your home, then customize your Home Details page and make it your own.

As the owner, you can:

Update facts about your home — Since we get lots of data from public records, the facts may occasionally be outdated or wrong. Set the record straight by editing your home facts.
Create your own estimate — Start with the Zestimate, but you can fine-tune it with your own estimate by adding information such as a remodel.

The Art of Entertainment

2006-12-06T02:15:00.000-06:00

Quick press play and check out the Birdy Nam Nam crew. Its a DJ group from France whose members are Crazy-B, DJ Pone, DJ Need, and Little Mike. I listen to all types of music but saw this on YouTube and just loved the scratch - so I had to share. Is it me or do you hear some Kronos Quartet mixed into the beat?

Also if your looking to read the latest gossip - click over to TMZ.com I find the best way to navigate TMZ is the category toolbars on the left side of the website.

Manage Real Estate and Mortgage Closing Fees

2006-12-05T20:55:00.000-06:00

LowerFees Inc. provides real estate consumers with fee transparency and reduces the confusion about the charges during a real estate transaction. The web portal is an "open marketplace" to breakdown complicated vendor fees for closing costs. In other words it provides a Good Faith Estimate for the transaction that compares fees from multiple vendors (line item by line item).

With consumers being charged as much as $55B in real estate closing costs last year, LowerFees is positioned to help save up to $21B in junk fees. Source: LowerFees Inc.

The bottom line is that LowerFees.com compares fees from local vendors, allowing consumers to make educated real estate decisions.

LowerFees.com currently offers the following products to aid the consumer:

Quick Quote:

Through the website's database of more than 10,000 real estate service providers, users simply input their property type, estimated property value/loan amount, occupancy type and zip code into the Quick Quote system and will instantly find the lowest closing costs for their transaction.

Fee Analyzer:

When consumers enter their fees in the Fee Analyzer, they receive a detailed explanation of each fee and whether that fee is common or not.

How Much Money Do You Spend Marketing A House For Sale?

2006-12-04T04:23:00.000-06:00

If you were selling a 600,000 house, how much money would you expect to spend marketing and selling that house? What is the average price for common marketing options available to the Sell Side of the market?

Marketing: Newspaper Listings

List your property for sale or rent on NYTimes.com now and reach over 1.1 million prospective home buyers and home renters in the New York area and nationwide today!

OR
Also you can Buy a Package or a Subscription

Marketing: - Real Estate Magazines

Free real estate magazines are displayed in high traffic locations such as grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, fast food businesses and hardware supply stores. Homes & Land Magazine: To advertise in this publication you need to be a licensed Real Estate Agent. So Im not able to get a cost to run a property ad.

Marketing: - Neighborhood Postcards

Well-designed or timely postcards can have a very high impact. Unlike letters, postcards have no envelope hiding their message. Also be aware that a local Title Insurance company will supply you with a FARM of neighborhood residents that live in a property that is non-owner occupied indicating that they are occupied by renters. Direct mailing to renters in the local area is a great way to find a homebuyer.

Marketing: - Virtual Tours - Professional Pictures

Sellers who want to maximize the impact of their listing online and print need professional pictures and/or virtual tours. The average cost I've noticed is around $149 dollars.

Marketing: - Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

The MLS is setup for Agent to Agent communication. If you are working with a Realtor to sell your home - ask to have your home listed on the MLS. The MLS is the single greatest marketing tool a Realtor has access too. There are also Low Flat Fee MLS services available online that will include getting the house listed on REALTOR.com - but make sure that you understand what's not included with the listing. For example, I bet dollars to doughnuts that the owner is listed for the contact information and that structure is disruptive to Agent to Agent communication.

The Folks At NAHB - Play It Safe

2006-12-02T15:53:00.000-06:00

It’s a Great Time to Buy

The housing market is experiencing a cooling-off period from the boom of several years ago, making today’s economic environment the perfect one in which to buy a home. Rates are low and inventories are up, meaning more choices for home buyers. Browse the resources gathered below to discover why in today’s market, the buyer holds all the aces.

Home > Resources > For Consumers > It’s a Great Time to Buy

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) explain that the best way to “play it safe” is to actually buy a home. But before you go out and buy - I'd suggest to ask a local Realtor for a report about the recent inventory patterns of homes for sale in the area.

And, Wow - that's bold advice from NAHB - since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the median price of a single-family house in the third quarter dropped 1.2% from 2005. Even more dramatic than the price drops was the steep drops in the number of sales.

The decline of sales volume was off the charts in Nevada, down 38 percent. Arizona, ( - 36 percent), Florida (- 34.2 percent), California (- 28.6 percent), Hawaii (- 25.8 percent) and Virginia (- 24.4 percent).

It might be time for the NAHB to take a more "middle-ground" approach to advising homeownership - especially with the growth of stalled subdivisions.

Home Alone in Stalled Subdivisions

2006-12-01T12:44:00.000-06:00

Stalled subdivisions are starting to gain attention from the media. The housing market for single-family homes and condominiums in rural areas were builders bought land cheap threatens the quality of life for new construction homebuyers.

As builders continue to lower prices, neighbors in the new communities are coping with empty lots and crime. New home construction has fallen - most builders say its the worst market they have ever seen. Such conditions are resulting in leaving brand new homes next to empty lots and barren blocks.

I remember when home builders would throw a slick sales pitch of "Hurry up and buy now before the price increase next Monday." Im thinking that this type of sales pitch wont work now.

Chicago's Skyrocketing Property Tax

2006-12-01T11:21:00.000-06:00

In 2003, Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan developed the 7% Expanded Homeowner Exemption in an effort to provide immediate relief to homeowners facing skyrocketing assessment increases and the resulting increases in their property tax bills.

This property tax relief legislation was signed into law in July of 2004. The law is set to expire in the reassessments of the north and south suburbs in 2007 and 2008. Currently, a proposal to renew this provision is pending in the state legislature, but the attempt is stalled.

Barb Head, a Lakeview resident and president of the Tax Reform Action Coalition, an organization that has been lobbying hard for the 7 percent cap voices - “We’ve received assessment notices from people who have gotten 70, 80, 104 percent increases this year.”

Senate Bill 2112 "long-term goal is reducing the over-reliance on property taxes by restructuring Illinois' tax system, we must first stop the increasing tax burden that is threatening to destroy our neighborhoods," Houlihan said. "We need to take this first step and provide relief to homeowners now, and then keep the momentum going to bring substantial structural change to our property tax system in Springfield."

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together data about The Impact of the 7% Expanded Homeowner Exemption. Select either the North Suburbs or South Suburbs to view the effect that 7 percent has on your community.

Target Real Estate Marketing - Farming for Leads

2006-12-01T00:59:00.000-06:00

Successful real estate salespeople have been farming for years. A farm is a marketing tool that organizes detailed information on properties and property owners in a format that can be used by realtors, real estate investors, home sellers, etc. for marketing purposes. A farm list is used to create a local geo-target area with detailed demographic information for real estate marketing efforts.

Farming is a excellent way to target homebuyers and home owners. The data attributes available include: geography, mortgage amount, lender, home value, financial attributes, characteristics, owner occupied, non-owner occupies, date of purchase, loan type, and demographics, to name a few. Most often a local Title Insurance company or a local Realtor can help clients develop a farm list for particular individual needs.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Architecture

2006-11-29T23:51:00.000-06:00

The building sector not the transportation sector is responsible for the largest consumption of fossil fuels and natural resources in the world today. According to this independent survey.

U.S. CO2 Emissions by Sector
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration statistics

Architecture2030.org explains that combining the annual energy required to operate residential, commercial, and industrial buildings along with the embodied energy of industry-produced building materials like carpet, tile, glass, and concrete exposes buildings as the largest energy consuming and greenhouse gas emitting sector. (Seems to makes sense when you combine such a large list of energy needs.)

U.S. Energy Consumption by Sector
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration statistics

After looking at this study - Is there a need for massive change in the way architects design buildings? The building community (according to this calculation) is responsible for almost half of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions annually. Globally the percentage is even greater.

About Architecture2030

Dueling Videos

2006-11-28T15:47:00.000-06:00

Ahh home sweet home, my vacation in FL was excellent. Im slowing getting into the day to day. I viewed an awesome post I wanted to share check it out.

The idea here is that "you have to press play on the following videos (in vertical order) so that they all stream to you at the same time. You may need to adjust the volume on each respective network, though. Press play on the top (YouTube) video, then immediately press play on the second (Google Video), and then press play on the third (Revver). Bam, bam, bam - and you should see ‘em playing back simultaneously."

Can a Blog Take Vacation?

2006-11-20T03:08:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone, Im on vacation this week. I'll be bringing my laptop as a carry-on, in case I see or hear something interesting. Blogging is not so much work to me - so - most likely I'll sneak a few posts to my Blog. But, it's going to have to be when Im not snorkeling, hangin at the beach, or making a trip to the Buffet, Or checking out Miami's - South Beach - nite life. Also I'll be taking some time to browse properties and learn more about the South Beach neighborhoods.

A few articles about Bloggers who take vacation.

No Day at the Beach~!
A blogger's dilemma: Take vacation or not?
Dilbert Day Off

Something's Fishy

2006-11-17T03:12:00.000-06:00

What is the best way to protect yourself from fishy real estate deals.

How do you know that you're not being taken advantage of when you get involved with a real estate transaction? The best answer might be to maintain a "buyer beware" mentality. Ask all the questions you can think of, read all the small print, check references. Also you could call your state attorney general's office if something seems too good to be true, or doesn't feel right.

The good news is that the IRS is taking real estate fraud crimes seriously. The IRS started 309 fraud cases against individuals so far this year in 2006. Real estate fraud continues to grow and with the increase of home values the sleezbag scams will most likely not go away. There's an old saying that proclaims - "To find the problem find the money." Well it applies with real estate, especially when dealing with loans. In an attempt to vent some clean air into the rotten tank of real estate scams - I've listed a few below:

Equity Stripping: A lender convinces you to take out a home equity loan that you can't really afford by padding your income on the application to help get it approved.

Hidden Loan Terms/Balloon Payments: To avoid having your home foreclosed after falling behind on the payments, a new lender helps you refinance by offering lower monthly payments. But read carefully.

Loan Flipping
You feel you could use some extra money, so a lender convinces you to refinance. A few months later, he offers you more cash by repeating the procedure. But with each loan, you incur more charges in points and fees. You'll have a pile of cash, but the pile of debt is much larger and must be paid back with interest.

Home Improvement Loans
A contractor offers to arrange a loan through which you can pay for a remodeling or a major repair. After he begins the work, you're asked to sign a bunch of papers--he'll threaten to walk off the in the middle of the job if you don't.

Credit Insurance Packing
At a loan closing, the lender "packs on" credit insurance you didn't ask for at additional cost to you. Often, the lender casually tells you the insurance is a "standard" part of the loan.

Mortgage Servicing Abuses
You receive letters from a lender shortly after taking out a mortgage explaining that your monthly payments will be higher than previously discussed due to escrow payments for taxes and insurance.

Signing Over Your Deed
A distressed homeowner having trouble keeping up with the mortgage is pursued by another lender, who tells him it's necessary to deed the house over to him in exchange for new financing. Often, the money never comes.

Forged Deeds
Undeveloped land is prime fodder for a forged deed: A scammer takes over a piece of land illegitimately, then flips it before he has to repay the loan.

Straw Buyers
This scam involves a home owner who sells his property to an accomplice. The seller forges appraisal documents to help inflate the value of the house he is selling to the fake buyer. The bank lends money to the fake buyer, then he disappears--and gets a cut of the profits from the seller.

Lease Options
Landlords lure wannabe homeowners by signing them up to rent a home with an option to buy.

Also check out CNNMoney.com - they list some of the most common and destructive swindles to watch for when looking at home repair.

Sybil Pryor thought she was getting a deal. Early last year, a contractor showed up at the 77-year-old's Oakland, Calif. home and offered to install a new roof and new siding. The cost? Not to worry, he told her. All Pryor had to do was sign a few papers. Big mistake. The documents turned out to be for a home-equity loan, one that authorized a bank to pay out the proceeds of the loan -- more than $90,000 -- directly to the contractor... "It's awful, but I probably see 20 of these cases every year," says William Denny, the deputy district attorney on Pryor's case.

Craigslist - "Fair" Housing Lawsuit Dismissed

2006-11-16T03:15:00.000-06:00

The Craigslist website defines itself as "a community-moderated commons run by and for its users, who self-publish and manage their own ads and use a flagging system to police the site." Which led to the "Fair" Housing Lawsuit against Craigslist by the CLCCRUL, a non-profit that works to stop discriminatory housing practices - to be dismissed on the grounds that internet sites can not legally be held liable for content posted by users. Unlike, a newspaper that is defined as a publisher and held responsible for such morally wrong and evil content.

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal "to make, print, or publish ... any notice or statement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or family status." The summary of the lawsuit from the Craigslist Website can be read below:

A group of lawyers is suing craigslist over a handful of allegedly discriminatory housing ads posted by our users, ignoring the fact that craigslist is not a publisher, but rather a community-moderated commons run by and for its users, who self-publish and manage their own ads and use a flagging system to police the site. These lawyers demand that we impose ill-conceived, mistake-prone, and potentially illegal controls on the craigslist community, which if adopted would actually reduce fair housing opportunity, while eroding important free speech and privacy rights. In reality, the craigslist community already excels at ensuring equal opportunity housing, and continues to improve in this regard, earning praise from fair housing groups. This lawsuit will likely be dismissed as groundless, but more importantly the craigslist community will be recognized for its exemplary record in promoting fair housing for all, while fully respecting each person's constitutional right to free speech and free association.

If you suspect a housing discrimination contact HUD or just call 1-800-669-9777.

If Craigslist isn't responsible for removing the posting - someone needs to be. The flagging system at Craigslist explains: If a post receives enough negative flags it will automatically be removed. Well, what constitutes "enough"? The Craigslist community is working to help solve the problem inside the flag forum, check it out~!

Show Me The Money

2006-11-15T03:34:00.000-06:00

The Aspen, Colorado 56,000 sq ft home retreat of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, from Saudi Arabia is set on 95 acres of land, with two ponds, horse stables and thousands of aspen and evergreen trees. It's close to the slopes, and has 15 bedrooms, 27 bathrooms, a dining room that seats 24 and an indoor swimming pool. It is priced at $135 million.
So why is it so expensive? The house doesn't look all that spectacular. The True Gotham Blog quotes The Rocky Mountain News, with the house value being assessed at $55,953,500. So why is the former ambassador from Saudi Arabia to the US saying - Show Me The Money? It might be that Aspen is one of the top holiday destinations. Opportunities to secure that much land in a desired location are few and far between. Its always about location, location, location.

Speaking of Show Me The Money did anyone catch William Shatner and the Million-Dollar Dancers tryin to bring sexy back. I think the Women's Rights Movement just fell back 50 years.

A correct answer, combined with choosing a dancer holding big money, can catapult the player's winning into the millions. But a wrong answer, and the wrong dancer, can wipe out winnings in an instant.

The Answers and Dancers Show.

But there's more. At any given moment, the 13 Million-Dollar Dancers, as they're called on the show, may spontaneously break into any style of dance and, ABC promises, Shatner spontaneously "boogies with the beauties on stage." Source: washingtonpost.com

Survival Tips For A Sluggish Market

2006-11-14T15:27:00.000-06:00

Business 2.0, November 2006 issue features a number of articles giving you advice on subjects such as real estate investment strategies, online home auctions, tax shelters, best places to still invest, where not to buy, and more. Here's the kicker - its Free - Its also worth the cover price if you decide to purchase the magazine.

Birds Eye View with Aerial Photograhy

2006-11-13T13:51:00.000-06:00

I was looking at the Homes & Land Publication which advertises homes for sale that are represented by real estate sales professionals. On the Homes and Land cover was a excellent low altitude aerial photograph of a house for sale. I started to wonder how the picture was taken since a full-size aircraft is prohibited from low fly-overs of populated locations. I envisioned a giant ladder or a crane with a camera hooked up to it - "that would get the job done", but how affordable is the cost. Then I figured to just search the concept online and find the answer.

I found a company called Aerial Views of Virginia Inc. that produces aerial images with remote control (RC) helicopters, airplanes, and airlifts. Ariel Views of Virginia's remote piloted planes do offer cost-effective aerial photography.

This zoomed birds-eye view is perfect for real estate and can produce an excellent value-add image to marketing a house for sale.

Many thanks go to Félix Nadar (1820-1910), a French photographer who is remembered primarily for his successful and world's first aerial photograph, from a balloon.

Slow Market Equals Sell Side Competition

2006-11-11T01:50:00.000-06:00

Keep in mind that...

"By nature, blitzes are risky endeavors for the defense. Since the defense is taking away coverage defenders that rush the QB, there necessarily are holes in pass coverage. The defense does not and cannot cover all offensive players... Source: Answers.com

The real estate industry's commission-based sales structure is undergoing a strong linebacker blitz from the increasing group of low-cost online business models to attract consumers. In addition, the Listing Agent (Sell-Side) landscape is even more competitive because most real estate markets are slowing. Owners are now focused on how much money they will recieve after the house is sold and the transaction closed. With a response to the sellers concerns - the playbook of sell-side discounters is continuing to grow with examples listed below:

Posting houses in the local multiple listing service for a flat-fee with exposure to Realtor.com (if the local MLS sends feed to the site) ... hmmmm
Menu of services such as negotiation of contracts, advertising help, and showings - the seller pays only for the services selected.
Yard Signs, Lockboxes and Brochure Boxes
Property Profile Webpage with several top Internet classified listings.
Offering varying levels of service for fixed fees

Still, owners who are busy and pressed for time or do not want to handle part of the work usually will go with a traditional brokerage. On the other side of the ball, owners who purchased a house at the top of the market really cant afford a 2.5 or 3 percent commision to the sell-side. The house hasn't raised enough in value to cover the expense to offer 6-5% to a Realtor to sell the house.

Move Over Zillow: Make Some Room

2006-11-09T15:22:00.000-06:00

Fidelity National Title Insurance and their Real Estate Services division has a new automated valuation tool called Cyberhomes.com, currently Beta.

Cyberhomes (mildly evocative name) explains that thier valuations allow access to "most of the same information that real estate professionals use to evaluate homes." The Cyberhomes database includes more than 100 million property, ownership, sales, and mortgage records, covering more than 85% of the United States population.

Fidelity Title's move into AVM's is two fold. First it offers Realtors a tool to integrate - Cyberhome valuations - into their web sites for free. Second its a move that directly targets Title Insurance consumers (ie:Realtor clients) and is free for them to use.

INTRODUCING YOUR SPANKING BRAND NEW CUSTOMER ....

Finally, you need to market to the ultimate buyer of your product - the Consumer!

Fact: you title insurance companies have never marketed to the consumer. Period.

Fidelity's Cyberhomes might be the catalyst that moves the industry toward accepting a more detailed specialization and greater segmentation of the skills and services needed in a transaction. If that is a good thing Im not sure. However, it's obvious that the real estate consumers adoption and awareness of new technologies is driving the pace of the industry's transformation.

AVM Sites: Zillow.com, Eppraisal.com, Cyberhomes.com

UPDATE: A few opinions about AVM's.

Homebuyers Print a Tour Sheet

2006-11-08T03:06:00.000-06:00

Openhouses.com (plural) allows homebuyers to search open house listings in over ten US real estate markets. The website needs improvement (better display of dates and times) to view the open house - but still it gives internet homebuyers the ability to narrow down their home search by beds, baths and price. Then they can map it and print a Tour Sheet of the desired open homes to view without an appointment scheduled. Openhouse(s).com is owned by Tribune Interactive who has an online presence both locally and nationally. They operate news and information sites in 25 major markets -- including 10 of the top 12.

I posted an article about Openhouse("- the s").com a while back and raised attention to its resources. Below is the list of Openhouses.com listing resources. They, unlike openhouse.com, do not only show homebuyers open houses from preferred brokerages - also take note that the site includes FSBO open houses. When the Sell-Side buys an advertisement to market the open house in the below mentioned newspapers it (not sure if there is an additional fee) is listed online at openhouses.com

Latimes.com (Los Angeles, CA)
ChicagoTribune.com (Chicago, IL)
Newsday.com (New York, NY)
OrlandoSentinel.com (Orlando, FL)
Sun-Sentinel.com (South FL)
BaltimoreSun.com (Baltimore, MD)
Courant.com (Hartford, CT)
DailyPress.com (Hampton Roads, VA)
StamfordAdvocate.com (Fairfield Co., CT)
GreenwichTime.com (Fairfield Co., CT)
Mcall.com (Allentown, PA)
amNY.com (New York, NY)

Home Seller Feeling Second Thoughts

2006-11-06T18:34:00.000-06:00

Buyer's remorse is an emotional condition whereby a person feels regret after the purchase of an item. In the context of Real Estate there are a many possible scenarios that bring on buyer's remorse: such as - continuing to look at homes after you buy, no guidance after the transaction, or talking to others about the new house - etc... On the flip side of this is Seller's Remorse. Some scenarios that bring on sellers remorse are that the sellers start thinking about all the wonderful memories enjoyed in their home or how they think they will never be able to find another residence as nice.

If your a home seller avoid Seller's Remorse and ask yourself why do you want to sell your house. If the answer is a new job, divorce, financial problems, pending foreclosure, or moving closer to family then you should be safe from the issue of sellers remorse. However, if you answer that your curious what you can get for the house, need to sell for fast money, or your tired of the responsibilities of home ownership then make sure you want to sell before you list the house for sale.

Home Seller Beware: of the "we're not moving" possible legal consequences or penalty's of your breach of the buyers purchase agreement.

In a nutshell, if the buyer really wants the home, the buyer can bring a "specific performance lawsuit" to force the seller to complete the sale on the terms agreed in the signed sales contract.

To make matters worse for the seller, a savvy buyer's lawyer will usually record a "lis pendens" against the title to prevent the seller from selling to another buyer or even refinancing the property.

The legal reason is every property is unique, so monetary damages are not an adequate remedy for the buyer if the seller breaches the sales contract.

For more details about the results of breach of contract by either the home seller or buyer, it's best to consult a real estate professional.

Anamaniacs: Yakko's World

2006-11-05T02:49:00.000-06:00

Yakko, Wakko And Dot from Animaniacs Sing About The World. Steven Spielberg (<--- check out his house) created this always funny cartoon for children to watch in the early 90's on the WB.

Free 30-day trial of Property Center

2006-11-04T21:08:00.000-06:00

Attention real estate investors and.or property managers check out a new online tool to stream-line your properties workflow and management tasks in your portfolio. Property Center is offering a Free 30-day trial" of its property management web application. Property Center was designed by landlords for landlords and their employees. It allows its users to keep track an unlimited number of leases with lease history. Also, legal forms specific to your state - such as rental applications, tenant inspection/acceptance forms, rental agreements - can be set-up to automatically populate the required information.

>To learn more about Property Center's application take a tour of the applications features.

Update: Also check out http://www.iiproperty.com/ an incredibly easy to use service for people who self-manage their properties.

REBNY "Me-To" Web Portal

2006-11-03T02:44:00.000-06:00

A recent real estate article from Inman News correspondent Jessica Swesey announces that REBNY "...has begun developing a Web portal that will incorporate its members' property listings and make the portal available to the general public for free in early 2007." After reading - the Inman article - I started to remember my article posted last week about MLS's ending the listing feeds to Realtor.com. Im wondering if New York City's largest real estate trade association is positioning itself to also pull its feed to realtor.com - at the end of their contract. The Real Estate Board of New York's web portal idea is very close to a "me-to" strategic move - just - take a look at REIL's web portal that went live and is free to the public.

At REIL's web portal real estate consumers can conduct a free search of non-proprietary listing data, can request open house information, and can also access directories for agents or offices.

Update: The New York Sun Times Article

Falling Water - Frank Lloyd Wright Video

2006-11-01T19:03:00.000-06:00

A Half Life 2 user created a game model of the Falling Water house by Frank Lloyd Wright with the Half Life Source Engine.

Viewing the video to explore the building and its grounds was almost like being there. The Half Life user behind this video is known as Kasperg and tried to make his work as true as possible. He is an architecture student and built the Fallingwater map based on floorplans, layouts and available interior and exterior photos of the grounds.. Considering the detail this is an excellent piece of work. The performance quality of the video is slow, so dont expect to see this at high speeds... Awesome~!

An Open House Get's Punked

2006-10-31T03:00:00.000-06:00

Well its Halloween~! So I thought I'd go with a haunting article today - and found an Open House prank that's a tad scary. If you're not scared than surf over to AVF's site and read about the prank they pulled on the Landlord and Realtor as they worked to market and sell a multi-unit dwelling in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. If you've heard em' all than go get a scare here!Selling a rental property and having it occupied by a prankster tenant like the two in this stressful story is a nightmare. If you are selling a multi-unit dwelling its best if one unit is kept empty and used as a 24/7 "showroom" to prospective investors and/or homebuyers. With an empty unit - no rent money will be coming in but it allows access to an example of the current dwellings, without having to worry about a current tenants availability and privacy in their rental unit.

NCRC Files FTC Complaint Against Zillow.com

2006-10-27T15:52:00.000-06:00

The following press release was issued from the NCRC website. In summary the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) filed a consumer protection complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging Zillow.com is misleading consumers, real estate professionals and financial service providers in on-line home valuations.

Zillow is placing the American dream of homeownership at risk for countless working families,” says John Taylor, NCRC President and CEO. “For a company that represents to consumers that they are the ‘Kelley Blue Book of Homes,’ this is a very dangerous situation. We call upon the FTC to intervene and ensure that Americans receive accurate appraisals and valuation information to protect the single most important investment of their lives: their home.

From my understanding about Zillow's home valuations tool called "The Zestimate" it is a starting point to help a consumer figure out the true value of a home. The company explains that the vast majority of Zestimates are within 10 percent of the selling price of the home. Not an exact value - more of a range. For more information about the Zestimate Accuracy check out how Zillow explains the process to price a homes valuation.

Also note the article posted that brings attention to comments made by Lloyd Frink, Zillow's CEO when he was at a recent Realtor conference in Long Beach, CA. According to Maria Patterson - Frink’s comments did not sit well with the audience.

"Zillow is a Web site that’s trying to empower consumers with tools and information,” explains Frink. “We have been fortunate to date that what we’ve done is popular with consumers, which is to provide them with a starting point to figure out what homes are selling for in their market. I thought it was worth making it clear to everyone in the audience that our model is one of a media company, and we would like the people in the audience to buy ads from Zillow. I think that part of the apprehensiveness on the part of Realtors comes from our history at Expedia where we were part of the transaction and that’s not what we’re doing here. We think that we can add a lot of value in terms of information and tools and service that will be complementary to the expert advice and guidance that Realtors give to their clients." Source: RISMEDIA

Real Estate Router

2006-10-26T19:16:00.000-06:00

Surf over and take a look at RealEstateRouter.com. The site aims help the Sell-Side market homes for sale & help homebuyers organize their route to tour open houses. This website is just out of the gate and looks to have succeded at offering a value-add application to marketing a house online. Bravo~!

A similar article posted on July 28, 2006.

MLS stops sending listing to Realtor.com

2006-10-25T18:04:00.000-06:00

Northwest Multiple Listing Service to pull feed to realtor.com at the end of their contract. Im not sure about this move - it limits the marketing of the inventory of homes For Sale at a website that has an established and valuable Brand Name.

With Realtor.com the homebuyer was able to know what website to goto when starting a real estate search... Are homebuyers in the Northwest going to find NWrealestate.com easier than Realtor.com?

Real Estate Investment Trusts

2006-10-23T13:27:00.000-06:00

investinreits.com! This site has been designed to provide visitors with all the tools to learn about real estate investment trusts (REITs) and publicly traded real estate companies. The website is by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT).

NAREIT is the trade association for REITs and publicly traded real estate companies.

Realtor Conference Hot Topic

2006-10-22T22:50:00.000-06:00

Maria Patterson from RISMEDIA writes an interresting article that centers the debated hot topic of the 'Realtor and Consumer' relationship.

The news article contains quotes from the California Association of Realtors Conference in Long Beach, California from President and Co-founder of Zillow, Lloyd Frink. Also former CEO of REALTOR.com Allan Dalton, now President of Move.com's real estate division. Dalton, explains that sites like Zillow’s are undermining the Realtor’s true value proposition by classifying them as “service providers.”

“Zillow cannot marginalize Realtors ... and their value proposition,” Dalton added. “... If the industry allows the collective advocation of a company like Zillow to commoditize real estate to the degree that consumers believe the value of a home can actually be preordained before the value that a Realtor can add (in terms of marketing, negotiating, staging and networking), then what we will be left with is an injured consumer who believes that..."

A business relationship of service in my opinion should be customer-centric and recognize that the balance of power is toward the customer paying for representation. As a result, the Realtor and the Consumer needs to identify what is of value to them.

Vendors Gain Market Share - Ignore FSBO

2006-10-17T15:13:00.000-06:00

I've visited a few Virtual Tour sites on the web recently and they do not make their products and services available to For Sale By Owner home sellers to purchase. This trend of only offering marketing tools to licensed Realtors is nothing new but not much has been said about this market-share/safe business practice of having a strong customer focus towards Realtors while turning away business from FSBO home sellers. I call these companies Non-For-Sale-By-Owner (NFSBO) sites.

For example I visited a company website that has been in business since 1996 called TourFactory. The site states: “(Listing) Agents have been using the TourFactory Internet Marketing System for 10 years - as a cornerstone in their marketing program."

I agree, TourFactory sells products that would make a house stand out online from the overcrowded inventories of properties For Sale. Also check out TourFactory's HomeDebut that allows homebuyers to search virtual tours ordered by participating Real Estate Agents.

Moreover I also visited Obeo that states "(our) solutions help the Real Estate professional thrive." I saw great products here also with 100+ tons of online marketing tools available that would capture the attention of home-buyers searching for Real Estate online. Yet, these companies still decide to stay market-share/safe and only offer services to licensed Real Estate Agents.

Just to double check that I wasn’t making a mistake with my comments - I called TourFactory at (888) 458-3943 and made a request. "I'd like to order a Virtual Tour." The operator on the phone started to set up an account for me and took my first and last name. Then she asked if I was a licensed Real Estate Agent. I said “no” that I was selling my property For Sale By Owner. Her response was "I'm sorry we only sell tours to Real Estate Agents." Of course, I asked why and was told that "We're exclusive to licensed Real Estate Agents it's the company policy." I then contacted Obeo through its LivePerson chat and received the same answer.

My feeling is that the Internet hasn't created a new real estate consumer; it just formed a more educated one. We should all know this – it’s old news. But, still some vendors/transaction service partners in the Real Estate Industry will take the route of the slow box turtle towards adopting the Internet in full. While the traditional real estate consumers continue to hop onto the Internet taking full advantage of the many online resources available with the speed of a European Brown Hare.

Trump-Style Negotiation

2006-10-16T11:06:00.000-06:00

George Ross in his new book talks about how he closed deals by simply using human nature and time to his advantage. Ross believes in keeping a good rapport with communication when talking to the other side in the deal. He reminds the reader to accept a fair price and don't negotiate for a few more dollars, find a common ground for the deal and secure future business with you the next time.

From the Publisher:

Trump became the world's most famous negotiator with the publication of his million-copy seller, The Art of the Deal. That book told great stories, but it didn't explain how to negotiate like Trump. In Trump-Style Negotiation, George Ross explains how anyone can implement the tactics and strategies Trump used to rise to the top of the business world. It's full of stories from Trump's biggest deals, as well as lessons from other top New York real estate titans such as Helmsley, Zeckendorf, and Sol Goldman. Trump-Style Negotiation is not a book of stories, but a practical playbook that can be easily used by the average person effectively in all types of business and personal situations. Ross demonstrates the proven Trump style business tactics for negotiation success in an easy-to-follow and easy-to-read format. Importantly, he offers his own strategic insights, real world cases, and savvy personal advice, arising from the breadth of 50-years of his sharply defined negotiation skills.

The Cats Out Of The Bag

2006-10-04T22:36:00.000-06:00

As the saying goes - once you let the cat out of the bag, it goes wherever it wants. To this point, click over to read Greg Swann's blog about "the home-buyer’s place at the table". The essay details ideas for homebuyers and Realtors to adopt when working together as a team. The basic theme is telling the homebuyer to be aware of costs in a transaction and always ask “How much do you charge?”.

Among other suggestions and ideas Greg makes mention of a “secret” field displayed in some MLS systems. Telling his readers that "listings you find on Realtor web sites or on Realtor.com" do not detail the co-broke / commision field — it is kept concealed.

Why is the co-broke field kept concealed from the homebuyer view in MLS systems? Overly restrictive? Pro-competitive? Anticompetitive?

What would change if the homebuyer was able to view the "secret" fields that some MLS systems keep concealed?

compensation for buyer representation

NAR TV Public Awareness Campaign

2006-10-02T15:38:00.000-06:00

Check out the Television Ads for NAR Public Awareness Campaign. NAR states that they have three new communications components. I wonder if NAR will start to post the 2007 ads on You Tube?

The first addition to the campaign, "Someone You Can Trust", promotes the REALTOR® Code of Ethics and highlights the honesty and integrity that REALTORS® bring to every transaction.

The second addition, "Don't Try This At Home", targets unrepresented sellers (the FSBO market). The commercial features a hard-hitting message: REALTORS® have the experience to price your home effectively, so it can sell for up to 16% more than selling it yourself. (From NAR's 2005 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Study.)

The third component, "Entrepreneur at Heart", features REALTORS® talking about what it's like to be out on their own, every day, in an increasingly competitive marketplace. They also discuss the pride they feel in helping people achieve the American dream of homeownership.

When Rust Grows In The Front Yard

2006-10-02T09:30:00.000-06:00

The real estate market has slowed, creating opportunity for homebuyers, builders and investors to negotiate an even better deal on your neighborhood "teardown" property (lot). In fact a common theme in most neighborhoods today is a "For Sale" sign in the front yard with "New Price" or "Price Reduction” added to the metal frame - starting to develop rust.

What happens after the sale and the house is demolished to dust for new construction? Does the buyer build another single-family home on the lot(s) or decide to replace it with a multi-unit dwelling? If the answer is a new multi-unit dwelling, then your neighborhood teardowns or price-reduced houses might be the targets for Infill Development (ie: Smart Growth).

This is a hot topic for the industry and is both the solution and problem for the parties involved. It concerns neighborhoods from the smallest towns to the world’s largest cities. Buyers should always review the lot zoning rules that regulate the kinds of activities and densities, which will be acceptable on a particular parcel of land. Homebuyers should be aware of what can be built next door. Moreover the multi-unit buildings built most often have limited space. The new family or owner that moves into the townhouse or condo might discover in a short time that "we found affordability but need more space." In turn, selling the home and not becoming a long-term resident of the community.

In parallel, some developers have switched from building, commute heavy - residential subdivisions in far out and rural areas. Aiming more towards parcels of land closer to suburbs with densely populated communities. This way the builder can expect a faster sale and lower the cost cycle to carry the land acquired.

New York Times Walked Out

2006-10-01T23:55:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I last checked out the New York Times Walk-Through Real Estate Blog. I just read that they have decided to turn away its focus and concentrate on Real Estate News.

It might be a good idea for the NY-Times to stop "telling it like it is at the street level" and just report the news.

Own Multiple Properties - No Problem

2006-09-29T21:55:00.000-06:00

Take a look at this idea. HomeFree is a site that has products availble to Realtors, Investors, Home Owners. "Homefree is the personalized online toolbox that helps you make smart home maintenance decisions in just minutes a month. It helps you stay on top of your home's needs—keeping things under control before they break."

The About Us section of the website has a brief story of how the founders came up with the idea. "As a multiple property owner, (we) could relate. "Larry and I started talking about these homes we had that we just couldn’t keep up with," he explains. "That’s when it hit us that there were no great products available that could help with maintaining your home." Looking at their own lives and their in-the-trenches experiences as homeowners, they struck upon the concept of Homefree."

Check out the Demo~!

Retirement Planning within your IRA

2006-09-28T22:55:00.000-06:00

There is a small IRS provision that lets you extend your real estate purchasing with tax-deferred dollars. One of the requirements is that the real estate is not being used for your own personal use, such as a vacation home or an office for your business. To learn more than I can explain ask a financial advisor who specializes in IRA's or your real estate professional.

UPDATE: Realtor Magizine Article

Marketing a Home For Sale with Online Auctions

2006-09-28T22:27:00.000-06:00

I just read an Article from MSNBC.com that talks about motivated sellers that are still showing the house through an agent but using eBay to market the home for sale. The article suggest that "online home auctions are not putting real estate agents out of business. Many agents are learning how to use these Web sites to their — and their clients’ — advantages."

Real Estate Español and Asian Pacific

2006-09-28T08:45:00.000-06:00

RealEstateEspañol.com is a real estate/financial services portal created to serve the Hispanic–American community and the official Internet site of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). This site allows homebuyers to search for an agent profile, list a property for sale, or search new listings if you would like to purchase a property. In addition, you can read valuable educational materials, useful interactive tools, ask advice from the loan counseling service, or contact a mortgage center.

Also the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community has a national professional trade organization dedicated to closing the homeownership gap (AREAA). AREAA’s membership represents a broad array of real estate, mortgage and housing-related professionals that serve the diverse Asian Pacific American market.

Find a Experianced Realtor

2006-09-27T12:26:00.000-06:00

Homethinking is an online service that helps home owners choose the best neighborhood realtors to sell their house.

They measure performance by monitoring real estate transactions to know which houses each real estate agent has sold, for how much and how long on average it took them to do so. There are also user reviews by home owners who have sold their house with the particular agent that helps determine the rank of them.

Pocket Realtor by Sprint Mobile

2006-09-26T21:58:00.000-06:00

The Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 *(E911) has helped a company called Smarter Agent and Sprint offer of a wireless phone application called Recently Sold Homes. Smarter Agent combines a cellphones E911 GPS capabilities with real estate content about properties, neighborhoods and interesting places around your (ie: cellphone) location, location, location.

Check out a screenshot of the application. The application can be purchased by anyone with a Sprint or Nextel phone (Coverage Area). You'll be able to conduct unlimited searches for a single monthly fee of $4.99, plus data charges from Sprint.

*The wireless E911 program is divided into two parts:

Part I requires carriers, upon valid request by a local Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), to report the telephone number of a wireless 911 caller and the location of the antenna that received the call.

Part II requires wireless carriers to provide far more precise location information, within 50 to 300 meters in most cases.

Birds Eye Music Video

2006-09-25T13:38:00.000-06:00

This video from Zero7 flys over some Real Estate with a Google Earth type map integrated with images of the band.

U.S. Home Price and Sales Volume Decline

2006-09-25T10:09:00.000-06:00

The median U.S. existing-home home price dropped 1.7 percent and the sales rate dropped 12.6 percent in August 2006 compared to the same month in 2005, the NAR trade group reported today.

"Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 1.9 percent to a pace of 1.07 million in August, but were 11.6 percent below August 2005. The median existing-home price in the Northeast was $271,000, down 3.9 percent from a year earlier.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 0.7 percent in August to a level of 1.44 million, but were 11.1 percent lower than a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $176,000, which is 1.1 percent below August 2005.

Existing-home sales in the South slipped 0.8 percent to an annual sales rate of 2.51 million units in August, and were 7.4 percent below August 2005. The median price in the South was $184,000, down 2.6 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West dropped 2.3 percent to an annual pace of 1.29 million in August, and were 22.8 percent lower than a year earlier. The median price in the West was $345,000, up 0.3 percent from August 2005."

Maps Reveal New Shapes of Land

2006-09-24T13:01:00.000-06:00

Have you ever looked at an ordinary map of the world. All of us all have but Mark Newman uses the science of cartograms to view the world through the prism of population, greenhouse gas emissions, etc...
Population

In this map the sizes of countries are proportional not to their actual landmass but instead to the number of people living there; a country with 20 million people, for instance, appears twice as large as a country with 10 million. Where did Russia go?
Overcrowded Homes

Overcrowding is defined here as when there are more than two people for each room in the house. If you are interested to see more cartograms, visit the website of the Worldmapper Project. Mexico grew into a shape that looks like California?

SMS Delivers Instant Property Details

2006-09-23T15:11:00.000-06:00

CellSigns Products turn the front yard "For Sale" Sign into a interactive sales system with SMS technology.

"Home buyers can request property information by sending a text message with the property id to CellSigns. Then the buyer can request a callback, schedule showing or request a property brochure by email - all via text messaging."

Available for the Listing and FSBO market.

Take a Test Run send a TXT message - - - To: "79274" with the Message: "CS20051"

UPDATE: House4Cell looks to be a service only for the Realtor market, but wanted to share the Flash Demo.

Condo Buyer's Look Out

2006-09-21T22:14:00.000-06:00

Buying a condo in a high-rise is getting to be a popular way to break into the home ownership market. Newly built condos and/or renovated condos tend to look fantastic, but you have to be ready to investigate your location in the building. Condo's can house a ton of hidden problems that you can avoid if you look out for them. If you already own a condo than you might know what Im talking about. For example, I was reading an article in the Chicago Tribune , a home inspector was telling a story about a client who was distressed to discover that the garbage chute in his new condo building made a 45-degree bend right outside his unit, near a common wall. The condo owner would hear cascading trash hitting the chute wall all night. Ouch~! I wonder if he'll disclose that in the re-sale of his condo?

What if a homebuyer moves into a condo that is next to the Elevator. "Ding~!" Everytime a neighbor goes up and down from/to the lobby?

What if a homebuyer moves into a condo that is next to an EXIT door to the parking garage. "Squeek, Slam, Chatter" On the way out of the door to get to the car?

What about parking - If the condo includes a parking space, I'd suggest trying to get a spot on the 1st or 2nd level. Why circle down and drive up to your parking floor everytime you leave the building?

If you think of some other hidden problems in buying a condo - please comment.

Redfin News Story

2006-09-17T14:04:00.000-06:00

Redfin is a online discount real estate brokerage firm and have been featured in the evening broadcast of KRON4 in San Francisco.

Related Post:
Full-Service Realtors work hard for their customers and know their neighborhoods. The trouble is, alternative brokers figured out how to sell homes cheaper by setting up Internet offices and letting you view MLS listings on your own.
Discount Brokerage

Attention Sellers: 1st impressions are HUGE

2006-09-16T16:38:00.000-06:00

When you bought the hose it was state of the art design - but in 10, 15, or 20 years it might now be dated. Ask yourself or a Realtor their opinion about the look and feel of your home. Is the interior of our home what homebuyers expect to see when they shop for a house in this area? Also don't forget to touch up the exterior of the home for a marketable curb appeal.

Or ask a professional home stager:

Staged Homes
Center Stage Home

According to a 2004-2005 survey of 200 staged homes conducted by StagedHomes.com staged homes sell for an average of 6.9 percent more than homes not staged and in half the time.

UPDATE: Property Stylist Blog

Appraisals Get Tricky in a Cooling Market

2006-09-15T20:13:00.000-06:00

More comments about home values in the news recently because a homebuyer dosen't want to overpay for a house and the home seller wants to have a competitive selling price.

---

The housing slowdown is making it increasingly difficult for appraisers to use comparable sales data in calculating a home's worth.

Gary Crabtree of Bakersfield, Calif.-based Affiliated Appraisers says he now takes into account pending sales, current list prices, supply and demand, time on the market, price fluctuations, defaults and trustee's sales, incentives, and the market perceptions of real estate agents.

Crabtree says valuations become complicated when real estate practitioners engage in "the re-list game," in which a home that has sat unsold for a long period of time is removed from the multiple listing service and re-listed with a new price and MLS code to make it look like a new listing.

"Just looking at historical data can be perilous," says Appraisal Institute spokesman John Bredemeyer, who explains, "You've got to answer the question: 'Where are we in this cycle?' And you've got to factor that into your valuation."

Source: Baltimore Sun, Ken Harney (09/15/06)

Home Valuation Tools

2006-09-06T00:20:00.000-06:00

Keep your eyes open when you buy or refinance a home and make sure the value is current and correct. Many internet companies provide free tools to value a homes market rate. Just how accurate and trustworthy are these Automated valuation model (AVM) tools? And what exactly are AVM's? - Below are a few opinions about AVM's

Yes: Fannie Mae's Perspective
Yes/No: AVM threat and opportunity
No: The BIG AVM Lie ("horror stories")

If you decide to hire a appraisal instead of using a online tool - here is a link to the Appraisal Institute. The members have met rigorous requirements relating to education, testing, experience and demonstration of knowledge, understanding and ability. Also try AppraiserUSA.com.

Get a FREE SUV parked in your new Garage

2006-08-24T00:59:00.000-06:00

An Illinois family is having trouble selling there high-end trophy home and decided they needed a way to stand out from the crowded housing inventory. They figured out a 4,700-pound incentive. And what is it you ask? Tell them what it is Bob~! A New CAR.

And that's not all... The Sellers are also offering one as a reward to the real estate agent who produces a signed contract on top of the commission.

Buy a Home and Get a FREE Plasma TV

2006-08-23T02:07:00.000-06:00

A Full Service Real Estate Broker in the San Francisco Bay Area is running a free 42 inch plasma TV promotion when the homebuyer works with the brokerage before November 30, 2006 to buy a home. Use a Movoto Realtor and a plasma TV will be waiting for you when you move in.

I found a forum thread, from a company that provides Professional Real Estate Web Design that asks "How Do Realtors Feel About Closing Gifts?"

Movoto's VP Marketing, Mark Brandemuehl was a panelist at Inman ConnectSF for the Innovation Master Classes. The class was a hour long and the panelists talked about delivering new products, new business models, and new ideas. What do you think about the Free Plasm TV promotion?

Draw a Target Home Search in Minnesota

2006-08-22T01:55:00.000-06:00

Minnesota-based NeighborhoodNetwork.com, has created a pre-market for homebuyers. Also home sellers that decide to use a local Realtor that is a subscriber to the website will have access to the "Click2Sell" feature. This feature alerts prospective homebuyers that expressed interest in the sellers property and/or neighboorhood by-way-of the website.

Minnesota homebuyers click over to this new online tool to help find, buy, or sell real estate. Also the site offers a niffty "draw shape" button to lock in a homebuyers target neighborhood search.

UPDATE: Another pre-market site that is national called, Reply!, pegs themselves as "the only web portal that empowers each visitor to make an Unsolicited Offer(TM) on any home in the country. Users simply go to the Reply! site, identify and research the home or homes of their choice, and then complete an offer on the site -- either a specific offer or simply an indication of interest in buying the home. For $24.95 Reply! will deliver a physical package notifying the homeowner of the offer. The homeowner can then retrieve the offer at Reply.com and is free to engage directly with the prospective buyer."

Making a Open House Video

2006-08-16T17:54:00.000-06:00

A digital camera is one of the best investments a home seller and/or a Realtor can purchase. The pictures and movie clips taken with the digital camera can be uploaded to the Internet or sent to homebuyers as e-mail attachments. Moreover the pictures can be used to print marketing flyers with data about the home for sale. Of course the biggest concern is what camera to get – Check out DigiCamHelp.

Making movies on a digital still camera isn’t exactly a point and click activity. Think about a professional videographer to film the home; If you're not sure where to find a local videographer try giving a local wedding photographer a call. However I found a blog with a few guidelines to help you create your own Open House video.

A Guide To Making a Real Estate Video in Three Parts:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Neighborhood and Community Facts

2006-08-15T17:30:00.000-06:00

If your looking to dig up some information about a community check out the American Fact Finder provided by the United States Census website. The U.S. Census website is the best source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data to help you make informed decisions about a real estate purchase/investment.

How much house can I afford?

2006-08-14T19:07:00.000-06:00

Most often the first step a Realtor takes when working with a homebuyer is to get the consumer Pre-Qualified or Pre-Approved with a lender. This process is used to determine your buying power and will target your home search to be within a affordable price range. Moreover a Pre-Approval Certificate together with a solid purchase agreement contract to the seller shows you’re a qualified and serious buyer that will likely not fall out of contract before the close of escrow. The number 1 reason why deals "fall out" of escrow is that the buyer is turned down for the loan amount needed to purchase the property. This is why a Pre-Approval Certificate is a great tool to help ease the concerns of the seller.

How much house can you afford?
Home affordability calculator

Should I Rent or Buy a house?
Buying vs. Renting

Downtown NY Rebuilds after 9/11

2006-08-11T15:00:00.000-06:00

Lisa Maysonet from New York City, New York details the Financial District and how its "evolving into a family-oriented neighborhood." Check out the VIDEO of this neighborhood on the southern tip of Manhattan.

Also take a look at TurnHere Locations video section. TurnHere produces professional digital videos that can be used as a tool to research locations to purchase a home. Most of the videos are about "places and leisure activities in cities and neighborhoods" that you might be considering to move. Have fun and watch out because the TurnHere videos are addicting.

Home Selling Advice

2006-08-10T00:17:00.000-06:00

An excellent online resource of Real Estate information and articles can be found at Real Estate ABC. The company was founded to help educate the real estate consumer. Real Estate ABC has the vision "to help consumers with insight into how things [Real Estate] really work with straightforward analysis of market trends and "how to" guides."

I really like this site. I found a long list of Sell-Side information. Here is the link.

The Government Has Homes at Auction

2006-08-08T19:41:00.000-06:00

Another resource of Homes Auctioned by the U.S. Government. HomeSales.gov It is a requirement to work with a real estate agent, broker or servicing representative to submit an offer for a property.

The Government Has Homes For Sale

2006-08-08T10:31:00.000-06:00

Yes the U.S. Governement has homes for sale. The homes for sale were FHA-insured forclosure properties and after the owner defaults HUD takes ownership of the property and sells the home or multi-family home for its most recent appraised value. Most properties are sold to homebuyers looking for their "primary residence" - However, if HUD has trouble selling one of its homes then they open the purchase to real estate investors...

To find the address of a HUD office near you click here.

Contract Contingencies

2006-08-06T15:32:00.000-06:00

A contract contingency is used in most transactions - most often in a buyers market. The homebuyer will make an offer on the house that includes conditional circumstances that expire in a set timeframe. Basically, if a contingency is in the mutually agreed contract the seller and the buyer both must be satisfied before they have a legal duty to execute the terms of the deal.

There are many types of contingencies of not completely foreseen circumstances but all have a date to "lift" or "remove" the contingency in question.

Loan Financing Contingency: The homebuyer usually needs to get a loan to purchase the real estate for sale. When the buyer applies for the loan they have a negotiated timeframe to obtain the financing from the start of the accepted contract. The statement in the contact would look something like, "Buyer shall have ____ days from acceptance of contract within which to remove or otherwise act on said contingency. Buyer agrees to verify all loan terms directly with lender prior to removing this contingency." If the buyer is turned down for the financing within the negotiated timeframe then the contract expires.

Note: If your selling a home its best to have the homebuyer submit the initial offer with a "Pre-Approval" letter from the lender.

Note: The homebuyer does have the option to submit an offer to the seller with no contingencies but it is done mostly in a hot sellers market.

A few more samples of contingencies are as follows:

Structural Pest and Termite Inspection Contingency
Property Condition - Home Inspection Contingency
Home Insurance Contingency

Discount Brokerage

2006-08-01T23:48:00.000-06:00

Buy Side Realty licensed in multiple states is an alternitive to a full service Realtor. There business model understands that 75% of the work when buying a house is locating the property. With, you, the real estate consumer doing most of the work it allows BuySide Realty to put the commision paycheck back in your pocket. To reach a Buy-Side Realtor go to the website or just call 1-877-4-BUYSIDE.

A few items to note:

Every BuySide Agent is a licensed member of the National Association of REALTORS®. So you still have the legal protection and/or assistance for the real estate transaction.

If you want to check out the inside of a home then contact the Listing Agent or Home Owner selling the property. If you have no luck getting inside the property then ask BuySide to schedule the showing for you. They require you to have a mortgage pre-approval from a qualified lender to assist in the setting up of the appointment to walk-through the home.

To write an offer on the property with BuySide Realty you fill out most of the terms within the purchase agreement online. Then a local BuySide Agent will prepare the official offer documents and return them to you to review and sign. The contract then goes into there Transaction Management System (TMS) and you will be able to monitor the progress of the transaction in real time, online.

And of course the REBATE. You will receive a check from BuySide Realty for 75% of BuySide’s commission recieved from the Seller. Or, if you prefer, you can take the rebate as a credit at closing. If you are unsure of the Sell Side commision being offered to the homebuyer contact the listing Agent or Owner. The range you should expect from a seller of a house is 3 to 2 percent. The range you should expect from the seller of vacant land is 6 to 2 percent.

OpenHouse.com Resources

2006-07-28T13:20:00.000-06:00

Before the Internet was around Home Buyers usually would spend a few hours on the weekend driving around local neighborhoods they wish to live. In hopes of spotting an Open House sign that they could "walk-through" (view) without having an appointment.

Now websites are available to help Home Buyers find an inventory of Open House's to tour. However, pay attention because I noticed on OpenHouse.com in the Resources section of the site that the inventory of Open Homes displayed are only from Coldwell Banker, ERA, Sothebys Realty, and Centry 21. A Home Buyer will not see Open Homes from other brokerages such as RE/MAX, Intero Realty, Independant Brokers, Alain Pinel, For Sale By Owner, Help-U-Sell, Redfin, Buy Side Realty, and more.

OpenHouse.com 's registrant is NRT Inc. according to the Whois Record. So you may ask - Why do they limit the internet home buyers view of available open homes to tour on the weekend at OpenHouse.com?

UPDATE: David Linger, RE/MAX founder and chairman told an audience at the Inman ConnectSF conference that "On Dec.5th of 1998, RE/MAX went live with 100% of listings that Realtor.com had -- it created a firestorm overnight. We had RE/MAX listings and every other listing that was on Realtor.com. Other companies complained about the fact that RE/MAX was displaying all of the listings and Realtor.com asked RE/MAX to stop the practice." Then in August of 2005 RE/MAX announced the same plan to list 100% of the listings from all Real Estate Brokerages -- "..this time without the Firestorm." Linger's quotes are from an Inman News article by Glenn "Fireball" Roberts called "Internet is Overvalued, says RE/MAX founder"

Related: OpenHouses.com Article
Too Little Too Late (2007)
OpenHouse.com (2008)

Inman Connect 2006

2006-07-27T20:48:00.000-06:00

Zillow blog has a good summary of the Inman Connectsf event.

Day 1
Day 2

Also Sellsius is doing a great job with links to blog posts about Connectsf.

Summary

Basic Steps of a Real Estate Transaction

2006-07-27T19:08:00.000-06:00

Information Phase

Home Buyers: Research and evaluate needs and then choose the sources to fill them. Find and tour the available inventory of homes for sale.
Home Sellers: Valuate property and arrange to advertise home to qualified buyers.

Negotiating Phase

Participating players in the transaction negotiate the terms of the deal.

Execute & Monitor Phase

The transaction is executed with money and goods being exchanged according to the conditions previously stipulated. Monitoring accompanies to close the deal.