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Real Estate Bloggers Real Estate Bloggers Looking for the Best Real Estate blogs around? Wether you're looking for homestaging advices, real estate agents, fsbo support, you're at the right place. Articles
The Big Squeeze - Countrywide Limits Broker Compensation
2008-03-31 18:27:00 Countrywide issued a communication to its brokers today limiting compensation on all loans to Countrywide to 4 points, including yield spread premium (back points or YSP). While 4 points may seem egregious to some, it is the first step at banks actively restricting total compensation to brokers above and beyond traditional federal and state guidelines. ... More About: Limits , Broker , Compensation , Countrywide , Squeeze
Seattle Post-Intelligencer suspends blogger for copyright infringement
2008-03-31 16:03:00 This happened late last year, but I thought it was worth noting. The Seattle Post -Intelligencer, which hosts a innovative section of professional reporters and readers blogs (including my Seattle Real Estate Professsionals blog), suspended a blogger for being a little too generous with quotes from another source. Blog Suspended More About: Blogger , Infringement , Copyright
Toronto tax-payers live on easy street
2008-03-31 12:49:00 Toronto homeowners just may be the most pampered, tax-sheltered, spoiled-rotten ratepayers in the GTA. The residential property tax hike to be approved at Toronto City Hall today or tomorrow is expected to be 3.75 per cent “ among the GTA’s lowest. Oshawa, in assessment-poor Durham Region, will hike taxes 4.61 per cent, and neighbouring Whitby, ... More About: Toronto , Street , Live , Easy
Headed On Vacation, Need Some Help
2008-03-31 03:51:00 Hi Gang, On Saturday I’m headed to Mexico via a nice cruise from San Diego down to Mazatlan, Cabo, et al. I’ll be gone about 10 days. I’m trying to load up some posts in the meantime, but I would love some guest posts while I’m gone. I’ll open it up to any Blown Mortgage reader. ... More About: Vacation
Stop the Housing Bailout
2008-03-30 16:20:00 A new web site (and organization) has launched to help spread awareness about (and their disdain for) the state-sponsored bail out of the housing and mortgage industries currently underway. Stop the Housing Bailout is encouraging citizens to contact their congressmen and women to urge them to cease using public funds to prop up the housing asset bubble ...
Fifth Third Makes Wholesale Changes
2008-03-30 16:08:00 Get it? Wholesale and wholesale? I kill me sometimes. Fifth Third, a large mid-western-based bank has made some significant changes to its wholesale programs. (h/t Chris) You may recognize Fifth Third as the employer of Tom, one of our erstwhile contributors and frequent commenter. These changes apply only to the wholesale channel, so I’m sure ...
Blown Mortgage 2.5
2008-03-29 23:08:00 I’ve been making a few changes around Blown Mortgage today, the biggest of which is upgrading to the new WordPress 2.5 release. I’ve also added links to my: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Pownce FriendFeed Google Reader shared items Digg StumbleUpon Del.icio.us Friend me up if you feel like it (h/t GaryVee). Blown Mortgage isn’t anything with out you guys, so since we’re friends already we might ...
Foreclosure Machine
2008-03-29 21:14:00 The New York Times has a story about the abuses of the foreclosure system that have become overly-apparent in the deluge of foreclosure activity that has followed the wave of subprime mortgage ARM-loan resets. This is a long article, but an important read for any of you that are personally facing foreclosure or have ... More About: Machine , Foreclosure
Foreclosure Market Report - 2,203,295 foreclosure filings how can you find
2008-03-28 19:32:00 On January 29th 2008, RealtyTrac®, the #1 online authority for foreclosures & defaulted properties, released their 2007 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report . In their report, they mention that the 2007 foreclosures are up 75% over 2006 with a total of 2,203,295 foreclosure filings. The report also shows that more than 1 percent of all U.S. households were ... More About: Find
Fremont General Must Recapitalize or Sell Banking Unit
2008-03-28 12:27:00 The New York Times is reporting that the FDIC has ruled Fremont General ’s banking unit under-capitalized and must find additional funds or sell the unit in two months. Fremont, which should be considered the bastion of terrible underwriting, received default notices related to $3.15 worth of subprime loans. And we’re talking SUBPRIME. ... More About: Banking , Sell , Unit
Canada?s real estate boom loosing steam
2008-03-28 08:50:00 The Conference Board of Canada is warning of “a lengthy slowdown” in Canada’s residential construction industry with profits, already off 22 per cent in 2007, falling for the next two years. The longest housing boom in the post-war era is now “out of breath,” following spectacular growth in the number of homes built and the ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Real , Boom
Radian Will No Longer Insure Stated/Stated Loans
2008-03-28 00:47:00 Radian, the mortgage insurance company, will no longer provide insurance for stated income and stated asset loans. The loans, sometimes called “liar loans” by skeptics, allow borrowers to simply conjure their income and assets used for qualification without any due diligence checking. This may signal the tipping-point of a major sea-change in underwriting standards. ... More About: Loans
How long should it take to sell?
2008-03-27 21:12:00 The time it takes to sell a home varies, but there are things within your control that will help it sell faster. Some homes take days to sell, while others take months. Generally, a desirable property priced in the “market zone” should sell within four weeks in a normal real estate market. But don’t get ... More About: Sell , Long
It Ain?t All Pretty? But it is Darn Good Marketing!
2008-03-27 13:22:00 Even though America is a consumer society, it’s an odd fact that the typical home seller does not view their property as a product for sale in a marketplace. Because this is so, many home’s sales end up languishing. But this need not be the case. Basic old fashioned marketing principals teaches that how a ... More About: Marketing , Pretty , Good
Knoxville Tennessee and ?Sundown in the City?
2008-03-27 11:35:00 One of the new ‘rites of springtime’ in the greater Knoxville , Tennessee area has become a great outdoor concert series called “Sundown in the City “. Starting April 17th and running through July 3rd, the Market Square Mall in downtown Knoxville will be rocking (or jazzing, countrying, or bluesing) with some great music. And best ... More About: In the City
Taking a Break from Blogging
2008-03-27 02:53:00 It’s been a crazy few weeks. There’s a lot of buyers that are out there and starting to get into the market, and there’s a lot of sellers out there trying to prepare for the busy selling season. Meetings with new buyers and sellers and doing my “regular” work has kept me away ... More About: Blogging , Break , Taking
New Home Sales Continue Deep Slide
2008-03-26 16:53:00 Market Watch has the details on the new home sales report and it doesn’t look pretty (lots more at Calculated Risk). While sales are off 30% year-over-year we still have 10 months worth of new inventory, the highest since 1981. On the bright side we’re slowly cutting in to excess inventory which is an important step ... More About: Sales , Home , Deep , Slide , New Home Sales
Refi Activity Jumps on Fed Move
2008-03-26 13:06:00 Mortgage refinance applications soared last week according to the MBA on the heels of the Fed rate cut. With all the volatility in the marketplace however; many would-be refianciers may be disappointed at the constantly changing rate moves in the market. When a loan officer tells you to lock your rate these days, I would ... More About: Move
Moving Expenses can be CRA Tax deductible
2008-03-26 11:28:00 When you make a move in Canada you are sometimes allowed to deduct your moving expenses. This of course is depending upon your circumstances. This page will outline the situations where you may be able to deduct your moving expenses Tax deductible Moving expenses Maybe you have you recently moved to a new location? Did you ... More About: Expenses
More Canadian Tax Planning Tips
2008-03-20 12:22:00 Tax Planning Tips A Bigger Tax Refund is Yours for the Asking No matter your age or income level, there are steps you can take to reduce the taxes you pay. It may be a matter of claiming all of the credits and deductions you are entitled to. Or it may involve splitting income with your spouse ... More About: Canadian
Mortgage Rates Show Steep Decline This Week
2008-03-20 12:11:00 Mortgage rates were down nearly 50 basis points week-over-week (.5%) as the Fed cut borrowing rates and pumped a whole bunch of “dollars” in to the financial markets to improve liquidity. Such a massive swing shouldn’t be taken as a trend, as rates have been all over the board in recent weeks. As ... More About: Show , Mortgage , Week , Rates
Toronto Real Estate Board reports:
2008-03-19 20:47:00 City’s housing market down 18 per cent Resale home transactions in the Greater Toronto Area continued at a moderate pace during the first half of March, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O’Neill announced today. With 3,183 transactions to mid-month, sales in the GTA and in Toronto declined 14% and 18% respectively, compared to the same ... More About: Real Estate
More real estate scams on Craigslist
2008-03-19 20:26:00 I received an email last week from a guy inquiring about an ad he saw on Craigslist : Are any of these units for rent? There is currently an ad on Craigslist for one of these units, http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/apa/601 697121.html Is this a real ad? I’ve replied to a few ads recently that end up being fake, and ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Scams , Real
Redfin?s March Madness Comes to NPR
2008-03-19 12:43:00 Out of nowhere last week, an NPR producer sent us a note asking about Redfin ’s March Madness plans. At first I thought she was talking about last week’s open houses release. Then I was about to say we aren’t doing anything special, but double-checked first with Redfin power forwards Klaus Gosma and Loren Ellingson, who ...
Ontario Real Estate Market Watch
2008-03-19 09:30:00 GTA and surrounding areas. Toronto Real Estate Board Members recorded 6,015 resale home transactions last month, down 11 per cent in the Greater Toronto Area overall , 14 per cent in the City of Toronto and 9 per cent in the 905 suburbs compared to February 2007. The average price increased 4% in GTA area and 2% ... More About: Watch , Real Estate , Real Estate Market , Market
Interest Rate cut by 3/4 of a Point United States Federal Government
2008-03-19 09:07:00 Fed Cuts Key Interest Rate by 3/4 of a Point WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve reduced short-term interest rates for the sixth time in six months on Tuesday March 18th, capping an extraordinary series of measures it has taken to stabilize financial markets. The cut was smaller than investors had been expecting, though, and exposed ... More About: United States , Government , United
San Francisco Real Estate Fast Facts: Condominium Sales February 2007 vs. F
2008-03-19 04:23:00 Here’s the latest Fast Facts update from the SFAR. Updates are provided almost weekly and each week is a different sector of the market (ie. Condos, Single Family Homes, 2-4 unit dwellings, etc.). Check back next week for more statistics. Fast Facts ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , San Francisco , Sales
Citi Residential Lending ?Absorbed? by CitiMortgage
2008-03-18 19:35:00 Citi, which just eliminated its wholesale home equity division continues with the changes; announcing the consolidation of Citi Residential Lending with the CitiMortgage unit. In an email to staff today Citi leadership announced that staff reductions would be imminent in the consolidation. Here’s a clip of the email: As part of the next phase in ... More About: Citi
Fed Cuts Rates .75% - Running out of Ammo?
2008-03-18 15:50:00 The Fed cut interest rates to 2.25%, a nice 75 basis points whack to try to fend off long-lasting effects of a recession and another round of the credit freeze. The question stars to become - does the Fed have enough ammo (or the right kind of ammo)? And I think the answer ... More About: Running , Rates , Cuts
How to Have a Good Time
More articles from this author:2008-03-18 14:37:00 “If there’s one thing I know how to do,” a friend once told me, after one of those long, grappa-fueled nights of ping-pong that make the rest of life seem like such an enigma, “It’s how to have a good time.” Over the years, this friend has explained to me many things: what different drugs are like (”if you must choose just one, mushrooms”), how to bake a chicken (salt, pepper, nothing else), the only way to actually finish writing a book (feverishly, in a remote cabin), and how good family life could be (his toddler-age children fetch beers from the fridge). But never how to have a good time. Whenever I’ve been supposed to have a good time, like at an amusement park or a party, I’ve failed, and then felt worse because of my failure. “Corporate fun” has been especially miserable. But then I came to Redfin. And if there’s one thing Redfin knows how to do, it’s how to have a good time. In that spirit, ... More About: Time , Good 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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