4 tools to increase your value as a real estate agent

New tech from Real Estate Connect

BY BERNICE ROSS, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2012 Inman News®

A packed session, "Video is for Closers," at Real Estate Connect San Francisco. Photo credit: Inman News.

Editor's note: This is the second of a three-part series. Read Part 1.

What were the latest technology innovations making their debut at this summer's Real Estate Connect? While agent ratings, mobile apps and video were all hot at Start-Up Alley, some of the less trendy tools and services may be exactly what you need to kick your business up a notch.

Early adopters have a definite advantage over those who fail to keep pace with technology. Many younger clients love agents who have the latest tech tools. On the other hand, incorporating a new tool into your business only to see the company disappear a few months later can be a costly mistake.

While almost everyone acknowledges that being an early adopter is a way to stay ahead of the competition, the question is which set of tools and services will be the best fit for the way you do business? The list below contains a number of apps and services that are definitely worth considering.

The social network Nextdoor

Nextdoor is dedicated to maintaining online privacy. For example, if your neighborhood wasn't on Nextdoor, you could add it to the system. The process requires nine neighbors to sign up within 21 days. Each individual must accept a phone call on their landline or verify their address with a credit card. This level of privacy is what allows participants to feel safe about sharing personal information, including pictures and names of their children.Nextdoor was the most talked new social network at this year's Connect. Facebook lets you connect with friends and relatives, LinkedIn allows you to connect with other professionals, and Twitter focuses on what is happening in the moment. In contrast, Nextdoor is a free private social network that allows people to connect who live in local neighborhoods. Rather than having to knock on doors to meet your neighbors, Nextdoor is a powerful alternative. Nextdoor allows people in a given neighborhood to complete profiles about themselves and their family members. It's a great way to get to know others who live in your subdivision or condo building.

Real estate industry is shifting to paperless and mobile

New tech from Real Estate Connect

BY BERNICE ROSS, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012.

Inman News®

Mobile phone image via Shutterstock.

Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series.

Real estate's movers, shakers and innovators once again convened in San Francisco for this summer's Real Estate Connect searching for the newest tools and strategies to give them a competitive edge.

A visit to Start-Up Alley is always one of the highlights of attending Connect. While many companies who launch at Start-Up Alley never become viable, others such as Zillow and Trulia have become superstars. Below you'll find a rundown of some of the best tools and systems that may very well be the superstars of tomorrow.

Mobile transaction management

If you haven't shifted to being paperless and mobile, it's only a matter of time before the entire real estate industry makes this move. The three key players at Connect in this area were Cartavi.com, DotLoop.com and REPREE.com.

Cartavi launched its transaction management program at last year's event. This year it launched a brand-new app making Cartavi the only transaction management program currently available on the iPad, iPhone, Android and Android tablets. Cartavi has both a free and a premium version. Both versions are integrated with DocuSign; however, there is a separate fee for using the DocuSign system.

Fannie, Freddie fee hikes eyed in 5 judicial foreclosure states

Regulator: Cost of repossessions higher in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, NJ and NY

BY INMAN NEWS, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012 Inman News®

Gavel image via Shutterstock.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking public comment on a proposal to raise the guarantee fees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge lenders in five states where costs related to foreclosure practices are significantly higher than the national average.

These five states are Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and New York. According to the proposal, lenders would have to pay an upfront fee of between 15 and 30 basis points -- 0.15 to 0.3 percent -- for each single-family mortgage originated in those states and later acquired by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

That increase means that a borrower in an affected state obtaining a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage of $200,000 could see his or her monthly mortgage payment rise by about $3.50 to $7, the regulator said.

The FHFA chose the five states based on three factors: the expected number of days it takes Fannie or Freddie to foreclose and obtain title to a property; the average per-day carrying costs Fannie and Freddie incur in a state; and the expected national average default rate on a single-family mortgage acquired by Fannie and Freddie. The size of the fee increase will depend on how much a particular state deviates from the national average.

3 cool mobile apps for real estate agents

Tools from Real Estate Connect SF

BY BERNICE ROSS, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 Inman News®

aTablet computing image via Shutterstock.

Mobile technologies are completely transforming how consumers experience the real estate transaction. As always, Real Estate Connect highlighted a number of new apps that can help you organize your real estate business as well as the other areas in your life as well.

Are you someone who suffers from "shiny app syndrome"? Even though you have plenty of apps on your mobile devices, you're always on the hunt for the next new app that will entertain or amuse, or help you grow your business. On the other hand, if you haven't jumped on the app bandwagon, don't wait -- and here's why.

Rather than sitting at their computers to search properties online, today's consumers are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to view real estate-related searches. IDX searches are a great case in point.

There are 48 million IDX page views per week. Five million page views originate from the Safari mobile browser (1.2 million from iPhones and 3.8 million from iPads.) Contrast this with only 42,000 page views from the BlackBerry. As a result, the first step in creating your personal mobile strategy is to make sure that your website is optimized for mobile.

Rising prices will drive housing sales for years to come

Commentary: Forget inflation -- we're still in the global deflation event of all time

BY LOU BARNES, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012 Inman News®

Housing market trends image via Shutterstock.

The market response to QE3 has been different than to the first and and second rounds of "quantitative easing." It's subdued this time.

The initial upward burst in stocks has fizzled, and the run to commodities by those either fearful of inflation or hoping for it has also stalled. The 10-year Treasury note jumped almost to 1.9 percent from summer in the 1.5s, but has now retreated to 1.75 percent.

Only mortgages have behaved as expected, sitting at or slightly below the 3.5 percent all-time low, depending on the deal.

The usual weekly run of data on the current economy shed no new light, but deeper reports on credit and housing did enlighten, as did -- may the saints preserve us -- news from domestic politics.

Republican columnist David Brooks this week nailed Mitt Romney as behaving like Thurston Howell III, the clueless ascot-throated boob of "Gilligan's Island." Romney had done poorly while cast as a Wall Street sharpie. Boob is fatal.

Real estate workplace fatalities down 37 percent

Violence accounts for more than half of deaths

BY INMAN NEWS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012 Inman News®

Crime scene image via Shutterstock.

Fatal workplace injuries in the real estate industry have fallen to the lowest level since 2005, though assaults and other violent acts accounted for a rising share of deaths last year, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Thursday.

In 2011, there were 40 workplace fatalities in a BLS-defined real estate industry subcategory. The subcategory includes lessors of real estate (landlords); real estate agents and brokers and others who work in brokerage offices; and those who conduct activities related to real estate, such as property managers and appraisers.

The real estate subcategory is part of a more broadly defined "real estate and rental and leasing" BLS category in which there were a total of 60 fatal work injuries in 2011.

Who got rich off of Trulia IPO?

Co-founders Pete Flint and Sami Inkinen top the chart

BY INMAN NEWS, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 Inman News®

Trulia co-founders Pete Flint (wielding gavel) and Sami Inkinen (under the 'a' in Trulia) at the New York Stock Exchange Thursday. Photo credit: Ben Hider/NYSE Euronext.

Editor's note: This story has been updated.

Trulia Inc. co-founders Peter Flint, 37, and Sami Inkinen, 36, cashed in on stock worth $3.88 million and $3.56 million, respectively, during Trulia's initial public offering.

Both Flint and Inkinen held on to about 10 times as many shares as they sold, as the company they founded in 2004 finished its first day of trading Thursday with a market capitalization in excess of $500 million.

Flint continues to lead the company as CEO. Inkinen shed his role as president with the company in March and remains on the board of directors.

Why generic analytics reports and tools won't do

Clear presentation of relevant data crucial for seeing the big picture

BY GAHLORD DEWALD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012Inman News®

The Space Shuttle Columbia reentering Earth's atmosphere on Feb. 1, 2003. Image viaNASA/Wikimedia Commons.

Digital analytics -- measuring human behavior in the digital realm -- can be used in many different ways to help business owners make better decisions. This includes real estate agents, brokers, franchises, and the army of vendors and consultants who serve them.

Increasingly, there are tools and charts and dashboards and infographics scattered throughout any business decision-making activity. Some of these tools and charts are useful. Some are decorative. Some are merely marketing pitches insidiously dressed up as meaningful data.

Today, the first encounter with analytics for many business owners is either the generic Google Analytics dashboard or some other vendor-produced tool. While I am a big fan of Google Analytics, I think that it is unfortunate that so many start this way.

Trulia ups IPO share price to $17

Shares begin trading under 'TRLA' ticker tomorrow

BY INMAN NEWS, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 Inman News®

Wll Street bull image via Shutterstock.

Real estate search website Trulia Inc. has priced an initial public offering of stock in the company at $17 per share, clearing the way for public trading of company common stock on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning under the ticker "TRLA."

At $17 a share  -- $1 above the previously announced expected range -- the IPO of 6 million shares will raise $102 million before expenses. San Francisco-based Trulia is selling 5 million shares valued at $85 million, and a number of existing shareholders including co-founders Sami Inkinen and Pete Flint are collectively putting up 1 million shares valued at $17 million.

Trulia stands to raise an additional $15.3 million if underwriters exercise an option to purchase 900,000 more shares in the next 30 days, bringing the value of shares the company is hoping to sell at $100.3 million before expenses.

Don't underestimate autumn home sale potential

Though sales are seasonal, markets don't grind to a halt in September

BY ALISHA ALWAY BRAATZ, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 Inman News®

Autumn image via Shutterstock.

If I had my way, each year would officially start in September.

The heck with Jan. 1! Who's even awake in January?

You've just finished gorging on pie and cured meats for two months. That's the time to fit into a sparkly minidress and stay up until 3 a.m.? No thank you.

I prefer to celebrate the coming new year in September -- the month when everything really important happens. Fall is for the first day of school, fresh notebooks, new shoes, empty backpacks and chocolate milk.

It's simply the season of change, and nature herself confirms it. Leaves start changing color, the air gets crisp, and all the hanging flower baskets around my house die because I forget to water them (so sorry!). Football kicks off, root vegetables begin showing up on the dinner table, and all the best TV shows are back in the prime-time lineup.

Forms auto-populate, but can agents explain them?

As industry moves to paperless, agents must understand contract provisions

BY BERNICE ROSS, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012.

Inman News®

Robot wielding pen image via Shutterstock.

As the industry moves to becoming paperless, the new technologies are exacerbating a problem that has existed for years: agents failing to make sure their clients understand the contracts they are signing. Are you taking the necessary steps to protect your clients?

Your clients have found the perfect house but there are already two offers on it. They're in a hurry to submit an offer, so you take out your iPad, pop open the zipForms version of your purchase contract, and auto-fill the contract. The buyers digitally sign the contract, you obtain their deposit check, and you email the offer to the listing agent. The entire process took a little over five minutes -- isn't technology grand?

I have been interviewing managers and broker-owners regarding the major challenges they're facing with new agents. Every broker and manager I have spoken with has cited the same problem: A substantial proportion of all agents have failed to master the fundamentals of the business.

5 Steps to Reconnecting With Past Clients

by Matthew Collis  September 11, 2012

As you may already know, keeping in touch with past clients is an essential ingredient to building referrals and generating repeat business.

Once you’ve helped your client purchase or sell his home, and the transaction is complete, you need to continue the relationship-building process if you want referrals to flow your way and clients to come back to use your services time and again.

Remember, it takes five times the amount of time and money to acquire a new client than to retain an existing one. The business you receive from past clients in the form of referrals and repeat transactions is “low-hanging fruit” compared to the business you get from having to prospect, advertise and cold call.

Consider this: The National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that among sellers, a whopping 85 percent said that they would definitely or probably use their real estate agent again or recommend them to others.

Whether it works or not, QE3 was needed

Commentary: US not in recession, but fiscal cliff, Europe still loom

BY LOU BARNES, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 Inman News®

Albert H. Teich / Shutterstock.com

One thing is for sure. Mr. Bernanke's announcement yesterday is the most extraordinary to come out of the Fed since the all-time previous: Paul Volcker on Columbus Day weekend 1979 said the Fed would allow interest rates to rise as high as necessary to defeat inflation.

As today's problems are the polar opposite of 1979, and raising rates had long been the accepted and effective remedy for inflation, and Mr. Volcker's policies succeeded in solving the problem, it is difficult further to compare these two moments.

From yesterday's announcement by the Federal Open Market Committee: "If the outlook for the labor market does not improve substantially, the Committee will continue its purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities, undertake additional asset purchases… until such improvement is achieved in a context of price stability."

The committee "expects that a highly accommodative stance of monetary policy will remain appropriate for a considerable time after the economy strengthens."

5 steps to a more mobile-friendly website

Give potential real estate clients what they want, when they want it

BY BERNICE ROSS, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012 Inman News®

Searching real estate listings on smartphoneimage via Shutterstock.

Shifts in mobile technology are driving fundamental changes in terms of how real estate will be conducted in the future. What can you do as an individual agent to be prepared to cope with this onslaught of change?

At Real Estate Connect last month, Brian Boero, partner at 1000Watt Consulting, likened where we are with mobile to where the Web was in 1997. We're aware of it as a tool. We know the impact it will have on our business will be huge, even though very few people have figured out how to integrate mobile into their marketing strategy. In fact, 23 percent of the traffic to brokerage sites originates on a mobile device.

Although most brokerages have a website, very few have optimized their sites for maximum functionality on mobile devices.

If you have your own website and want to provide a great mobile experience to potential clients, take the following steps to make your website more mobile-friendly.

Real estate pros can deduct rental losses

Real Estate Tax Talk

BY STEPHEN FISHMAN, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 Inman News®

Tax form image via Shutterstock.

A recent court decision will make it easier for many individuals to qualify as real estate professionals for purposes of the IRS passive loss rules. This will enable more landlords to fully deduct their losses from real estate rentals.

The passive loss rules ("PAL rules") are one of the most confusing areas of taxation. Under these rules, losses from real property rentals are classified as "passive activity losses." These rules permit a rental property to deduct from his other non-passive income, such as salary or other business income, a maximum of $25,000 each year; and even this is phased out if the owner’s adjust gross income exceeds $100,000. Unused losses must be saved for future years.

Luckily for real estate professionals, they can qualify for a special exemption from the passive loss rules -- an exemption nobody else can get. If you qualify, you may deduct any amount of rental activity losses you have for the year from your other income -- such as real estate commission income -- regardless of how high your income for the year may be.

Homebuyers pay for 'raids' on Fannie and Freddie

Commentary: Mortgage surcharges let lawmakers keep pledges not to raise taxes

BY KEN HARNEY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2012 Inman News®

Chest of money image via Shutterstock.

There's an ominous trend taking shape below the headlines in Washington this political season that anyone involved in home sales, financing or building should keep an eye on.

It's called raiding the cookie jar of the helpless: squeezing more money for federal purposes out of the home lending process without calling it a "tax" by jacking up fees at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

After a raid, consumers purchasing homes or refinancing end up paying relatively small amounts extra in mortgage fees -- adding anywhere between one-eighth and one-quarter of a percent onto their loan rates. Hardly anyone's the wiser because the surcharges show up nowhere in the process.

But with 60 percent-plus of all new mortgages now being funded by Fannie and Freddie, the extra amounts raised by mortgage fees rapidly can total into the tens of billions of dollars over extended periods.

The danger of new fees tacked onto conventional mortgages stems from two developments: first is the looming "fiscal cliff" facing the federal government by year-end, when Bush-era tax cuts expire and disastrous cuts in spending kick in.

Second, there is a perception on Capitol Hill -- a correct one -- that the two giant companies now under government control have no one left to protect them from financial assaults. That means they are fair game when revenues need to be raised without violating no-new-taxes pledges.

Why your listings don't rank

How to get search engines to see your pages and rank them higher

BY GAHLORD DEWALD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2012 Inman News®

Ski lift image via Shutterstock.

A reader emailed recently wondering why search engines find property listings on some websites and not on others.

Even more vexing, sometimes search engines treat different listings on the same site inconsistently -- one listing on Craigslist will show up in search results, and another listing won't. Why is that?

Search is one of those arcane arts of the Web. Agents and brokers -- who once provided a fairly hefty subsidy of local newspapers through their advertising -- now spend a great deal of time and money getting properties and sites to show up in search engine results.

And that's probably a good thing. If someone is is paying to have their house listed, and one of the promises made by the agent involves marketing the property, then doing a bit of online marketing via search engines is in order. But hopefully you'll get the property sold before you have to boost its ranking on a head term.

Social media marketing is passive prospecting

Don't let the fear of rejection stop you from asking for business

BY DAVID FLETCHER, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2012 Inman News®

Boy fishing image via Shutterstock.

I'm getting so many "tips" on how to use social media, I am getting a truth ache.

Our salaried friends can become addicted to social media, have fun with it, build their lives around it. Try every tip or trick in the book, because it doesn't affect their household income. As commission-only real estate agents, we don't have that luxury.

We need to understand that social media marketing is an important but passiveprospecting tool. Social media is a "hope so, think so, maybe so" prospecting tool. It can be effective, but it calls for focused discernment on our part.

Grow the economy, or else

Commentary: New plan to tackle Europe's debt crisis doesn't address underlying problems

BY LOU BARNES, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012 Inman News®

Apple pie image via Shutterstock.

First, an expression of gratitude. Reality -- new economic data and active central banks -- has removed any duty to pay attention to the convention of either party.

August job data released today were poor. The meager 96,000-job gain was cut in half by downward revisions to the two prior months, and the apparent decline in unemployment from 8.3 percent to 8.1 percent is a statistical quirk -- the percentage of Americans at work or trying to find it fell to the lowest level since 1981.

California broker fighting for right to advertise out-of-state listings

Young: Nebraska's licensing requirements violate free speech rights

BY ANDREA V. BRAMBILA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012 Inman News®

Gavel image via Shutterstock.

A California real estate broker who has advertised for-sale-by-owner properties from other states on Realtor.com by placing them in a multiple listing service in California has amended a lawsuit she filed two years ago against Nebraska regulators, claiming their attempts to put a halt to the practice have violated her civil rights to free speech and to pursue a trade.

The Nebraska Real Estate Commission sent California broker Leslie Rae Young a cease and desist order in July 2010, maintaining that only Nebraska licensees are permitted to negotiate the listing, sale or purchase of property in the state, or assist in procuring prospects.

Young then sued the state of Nebraska and the commission in federal court, claiming changes to Nebraska's licensing laws were unconstitutional, and that the state had no jurisdiction over her.

Cashing in on global real estate clients

Be prepared to meet 5 unique expectations

BY BERNICE ROSS, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 Inman News®

Global real estate clients image via Shutterstock.

Would you like to close 50 percent more deals with the same amount of work that you do right now? If so, expanding your business to include a global clientele is one of the simplest ways to cash in on a very lucrative real estate niche.

Due to the cultural and language differences, many agents find working with global clients to be intimidating. Nevertheless, global clients can be a gold mine for your business.

To illustrate this point, only 33 percent of all domestic real estate clients ever close a deal. In contrast, 50 percent of all global clients close deals. This translates into closing 50 percent more deals with the same amount of work. This also explains why agents who work with global clients make 50 percent more on average than those who work exclusively with domestic clients.

Foreign buyers, trade-ups are where the money's at

Grow your real estate business in 2012

BY BERNICE ROSS, THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012.

Inman News®

World flags image via Shutterstock.

Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series. Read Part 1.

What are the trends that will influence your business now and throughout the rest of 2012? More importantly, what steps can you take to capitalize on these trends to build increase your profitability?

Part 1 of this series outlined four key trends that are critical to the profitability of your business. If you want to get the jump on the competition, here are four more important trends to consider.

5. Foreign buyers binge on U.S. homes
The U.S. housing market appears to have hit bottom in most places. Part of what is driving the recovery is the number of foreign buyers. With the uncertainty of the euro, potential bankruptcies of large countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy, as well as the substantial tax increases in France, capital is looking for safe havens. As a result, international sales volume in the U.S. is predicted to be at $82.5 billion for 2012, representing a 24 percent increase from last year.

Buyers need your help to close on short sales, REOs

Realtor Notebook

BY TERESA BOARDMAN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012.

Inman News®

Red tape image via Shutterstock.

There might be more information than ever before available to consumers on the Internet, but it won't replace real estate agents anytime soon.
More has been added to our role. Sometimes it feels like we are becoming a source for free labor for banks and government agencies who will not allow buyers or sellers to represent themselves. Sometimes, they make information about special programs available only to real estate agents.
Between Neighborhood Stabilization Program homes, traditional foreclosures and Fannie Mae foreclosures called "HomePath" homes, the homebuying process has changed. When a government agency is the seller, they sometimes use a committee to determine if the buyer is qualified to buy the home.  There are processes and there is paperwork, and sometimes representing one buyer or short-sale seller can feel like a full-time job.
The paperwork can be complicated and the instructions are not always clear. There are agents who are avoiding showing certain homes to their buyers because they don't understand the programs and can't handle the paperwork.

Responses to economic peril not grounded in reality

Commentary: Central banks can't make debt disappear

BY LOU BARNES, FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2012.

Inman News®

Flying saucers image via Shutterstock.

This bizarre time resembles a sci-fi epic involving three alternate universes -- one real and two political -- at each change of scene each universe moving more distant from the others.

Reality first. Today's reported 163,000-job net gain in July has surprised markets expecting more bad news, and thus triggered a short-covering rally in stocks and a dumping of safety-bought bonds, with market moves magnified by thin attendance during vacation season.

The job gain was half-again the forecast, but other aspects of the report were as weak as prior months: more part-time workers unable to find full-time jobs, and fewer people in the workforce able to find any work at all.

The Institute For Supply Management reports for July were on the cusp of weakness, manufacturing shrinking slightly at 49.8, the service sector at 52.6 a hair better than hoped. June personal income grew 0.5 percent, spending not at all. June factory orders were expected to rise and instead fell 0.5 percent; excluding a nice month for aircraft, orders tanked 1.8 percent.

10 expenses you can deduct when renting out a room

Real Estate Tax Talk

BY STEPHEN FISHMAN, FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2012.

Inman News®

Tax forms image via Shutterstock.

Lots of people are trying to earn a few extra bucks by renting out a room in their home. This can not only be a good source of income, but result in tax deductions.

If you rent out a room in your home, the tax rules apply to you in the same way as they do for landlords who rent out entire properties. This means you get to deduct the expenses arising from your rental activity.

There is one big difference, however: You must divide certain expenses between the part of the property you rent out and the part you live in, just as though you actually had two separate pieces of property.

You can fully deduct (or, where applicable, depreciate) any expenses just for the room you rent; for example, repairing a window in the room, installing carpet or drapes, painting the room, or providing your tenant with furniture (such as a bed).

MLS granted injunction against NeighborCity.com

Insurer denies duty to pay for portal's defense against copyright lawsuits

BY ANDREA V. BRAMBILA, FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2012.

Inman News®

Gavel image via Shutterstock.

Five months after filing suitagainst the operator of NeighborCity.com, mid-Atlantic multiple listing service Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (MRIS) has been granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting NeighborCity from using copyrighted content from the MRIS database without authorization.

In a complaint filed March 28, MRIS alleged NeighborCity's owner and operator, American Home Realty Network Inc., reproduced, displayed and distributed copyrighted listing content, including photographs, without the MLSs' authorization and violated copyright laws through "the creation of unauthorized derivative works incorporating the MRIS database."

St. Paul, Minn.-based Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota Inc. (NorthstarMLS) filed a similar suit against AHRN on April 18. NorthstarMLS has also filed for a preliminary injunction against the company, but the court has yet to render a decision.

The lawsuits were filed not long after San Francisco-based American Home Realty Network, which is licensed as a brokerage in California, updated profile pages for 850,000 agents on NeighborCity.com that feature agent scores and performance metrics based on their transaction history.

The preliminary injunction in the MRIS case, filed Aug. 27, denied NeighborCity's motion to dismiss the MRIS case and enjoined the company "from unauthorized copying, reproduction, public display, or public distribution of copyrighted content from the MRIS database, and from preparing derivative works based upon the copyrighted content from the MRIS database."

Bernanke defends easing but holds off for now

Commentary: Central banks must be as active as neccessary without risking inflation

BY LOU BARNES, FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2012.

Inman News®

Iceberg image via Shutterstock.

At the end of each August, the world's central bankers gather in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Sit around the ol' campfire singin' sad songs, goin' fishin' in pin-striped suits, and tellin' tales about the big trout that got away. This year, most of 'em.

Despite the risk of feeding conspiracy theorists, it's good to know that these people talk with each other constantly. The People's Bank of China comes to Jackson Hole. Money is money everywhere, the problems different but the same, and today are tightly linked. Mangled policy in Europe creates risk in China, and makes it all the more difficult for China to adjust its own severe imbalances.

One central banker is missing: in the midst of widespread expectation of bond purchases by the European Central Bank, its chairman, Mario Draghi, cancelled his scheduled Jackson Hole speech. One thing is certain: if you're afraid to leave town, you don’t have a deal.

Tax clock is ticking for underwater homeowners

Real estate tax talk

BY STEPHEN FISHMAN, FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2012.

Inman News®

Elated man image via Shutterstock.

Ordinarily, if all or part of a home loan is forgiven by the lender, either in a short sale or foreclosure, the amount forgiven is taxable income. Thus, for example, a homeowner who had $100,000 in mortgage debt forgiven through a short sale would have to pay income tax on the $100,000.

However, Congress adopted the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 to save millions of underwater homeowners from this tax disaster. Under the Act, homeowners can exclude from their taxable income up to $2 million of debt forgiven on their principal residence during 2007 through 2012. The Act applies to debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as forgiven in connection with a foreclosure.

But the Mortgage Debt Relief Act expires on January 1, 2013. Any mortgage debt forgiven after that date will be fully taxable, unless the Act is extended. To avoid this deadline, a home must not only be sold before the deadline, but the lender must formally forgive the loan in a letter issued before January 1, 2013.

Will the Mortgage Debt Relief Act be extended past 2012? No one knows. In its 2013 budget, the Obama Administration asked that the Act be extended for two years. Several bills have been pending in Congress to extend it as well, but so far nothing has happened. No one has any idea what Congress will do, and it likely won't act until after the election on November 8, if then. It may depend on who wins the election.

Homeowners who want to take advantage of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act must sell their homes before the end of the year. It may already be too late for most homeowners, since short sales often take many months to complete. But some homeowners may be able to complete a short sale before the deadline if they act now -- it all depends on the property and lenders involved. There will likely be a deluge of sellers trying to meet the end of year deadline.

Realtors seek details of 'secretive' REO bulk sales

Fannie, Freddie regulator says it will release 'pertinent information' when deals close

BY ANDREA V. BRAMBILA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2012.

Inman News®

Spotlight image via Shutterstock.

California Realtors say Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's federal regulator is moving forward with bulk sales of real estate owned (REO) homes in "a highly secretive manner," without giving full consideration to the objections of California lawmakers or the program's potential negative economic impact on housing markets and cost to taxpayers.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is implementing an "ill-conceived" plan while "refusing to disclose any details, such as property locations, final property count, sales price, or names of winning bidders," said LeFrancis Arnold, president of the California Association of Realtors, in a statement
FHFA, the federal regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced last year that was considering bulk sales of properties to investors, with the goal of converting REO properties into rentals.
After collecting feedback and under pressure from lawmakers to move forward with the program, FHFA in February announced the launch of a pilot initiativetargeting bulk REO sales in metropolitan areas "hardest-hit" by the foreclosure crisis, including Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and parts of Florida.

Agents: Just say no to overpriced listings

Sellers often have unrealistic expectations about value of upgrades

BY BERNICE ROSS, THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2012.

Inman News®

House of dollars image via Shutterstock.

Overpriced listings have always been the bane of the real estate business. Given the tough lending environment, there is no longer any wiggle room when it comes to pricing. If your sellers aren't willing to be realistic, even if they do get into contract, there's a high probability they will never close.

It used to be that placing a property under contract was the toughest part of the transaction. Tight credit and major changes in the appraisal process have made it exceedingly difficult for agents to close transactions. In fact, when it comes to the appraisal process, many agents are finding themselves in an entirely new world.

For example, in the past, if a property had high-quality upgrades such as granite countertops, custom wood cabinets, hardwood or marble floors, appraisers would normally upgrade the value of the property. Today, that is almost never the case.

Why is nobody making my dream real estate app?

Realtor Notebook

BY TERESA BOARDMAN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2012.

Inman News®

Dreaming image via Shutterstock.

I was recently asked by a company that builds iPad apps what kind of app I would like to see.

I did not hesitate to suggest an app that I could use to write real estate contracts. No one but agents who use iPads in the field fully understands what I am looking for, and I don't think the app is being built.

Pen and paper are easier than some of the clunky apps and mobile sites I have used to fill out forms and make offers, and that is just wrong. Some of them can reduce an agent to tears when they crash and the offer vanishes.

I want a single, easy to use app that works on my iPad where I can load or access the entire library of real estate forms, add forms of my own, and write offers for my clients, have them signed on the screen or electronically and manage them from cradle to grave and access them from any device.