I recently read an article about some problems with trenchless, “Trenchless Fix for Faulty Pipes.” If you need to replace part or all of your sewer lateral, make sure to get at least three written bids. For articles about our unpleasant sewer line experience, see “Sewer Line Blues.”

You might have approached your bank for a loan modification only to discover that this seemed to be a shell game that took a lot of your time and effort, but did not result in a new, more affordable loan.

Maybe you have considered a short sale, a deed in lieu, walking away without making any further payments or even bankruptcy. Although these and other ways to remove the negative cash flow may have the attraction of eliminating your monthly mortgage payment, property taxes and insurance, they also can seriously harm your credit and could require  you to come up with a pile of cash you never anticipated and do not have.

[Read rest of article HERE]

The callers worried about the next time they bought or sold and told me they were baffled about how to identify and select an agent who would “stand in their shoes.”

The counsel I gave in my article was this: “If the agent spends most of his/her time talking about himself/herself, and selling/marketing instead of how he/she would do an excellent job of representation, move on to the next one.”

Item 1: An online story I read last week about a real estate survey that indicated, in today’s market, buyers have a significantly higher opinion of the agent who represents them than sellers have of their agent. The implicit message here is that, subconsciously, sellers associate their disadvantaged position in this market with their agent, as though real estate licensees create and control the economy.

Item 2: The stock market today, in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s meeting, was down about 1.2 per cent (S&P 500). Soon after the announcement that the Fed was maintaining fed funds rate at almost zero, the main tool in its box to stimulate the economy, the S&P gained back almost one per cent. Amazing, given today’s Fed announcement that the U.S. economy is weakening and this was a very negative report.

If you are an actual or potential real estate buyer or seller, do yourself a favor. Don’t follow the crowd. Rely on your own critical thinking and you will end up better off than most.

Although it is understandable that homeowners who have little or no equity might consider saving real estate fees by going FSBO, the problem is that most do not know what they do not know, the definition of ignorance. This can lead not only to lower net proceeds, if the home even sells, but also to potential legal problems with the buyer.

For more information on this topic, see “FSBO Redux,”  with links to three other articles on this subject.

Using your smart phone to photograph the QR code, it could take you to a Web site with more information about the property. Or, it may take you to an agent’s Facebook or Twitter page.

The idea is to provide more content than can be included in yard signs, fliers, business cards, postcard mailers, etc.,

See “QR Codes: A Mobile Entryway for Real Estate Listings” .

An example that seems amusing, but isn’t, is tracking where a borrower, who ordered pizza online, had it delivered. A delivery address that differs from where a refinancing customer said he lives could be a strong clue that it was not an owner-occupied loan. Considering that the interest rate is higher for non-owner-occupied mortgages, this might be important information for the lending institution.

Some borrowers, of course, may understand this new paradigm and order by phone or in person, but others might get caught in “fudging” their application.

Reading this, you may be thinking that the mediocre or weak agents were trying to prevent progress. Why else would there be such an outcry over a new system designed to provide useful information to the public?

[Read full article HERE]

1)  Address the many problems relating to appraisals and the “Home Valuation Code of Conduct, which resulted from a settlement between the NY Attorney General and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
2) Prevent another attempt by the state to have the broker withhold 3% of a Realtor’s commission and pay it to the Franchise Tax Board.
3)  Stop the state from reducing or eliminating the mortgage interest deduction.
4) Prohibit “deficiency debt” in refinances of owner ocupied home  where there is no cash out.

Time will tell whether today’s efforts were successful.

This contract, used by most real estate agents, has recently undergone its most extensive revision in the past eight years. Changes to this standard real estate purchase agreement can have a significant impact on the quality of your representation in a home sale transaction.

Some licensees have familiarized themselves with the additions and deletions; others may be clueless. To avoid potentially serious mistakes, make sure your real estate representative is in the know about these modifications.

[Read the rest of my latest article here]