AG Ethics Beat
Ethics hearings in private a disservice to consumers?
Fight Club and real estate For those of you that saw the movie ‘Fight Club’ you’ll remember that Rule #1 is “You do not talk about fight club,” followed closely by Rule #2, “You DO NOT talk about fight club.” Which, believe it or not, brings me to today’s topic: The Real Estate Code of Ethics and Arbitration. Article 17 ...
Realtors, we really need to get over ourselves already
Real estate now vs. 1987 In Real Estate, some things are always changing, like financing, education, laws, rules and technology. The two that will always remain constant, as long as they are within the law, are following our clients’ directions, and working with their best interests in mind. I’m not sure we always follow through with this, though. Some of ...
Don’t hate me because I’m a real estate agent
Last month I spent a day at a seminar for real estate agents. The hotel I stayed in was packed with other real estate agents all attending the same event and following dinner, I went to sit down in the packed lounge. Tables were filled and there were very few empty chairs, however one nice guy, we’ll call him John Doe, ...
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Short Sales – The Best Things in Life Aren’t Free
How much does a short sale cost? Anyone who has received a Notice of Default or has missed a few payments on a mortgage gets lots and lots of mail. Those folks get mailings that look like checks but are just teasers in order to elicit a call to a third party loan modification company. There are also postcards and ...
How Much is *Too* Much Information?
In the current environment, a lot of us start to do cartwheels when an offer comes in on one of our listings. Wooooo! Hoooo! Let’s do it! Yet, we are duty bound to protect the interests of our clients, The Sellers, and we do want to make sure the deal gets all the way to the finish line. So, we ...
Lessons Gleaned From Leisure Suits and History.
Once Upon A Time. . . People believed leisure suits, contrast stiching and elephant collars made you look cool and tee-refic. Men and some women believed women shouldn’t vote. Black, brown and other colors were unequal. If you were pregnant, it was OK to smoke and drink. It was also forgivable to drink and drive, as long as you made ...
A genius here, a genius there, genius, genius everywhere!
I just lost a mortgage loan and the way I lost it was interesting. First, the clients signed an agreement to buy an empty, somewhat run down, Fannie Mae foreclosure as a second home in an area of Florida that has zillions of listed places. The genius buyer agent had them sign the contract that only allowed them 10 days ...
Short Sales and Mysteries Uncovered in the Title Report
The wacky world of short sales This has been a wacky week in the wild world of short sales. With Bank of America announcing just the other day that they are going to be temporarily halting foreclosures across the nation, the real estate industry is abuzz. Since I live in that wacky world (the short sale arena), I wanted to ...
Are you kidding? Are you on drugs? Taking over priced listings?
We should avoid overpriced listings at all costs. When our gut, our heart, and our brains tell us it’s a, No-Go situation, we should gracefully bow-out. I know, it’s hard to decline business, “What if”, right? The truth is, when a seller insists on overpricing their property, and a usually-rational real estate agent agrees, everyone involved goes down in tangled ...
Opening the floodgates of Realtor liability
The Hutchinson News in Hutchinson, Kansas, recently posted an article about a couple who bought a home for $300,000 and found themselves with a $900,000 bill (let me just grab my checkbook…) due to a dam on their property that needs major repairs. The buyers thought that repair and maintenance was the responsibility of the government because it’s construction facilitated ...
Short Sales Flips, Flops and a Pair of Ruined Pants
Can short sale flips be flops? On June 10, 2010 Bloomberg Businessweek posted an interesting article about short sale fraud, short sale flips, and short sale flops. Written by John Gittlelsohn, this article discusses the fraud involved in many of the business models that involve an investor buyer and short sale flip. I was thinking about this article just last ...
What’s More Important: Your Tithing or your Mortgage?
If you had to choose between paying your mortgage and tithing to your religious organization, which would you do? I’ve recently had first hand experience with people who are facing this crisis, and the dilemma is a mixture of deeply rooted religious belief, morality, and fiscal responsibility. Tithing Or Mortgage? If you tithe 10% of your income, and your ARM ...
Benn Rosales
Conal Campbell
Elijah May
Lani Rosales
Tara Steele
Marti Trewe
Charlene Jimenez
