Power Tools for Buyer's Representatives

Real estate is a highly regulated industry and policies such as the Fair Housing Act make it unlawful to discriminate in housing related advertising. That is unless, the person doing the advertising is not a member of the legalized real estate profession. When consumers chose to list, sell, or rent their own properties, and are unaware or unbound by the laws that govern licensed professionals, are they really free to openly discriminate? And more importantly, if not, who should be liable for policing citizen ads. A recently filed Chicago lawsuit claims that internet websites such as Craigslist , Google, AOL should be held accountable for ads that appear on their sites, but the webhosts say, not so .And power on both sides of the fence, are preparing to argue their case.

Posted on July 28 at 03:25 PM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Granite or Corian? Stainless or black? Rug or hardwood? The possibilities can be endless. When purchasing new construction, homebuyers may be given an extensive menu of options to sift through. Often builders will prequalify new homebuyers for approximately 10% or more over the purchase price of a house, in anticipation of all the amenities that will be added. However, another program among builders is to automatically include all the high-end upgrades in the price. All the bells and whistles are standard, so there are no choices to make or decisions to agonize over for hours. So now, home buyers have the option to decide if they want options.

Posted on July 18 at 10:55 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Now more than ever the Internet has become an integral part of the home buying experience. More and more real estate business models are being created to take advantage of technology and the accessibility of the web. As a result, record numbers of buyers and sellers are making use of internet resources and online websites to both seek and sell real estate, often without the assistance of a real estate professional. However veteran real estate agents warn that savvy surfers may be too overconfident in their real estate knowledge. The wealth of web information may be empowering, but it may not necessarily make one an expert.

Posted on July 18 at 10:18 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0) | TrackBacks (0)