NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Technology is conducting its annual survey of REALTOR® technology trends and usage and wants your input. The online survey only takes 15 minutes to complete. Once you take the survey, you’ll be entered to win an Apple iPod Touch.

Complete the online survey >

The survey deadline is July 15. Survey results are expected to be available late September at REALTOR.org/crt. You can also view past technology surveys at CRT’s Web site.

Posted on June 30 at 03:54 PM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0)

The current lending environment is extremely volatile, and loan rates as well as products change significantly week to week. In order to keep up with trends, I attended a seminar on FHA financing that was put on by a reputable mortgage company that I work with (free seminars can be a valuable and cost effective way to keep educated with trends in the industry).

It’s a good time to learn about FHA. It’s projected that 48 percent of all home loans will be FHA-financed in 2008, compared to 2 percent in 2007.

As 100 percent financing options are becoming a thing of the past in the conventional financing market, FHA is becoming a more prominent financing mechanism for people buying a home.

But some of the reasons people typically cite for not wanting to use HUD financing is because they believe there are extra inspections, more paperwork, a requirement to invest 3 percent for a down payment, only available for first-time home buyers, and that all borrowers must occupy the property.

These concerns are unfounded.

First of all, HUD requires an appraisal not a special inspection. If the appraiser finds issues that

concern the possible safety or habitability of the property, then they can ask for an inspection. However, almost everyone buying a home should have a qualified ASHI inspector inspect the property.

In addition to no special inspections, there is no additional paperwork — it is simply different paperwork.

Also, buyers do not need to spend their own money on the down payment. They can receive their down payment from other sources such as gifts, grants, and seller-funded down payment programs.

The FHA loan limit in my area, St. Louis, is $281, 250, which is well above the average home price for the region, so most home buyers can use FHA financing not just first-time buyers. All borrowers do not need to occupy the residence, only one. So a buyer can in effect have a co-signer on the loan if, for example, parents want to help a child buy their first home.

Want to know the FHA loan limits in your area? Check out this HUD Web site to find FHA mortgage limits by county and state.

Howard McAuliffe is a licensed agent for Premier Realty Exclusive in St. Louis and is pursuing a master’s degree in Urban Planning and Real Estate Development at St. Louis University.

Posted on June 25 at 10:34 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (4)

I have received a lot of positive feedback on my blog entries because readers, family, and friends, say it comes from the heart and I don’t hold back. This one will be no different as I have made a huge career change and want to vent to my readers.

You always hear the saying “business is business” from people in the corporate world. Recently I have had an experience that proves that true and false simultaneously.

I started in commercial real estate under my now former mentor Jim Hodur at Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT. But just recently I was offered a job opportunity with a very successful person in the real estate world that I could not pass up. It all happened so fast.

My mentor Jim had taught me a lot and he had the feeling that I was on the verge of stardom in the industry. Everything was looking up — we had gone from $45 million to probably more than $55 million in listings with leases as well as having some buyers we were working with.

I have always had the utmost respect for Jim for taking the time to teach me and entrusting me with some of his clients. So when I was presented with this new offer the hardest thing to get

over was the fact that I would be leaving Jim, someone who has helped me grow as a person and a force in the industry. But then I remembered: “Business is business.”

I took a job with Mark B. Weiss Real Estate doing something completely different. In the few hours a day that I have spent with Mr. Weiss so far I have learned so much about how to play the market, how to make things work to our advantages in any type of market, and to always, no matter what, think positive.

Mark really hasn’t hired anyone in a long time and so when he offered me a job it was something that I couldn’t pass up because I knew it wouldn’t be sitting on the table forever. It seemed like this was the right time to make my move. Recently, I have turned 23 and am sorting my life out to get to where I want to be in a few years, and I thought this was a good decision.

Jim and I have a few deals still in the works and the commercial group I worked with before still respects me and hopes the best for me. This is where I proved that when it comes to business, it’s not just business — it’s the scope of your life and where you are at that you need to base your decisions on.

Will this job change work for me? Yes — because I am going to make it work. Will I stay in touch with Jim? Yes.

Business is business and I need to make the right decisions for myself, but that doesn’t mean I need to burn a bridge because of it.

Eric D. Walowitz is a Commercial Real Estate Consultant with Mark B. Weiss Real Estate.

Posted on June 23 at 09:27 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (1)

Young real estate professionals turned out for the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS’® first YPN event for an evening of networking and making new connections within the industry. The event drew a crowd of 70 young real estate professionals on June 5 to Mason’s Restaurant in Sacramento.

Dick Gaylord, president of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, attended the reception and greeted the attendees, encouraging young professionals to take a more active role within their industry since they are the future of real estate. Also in attendance were C.A.R. past presidents Jim Hamilton and Robert Bailey. View more photos from the event at YPN’s Facebook Group page .

You can view a list of other state and local young professionals group at REALTOR.org/ypn . If your local or state REALTOR® association is hosting an event for young real estate professionals, let us know ( ypn@realtors.org) and share your photos.


Can’t get enough of YPN and networking with other young real estate professionals?

• Submit a YPN member profile to get exclusive invitations to networking events and even get your photo featured on our Web site. Membership is free!

• Sign up for RSS feeds or e-mail updates of the YPN Lounge blog, a blog written for young real estate professionals by young real estate professionals.

• Check us out on Facebook and become our buddy.

• Follow our tweets at the YPN twitter page, www.twitter.com/ypn.

• Visit our award-winning YPN Web site to access interactive real estate quizzes, career resources and tools. The YPN Web site recently won a SILVER award from the Society of National Association of Publishers for best Web site Special Members Area.

Posted on June 18 at 04:01 PM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (1)

I’m so glad you found our YPN blog. Isn’t it great? The
Young Professionals Network is going to be one of your greatest assets this year in reaching your goals.

You can come here to this site to get advice on what marketing strategies really work, what tech tools people have tried and loved, what homebuyers look for on blogs and Web sites, what social networking sites really payoff, and how to market to different cultures and generations specifically.

You’ll definitely want to bookmark this page (or sign up for an RSS feed or e-mail updates) and check back often to see the latest ideas that successful young real estate professionals are sharing.

If you are a young REALTOR®, love this business, have a ton of energy, have fabulous ideas to share, and really treat your career like growing a small business — you are in good company. That’s who we are at YPN, and we just want to help each other succeed.

I’m Heidi Fore, this year’s chair of YPN, and I’m totally excited about it. I want to make this network a tool for you to build your success. What topics do you need to know more about so that you can reach your goals? You can post your suggestions for topics to cover here on our blog.

Another great aspect you’ll love about YPN is the networking events we host at NAR conferences. It’s an awesome opportunity to learn from other young REALTORS® and create a circle of professionals to whom you can confidently refer your clients.

I hope to see you there at our next networking event (a.k.a. party) in Orlando at Universal Studios. Everyone here at YPN is looking forward to meeting you and hearing your ideas. See you in Orlando!

Heidi Fore, of Keller Williams Realty-East in Louisville, Ky., is the 2008 chair of the YPN Advisory Board and a member of REALTOR Magazine’s 30 Under 30 Class of 2007.

Posted on June 12 at 04:15 PM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (1)

I am happy to report that things are picking up here in the Valley of the Sun. (For those of you who are not familiar with this term — I am talking about the greater Phoenix area.)

Contrary to what I hear on the news and from what I read in the newspaper, the real estate market is getting better. When I ran the numbers I noticed that we sold more homes in May 2008 than the same time last year. To me this is a positive sign that buyers are less wary to buy now than they were last year. Also, the inventory of homes for sale has been decreasing steadily for a few months now.

While the numbers were not as high as they were during the housing boom, they are still acceptable. I believe that this should be the benchmark for how we measure home sales today. If we continue to compare current homes sales to those sold during the boom we will continue

to see that the numbers do not come close. While the numbers are down from a few years ago, they are more on par with what is normal for our industry.

Also, comparing home sales during the boom to today would be like comparing rainfall here in the Valley, where most of the time we have a pretty dry climate. It is only during the monsoons do we have large amounts of rainfall. And while there are years that it rains more, comparing a couple of really wet years to the majority of dry ones is not really a good comparison. The years where it rains more are an exception more than they are the rule.

Real Estate is very similar to the rain. Although things have been cloudy lately, it does not necessarily mean it is going to rain. And if it does rain, it may only be raining in one part of town, where in another part of town it is still dry.

But overall, in Phoenix, it looks like the sun is finally ready to come out again.

Have you been noticing any changes in your market?

Ulises Romo is a REALTOR® for PRO-formance Realty Concepts in Phoenix.

Posted on June 10 at 11:30 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (1)

I am not a political person by nature and I am very careful to stay off the front-lines, thanks to my real estate career.

Why? It is simple. I don’t want to be seen as a “single-party” practitioner … I want to sell homes to Democrats, Republicans, and even Whigs.

But when it comes to protecting my profession, I’m meaner than a mama bear protecting her cubs. Why? Because when Uncle Sam and his friends get involved in real estate there is usually only one result: less cash in my pocket.

That’s why I take it as a matter of personal pride that I serve as a State Director for the Delaware County Board of REALTORS® and as the REALTOR® Political Action Committee chairperson for the same board.

I was recently appalled to learn that less than 6 percent of Ohio’s real estate practitioners with a NRDS ID responded to a recent call to action from NAR. Now I don’t expect every REALTOR® to respond or even agree with the call to action. But that doesn't account for only having SIX percent respond – that’s called apathy and it is the biggest challenge to democracy’s – and real estate's -- future.

Why should YPN readers care? Because these “call to actions” are shaping the future climate

in which we will sell real estate.

However, the concern goes beyond the national scene, it is the lack of connection that many local boards have with those in power in their counties.

For example, I recently heard: “We don’t know anything about these developments or changes until it is too late.”

Yet these same people are too apathetic to take the steps to make sure they are involved in the future of their community – and in real estate.

How do you get into elected officials’ faces and minds?

• Become active on your local board and push them to become politically active.

• Set-up quarterly meetings with all local officials to share the REALTORS® position.

• Respond to call to actions from NAR. This doesn’t always mean sending a letter to your representatives, but if your view is counter to NAR – let them know.

• Use Political Action money to support local candidates that further our ideals -- today’s township trustee maybe tomorrow’s state rep and possibly even president.

The future of real estate is in our hands today. Don’t let others determine your future.

Toby Boyce, MBA, is a real estate practitioner with Keller Williams The Realty Firm in Westerville, Ohio, and was the 2007 Delaware Board of REALTORS® Rookie of the Year.

Posted on June 6 at 09:39 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0)

Working with other real estate practitioners in a market that has a glut of REO listings isn't always pretty. Or nice. Or even cordial. In fact I have noticed — and experienced — that it can be downright mean, dirty, and condescending.

Up here on the mountain (I live in Crestline, Calif.), there are a few real estate practitioners who have a thriving REO business. I have dealt with many of them, since the mountain is a target for investors looking to snag one of these deals right now. These agents have been overwhelmed with the foreclosures, but they still have the decency to call me back and provide information that I've requested, since we all know that we'll be doing business together again at some point in the future.

So I was surprised when a recent REO dealing didn't go smoothly. I had been working with an

investor that was seeking REO properties down the hill in Moreno Valley, Perris, and Ontario. The market in these areas is seeing multiple offers within hours of being on the MLS.

After all, NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY IN OUR LOCAL MARKET, as I told someone at a wedding that I attended Saturday after overhearing him try to convince someone else otherwise (Note to self: carry business cards even to weddings!).

The investor I had been working with was trying to purchase income properties but each time we put in an offer in for an REO property we were 1 of 12 or 23 or anywhere in the void of non-acceptance. People are bidding on REO properties with either their heart or the eBay-mentality of shopping victoriously.

One day, I called an REO agent about an offer we placed on his listing on a Thursday. The agent said that there were about eight offers, and he would let me know after Tuesday. I didn't hear anything. So I called Wednesday morning.

He wasn't in the office, so I was sent to his assistant. Before even giving him the name of the client, myself, or the property, he said that the property was won by someone else (won?). I asked nicely how he knew that when I didn't give him my name or information. He said — and I somewhat quote — "Look, the other assistant already called the winner (winner again?) and you would have received a call if it had been you."

I was stunned into silence by the tone of his voice, as if I was keeping him from doing his job. I hung up.

Is this the first time an REO agent has treated me this way with this type of attitude? Yes. But unfortunately I have been talked down to several times while doing REO transactions — that is if I even get a response from the agent.

What has been your experience with REOs? How do you deal with difficult agents?

Amy Steele is a full-time REALTOR® with Bibby Realty in Crestline, Calif.

Posted on June 5 at 08:33 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0)

Save the Date: The California Association of REALTORS® will be sponsoring its first networking event for young real estate professionals on Thursday, June 5. You can still RSVP! Learn more details of the event.

Posted on June 3 at 12:07 PM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0)

In a market where homes are not selling as fast and foreclosures are rising, your chances of showing a vacant home is increasing.

This March, a Wisconsin REALTOR® was killed during home showing, and it made national headline news. A 34-year-old ex-con admitted to becoming so angry with his real estate agent, Ann B. Nelson, during a showing of several properties that he attacked her by hitting her on the head with a long metal object, then leaving her in the house and setting the house on fire.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time I have ever heard of a real estate professional falling victim to such a horrifying event — but this incident was outrageous and unfortunate and it could’ve happened to any one of us. It was just the wrong time, with the wrong person. This sad story

especially hit home with me when I heard it was my business associates' friends mother.

No sale is worth risking your life over, but things happen — we work with many people we don’t know. Day in and day out, most of us face challenges and obstacles every day in order to process transactions and close deals; and during most part of it, there’s anxiety — who doesn’t get anxious when putting together a deal? I can understand how easily one can suddenly fall victim and miss potential warning signs — particularly during showings, when many of these incidents tend to occur.

So what do you do? Be aware, learn, and know what you can do — enough to save your life.

REALTOR® magazine online had a great safety article just this past September with a list of great tips and even a self-defense video for your viewing.

Dina Takai, GRI, ABR®, SRES, CIPS, TRC, is a broker associate with Park Bench Realty in Arlington Heights, Ill.

Posted on June 2 at 09:09 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (1)