Blanche Evans is a writer/editor and CEO of evansEmedia. Formerly, she was a senior editor with Realty Times, where she was named by REALTOR® Magazine as one of the most influential people in the real estate industry.
The new Home Valuation Code of Conduct, a set of rules created to prevent those who stand to profit from a real estate transaction from putting undue pressure on the appraiser, prohibit mortgage brokers and real estate brokers from ordering appraisals and require that lenders erect a firewall between loan production staff and the appraiser. Since the rules took effect, however, they've set off a firestorm of protest around the country.
If consumers search your name on Google, chances are they’ll find information that paints a picture of you—your capabilities, your work ethic, your professionalism. Will you like the picture they find?
Case-Shiller might be lauded by the financial press, while NAR is assumed to be promoting a positive spin, but let’s be clear: OFHEO and NAR don’t have relationships with hedge funds on the side.
You already know that steering is wrong because discrimination is wrong. What you may not realize is steering also tears down communities and their schools. Practitioners owe the community a better way to sell its homes.
A buyer’s market raises the stakes, and your sellers will need to do a lot more work on their homes to get the highest price possible. Cleaning, painting, and repairing may not be enough. Let’s take the most basic selling suggestions and explore why these are such important mantras.
It's high time we told buyers (and sellers, for that matter) the truth about whether a home is a good investment. Owning a home isn't the same kind of investment as stocks or bonds. Here are five reasons why you get more for your money with a house than the stock market.
Americans really know how to overspend. Bankruptcies, mortgage delinquencies, and credit card debts are all on the rise. But some of that debt isn't totally their fault. Here's a look at consumer debt is snowballing, in the form of bankruptcies and delinquencies.
Many buyers continue to bench themselves, waiting for rates and housing prices to dip lower. With all the housing market hubbub in the papers and on TV, they might be struggling to sort out the facts.What can you do to turn them back onto housing?
Instead of dealing with the angst of the credit-crunched first-timer, the bloodthirstiness of the bargain-hunter, or the denial of the seller, it’s time you start working with investors.
Interested in taking your real estate career down a new path? You might want to check out real estate management. Not only is there a large pool of potential clients who own — or are looking to own — an investment or rental property, but there are many job openings as aging property managers retire, he says.
To be productive from home, you need to lay out some house rules. After all, when your surroundings are conducive to working and you’re in the right mindset, you’ll get a lot more done. Here are nine tips.
Despite rising energy prices and smaller households, homes keep getting bigger, according to government data. However, a look at other data suggests that a reversal may present itself in the very near future.
The current foreclosure environment also opens the door for you to broach the topic with buyers and sellers. Use this chance to educate them on what they can do to avoid foreclosures.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, what are you saying about your seller's home? Here's how to make sure your photos don't end up in an online hall of shame.
True, it's no longer possible in most of today’s markets to flip a home to another buyer at a substantial premium, but investors can still make money in real estate. For investors who love the challenge, you’re in luck — it can still be a good time to buy a home, improve it, and sell it at a profit.
Valuation discrepancies tend to occur on homes that were originally appraised using a computerized method known as AVM, or automated valuation model. While a quick way to satisfy a lender's requirement that a home's purchase price meets the appraisal price, AVMs have a long way to go to meet the more exacting standards of the walk-through inspection.
Markets around the country have seen home prices decline over the last several months, but economic conditions aren’t likely to blame for the dip. So what is? In many cases, it’s buyers’ attitudes.
There may be an advertising medium that you’re overlooking — TV. You may think that this platform is out of your financial reach, but there are a number of new ways to be seen and heard on television for a reasonable price.
If you’ve decided to make your neighborhood your niche, you’ve made a wonderful choice. But there’s still more you can do to become the person who everyone in the community goes to when they’re ready to buy or sell — you can become a social leader.
While there is no denying that location is the holy grail of real estate, water is the lifeblood, especially in residential properties. In rural areas the water often comes from private wells, and the quality of that groundwater is directly related to the quality of family life, and even property values.
In a profession such as real estate, the question often arises: Is it better to work from home or work from a brokerage office? There are benefits and drawbacks of both, and making a decision requires you to ponder many questions.
While economists appear to have breathed a sigh of relief at the Federal Reserve's possible pause in raising short term interest rates, inflation could reignite with an uptick in jobs. But don’t panic — a strong job market is a good thing for housing.
If you use your vehicle as a moving office, listen up. Driver inattention, especially due to cell phone use, is the leading factor in most crashes and near-crashes.
The No. 1 factor in a home search is quality of the neighborhood, according to research by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Where are the nation’s best neighborhoods?
Where and when a family moves depends largely on their age and the developmental stage of their children. An exciting city location is great during some phases of life, but the peaceful suburbs beckon at other times.