I have a link to Inman News in my 'Real Estate is Local' category on this blog.  Inman is news about real estate, news for people in the industry and for the public nationally. 

Inman News has some great national real estate columnists, Diane Hymer, Bob Bruss,  Illyce Glink covering various topics some real estate industry focused, some consumer focused... finance, inspection, investment, marketing, technology....everything on Inman New is all real estate all the time though.

Sign of the times today two of the headlines that caught my eye on Inman News are on short-sales, or work out programs,<-- link  a term I had never heard until about a month ago.  I went to a class on short sales given by a mortgage broker who serves Central Ohio recently.  I had hoped it would deal with short sales from the buyers point of view.  Instead it was about listing short sales.  Not "corner the market and become an expert on short sales kind of presentation but more what to do when you list a home owner's property that may be a candidate for a short sale.

I am not going to mention names but some of us took from the class this advice "Run!  Run!"

Inman News Columnist Dian Hymers article today on short-sales has tips for buyers!

"sale property comes with risk
In this deal, ball is in lender's court

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Beware of sellers in short-sale situations who list their properties at below-market prices in order to entice buyers into making offers. Before getting serious, find out the amount of the loans that must be paid off to close the sale. If the loan amounts total more than the sellers' asking price, then you will either need to pay more, or the seller's lenders will need to agree to accept less than they're owed. That is, unless the sellers have savings to contribute to the sale.

Buyers who want to go ahead with a purchase that is subject to the lender's approval should be prepared for a longer-than-typical closing. Usually, the lender won't even take a short sale under consideration until the sellers have accepted an offer. It can then take three or four months before you'll know whether or not the lender will approve the sale.

THE CLOSING: Be sure to include a provision in the contract that allows you to withdraw at any time up until the lender approves the sale. This way you can get out of the contract without penalty if it looks like the transaction has little chance of closing. " 

In my experience the thing that buyers don't want to believe is "It can then take three or four months before you'll know whether or not the lender will approve the sale."

As a real estate agent I can search for "short-sales" in the multiple listing service.  The first one I ever sold did not have the words short-sale in the comments.  There was a hint though... a line in the remarks about the lender needing to approve the sale... a year or two later when people started talking about short-sales, I knew I had done one.

Another Inman News article today by Matt Carter, part of a series has news of the sub prime market that caught my eye.  That lenders (sub prime) are starting to recognize that they need to work with homeowners on short sales and that buyers get fed up and move onto other properties because of the three or four months it takes to get lender approval.  The math for foreclosures made for very gloomy reading in Carter's article BUT a couple of rays of hope for consumers, buyers and sellers both in "Workouts could soften impact of sub prime lending woes Part 1: The new housing vernacular"

The article posted Monday, April 09, 2007.  The bad thing about Inman is unless you subscribe ($) the articles are not readable the next day... so no links to Inman articles

The article uses the workd workout which I had never heard used locally about short-sales.  What Matt Carter wrote ... the good news.  Kinda:

Sean Purcell, the founder of CQ Financial Group in San Diego, said most subprime lenders "have come around" to the idea of the short sale.

"On some, you even have the lenders out front, saying here's what we'll take," Purcell said. "You never saw that two months ago."

In March I posted some statistics about the 2006-2007 Central Ohio short sale market...  

Copyright 2007 Discover Columbus and Maureen McCabe

This is getting zilly...  Zillow is loved one moment and jeered the next...  my head is spinning...

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) made a complaint against Zillow.com with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) today.  Who is the NCRC? 

"NCRC MISSION STATEMENT

NCRC’s mission is to increase fair & equal access to credit, capital, and banking services/products because discrimination is illegal, unjust, and detrimental to the economic growth and well-being of our society. NCRC seeks to support and provide long-term solutions which include providing tools to building community and individual net worth." 

The NCRC website has  press release via .pdf about their complaint to the FTC. and a copy of the actual complaint via .pdf also. 

Just this morning Inman News real estate news for the real estate industry and consumers had an article about brokers and agents using Zillow's Zesitmate API to create traffic on a website.  RealLiving.com has what I think is a Mashup with Zillow... It was praised as good marketing...  I called it a match up when I wrote about it earlier this month... never having heard of a mashup...

I saw Roberta Murphy's report Zillow Gets Zinged first...  just  a week ago I read the news on Roberta's blog about Allan Dalton of Realtor.com ridiculing  Zillow .....over inaccurate values.  

Before the Zillow beta was introduced Zillow  was going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread... it could replace real estate agents and appraisers...  When It was introduced, it  was a hot website, lots of traffic.   Many said the Zestimates were inaccurate...  this summer Zillow's creators were lauded by Inman News as part of the Top 100 Important People in the real estate industry.   In September Zillow made a change, sellers could now change the information on their property.    The wisdom then was the websites tool itself was flawed but the marketing value of the tool was still valuable.... last week Realtor.com head Allan Dalton ridiculed Zillow comparing it to a Carnival act to guess weight or age.  The zilliest ...I mean silliest  ofall the words starting with Z in hyping Zillow.  Forgive me...the first time I mentioned Zillow I wrote "ztupid."   One great word 'Unzillowable'  was coined by Sellsius° Blog.  

Who will buy Zillow poll ..... yesterday Russell Shaw of ZDNet was polling who would buy Zillow, AOL, LendingTree, Google....

There's never a dull moment. 

c. 2006 Columbus Best Blog

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The good, the bad and the ugly of the  "Technology and Online Real Estate" category of Inman's  "The Top 100 Most Influential People in Real Estate"

The other day I promised:

"I will share some of the people in the list in the future on Columbus Best Blog, especially those that have a bearing on Columbus Ohio real estate."   

Inman said of "Technology and Online Real Estate" List:

Technology and the Internet continue to play increasingly important roles in the business of real estate. The people in this category have made contributions and continue to lead in this segment, either with an online business platform or a technology system that’s changed the way industry professionals conduct business.

One of the people on the list I feel like I know... although I have never met him... Saul Klein the President of Internet Crusade.  Internet Crusade is the company that administers the e-PRO Certification for the National Association of REALTORS®.  Internet Crusade also offers RealTownBlogs.   Columbus Best Blog is a RealTown Blog.  Very, very good.

Other "Top 100 Most Influential People in Real Estate" on Inman's list:

Joel MacIntosh - WolfNet Technology

Allan Dalton - Realtor.com  

Mark Lesswing - NAR Center for Realtor Technology

Ian Morris - HouseValues.com

Mike Long - Move.com formerly HomeStore

Craig Newmark - CraigList.org

Good? Realtor.com want to know about real estate elsewhere? Use Realtor.com OR go to the biggest and best real estate company in towns site and search there.  If looking in Central Ohio that would be by searching on HER Real Livings site.  Google for the gournet, don't cheat yourself with McDonalds!  

Good? NAR Center for Realtor Technology indirectly it is info for REALTORS® (members of a trade organization.)

Move.com formerly HomeStore, did they have to change their name? I have always been confused by what HomeStore does. 

? CraigList.org is big in other parts of the country but I never thought it was used much in Central Ohio. 

Good! WolfNet Technology will affect Central Ohio. As of the beginning of 2007 all brokerages in the Columbus Board of Realtors who do not maintain their own IDX are required to use WolfNet Technology for security reasons.  What's IDX?  Internet Data eXchange.  That's the technology to present advertising on properties listed in our MLS (multiple listing service) to the public. Look at a brokers website at houses... you are looking at IDX.  HER Real Living does their own IDX.  There was one other broker doing their own IDX... all others are switching over to WolfNet Technology IDX.   

I left one off... if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all....

The people on Inman's technology list that most recognizable are  Richard Barton and Lloyd Fink of Zillow.... their company uses algorithms and public records to guesstimate the value of real estate.   Richard Barton and Lloyd Fink developed (invented?)  Zillow!  When we first started hearing about Zillow in 2005, it was supposed to replace real estate agents. 

"The Segway of real estate portals is about to roll over the pedestrian real estate agent. Say good-bye to appraisers and possibly real estate agents, blared CNN Money. " taunted Realty Times

What people are saying  about Zillow now? ....  "You've been Zillowed!"

Previously on Columbus Best Blog:

Clintonville is unzillowable

Worthington is unzillowable

You are not a Jedi yet!  

Zillow introduced

c.  2006 Columbus Best Blog and Maureen McCabe

Central Ohio resident Harley E. Rouda, Jr. was named one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in Real Estate'  by Inman News in a report issued  August 31, 2006.  Rouda is CEO and managing partner of Real Living. 

Inman News 

The report says of the Brokerage Category:

 
"These luminaries have made waves in the residential real estate brokerage business.  Some are renowned industry speakers, some are heads of top brokerage companies, and others are founders of brokerage using alternative business models.

In Inman's 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders: 2006 Rouda is described as: 

"Harley Rouda Jr., is CEO & Managing Partner of Real Living, one of the largest residential firms in the Midwest and in the nation.  He is also CEO and general counsel of HER Real Living, the firm's Columbus' operations. Rouda spearheaded the creation of Real Living in February 2002 when HER Realtors of Greater Columbus, Huff Realtors of Greater Cincinnat / Northern Kentucky and Realty One of Northern Ohio united under one banner" 

Rouda is in good company among the heads of national companies that have a real estate presence in our Central Ohio market. Inman named  these company leaders among the '100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders: 2006',  in the Brokerage category:

"Gary Keller founder and chairman of Keller Williams International Realty"
- There are Keller Williams franchises in Central Ohio. 

"Thomas Kunz CEO and president of Century 21 Real Estate Corp
- There are Century 21 franchises in Central Ohio, Century 21 Joe Walker, Century 21 O'Neil and Company, others.

Dave Liniger Co founder and Chairman of the Board Re/Max International Inc.
- There are oodles of Re/Max franchises in Central Ohio.

Richard Smith Vice Chairman and President Realogy Corp.  (Realogy split from Cendent Coldwell Banker, ERA, Sotheby's and Century 21 were Cendent are Realogy.)

- I've always been confused about Cendent, but I assume local Coldwell Banker King Thompson, Century 21 franchises and the ERA franchises are part of Realogy. I could be wrong.  

Richard Rector Chairman Realty Executives

-Realty Executives is one of the largest real estate franchise companies. There are Realty Executives franchises in Central Ohio. 

There are a number of the heads of brokerages outside the Columbus area as well on the list of  the most influential people in real estate, Weichert, Long & Foster, Baird & Warner, The Corcoran Group.  If you live or have lived outside Central Ohio you may recognize these company names.  Ohio's own Rouda's peers in other parts of the nation.   

Other categories (outside brokerage) in the Inman report included:

"Technology and Online Real Estate"

"Trade Associations and Government Agencies"

"Media Heavyweights"

"Economists, Academics and Advocates"

"Mortgage and Ancillary Services"  

I will share some of the people in the list in the future on Columbus Best Blog, especially those that have a bearing on Columbus Ohio real estate.  This is getting too long.................. Or read the 30 page report yourself, in the Inman link above. 

Congratulations to Harley Rouda Jr. and all of the people named by Inamn.

It is a repeat performance for Harley Rouda Jr.,  the 2005 list!  

c. 2006 Columbus Best Blog and Maureen McCabe