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Most Common Mortgage Scams

June 3rd, 2008 2:00 PM

Most Common Mortgage Scams

Scam artists may promise to save cash-strapped home owners from foreclosure but then, instead, steal their money or any remaining home equity. Such scams are becoming more prevalent, and some states are fighting back.

In Florida, one of the nation's foreclosure capitals, State Attorney General Bill McCollum has filed suit against National Foreclosure Management, a mediation company, for allegedly defrauding troubled home owners. Fraudulent rescue companies in Illinois have been increasingly penalized, while in Massachusetts the for-profit practice of foreclosure rescue transactions has been banned.

Here are the most common ploys scammers use to prey on desperate home owners:

Bait and switch. The home owner is presented with what appears to be an application for refinancing, but in reality it's title transfer papers. Once the home owner signs, he loses his home.

Upfront fees. Scammers ask for money to be used for locating rescue funding. Once the home owner pays, the scam artist disappears.

Bankruptcy ploys. An attorney – or someone who pretends to be – persuades the home owner that filing for bankruptcy will save the house. The only one who wins is the person who pockets the fees he charges to file.

Rent-to-buy. Fraudsters offer to buy the property with a provision that the home owner will pay rent while building equity. Once the title is transferred, the former home owner is locked out.

Fraudulent refinance deals. A scammer offers to use his higher credit score to secure a refinance deal, but first the home owner has to hand over title to the house.

Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (05/23/08)

Posted by Michel Bergier on June 3rd, 2008 2:00 PMPost a Comment (0)

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Best financial advice ever

May 16th, 2008 4:43 AM

A must read for anyone who does not seem to be able to buy anything or for anyone who always seem to be able to buy anything

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/TheBestFinancialAdviceEver.aspx

Posted by Michel Bergier on May 16th, 2008 4:43 AMPost a Comment (0)

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great blogs about email marketing

April 30th, 2008 8:46 PM

As a former university professor, I still keep in touch with what is going on in the "real" world and these blogs are an excellent source of information. They were first posted on http://wdfm.com/current.html which is an excellent source of information for Web marketers.

click on the following link to have access to those great blogs.

http://www.wdfm.com/publish/email_marketing_blogs/index.htm

enjoy

Posted by Michel Bergier on April 30th, 2008 8:46 PMPost a Comment (0)

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Speed traps

April 22nd, 2008 10:45 PM

This link has nothing to do with real estate but it sure can be useful to anyone who wants to know where it might not be a good idea to put the foot to the pedal... I checked it against local knowledge of location of speed traps and it looks like the info is pretty reliable...

http://www.speedtrap.org/speedtraps/stetlist.asp

Posted by Michel Bergier on April 22nd, 2008 10:45 PMPost a Comment (0)

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How does the new amended tax reform affect you?

February 22nd, 2008 9:43 PM

In case you don't know, Florida voters just adopted a property tax reform measure which may mean translate into substantial savings if you purchased a home last year.

The amendment calls for an additional $25,000 homestead exemption applied to the assessed home value above $50,000, and is effective for the first time in 2008. Homesteaded owners who plan on continuing that exemption on the property for 2008 do not need to do anything. The exemption will appear on the TRIM notice (Notice of Proposed Property Taxes) mailed next August.

But if you did all of the following:

• Sold or vacate your homestead property on or after Jan. 1, 2007?
• Were you living in a new residence on Jan. 1, 2008?
• Will be filing a homestead exemption for a new residence in Florida?

then visit www.sarasotaproperty.net (for Sarasota residents), or www.manateepao.com (for Manatee residents) and download the homestead exemption and portability application.

If you moved to another county in Florida, please visit the property appraiser's website for that county by clicking http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/appraisers.html.

The amended property tax code creates “portability” of accumulated Save Our Homes (SOH) benefits for homeowners who move from one homestead property to another. This law is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2007.

Homeowners may transfer their SOH benefits to a new homestead in Florida within two years of leaving their former homesteads. This means if you sold your home in 2007, you can transfer your SOH benefit to a new homestead if you establish the homestead by Jan. 1, 2009.

For more information, visit the Florida Department of Revenue’s special web page by clicking http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/sb4d.html.

Posted by Michel Bergier on February 22nd, 2008 9:43 PMPost a Comment (0)

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Now, that's really cool

February 22nd, 2008 8:07 PM

Imagine that you are looking for something that's convenient to everything or many things. Well, don't look any further. Get a walkscore for the property that you are considering. The higher the score, the more convenient the place is. That's an incredible tool especially if you want to rent a place and know that you won't be stuck in the boonies...

Posted by Michel Bergier on February 22nd, 2008 8:07 PMPost a Comment (0)

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how to lose friends quickly ;-p)

January 6th, 2008 10:53 PM

This is the type of link I send to my friends when life is miserable upnorth! I am losing many friends ;-)

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/travel/30hours.html?8dpc

Posted by Michel Bergier on January 6th, 2008 10:53 PMPost a Comment (0)

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25 most influential real estate Bloggers:2007

October 8th, 2007 3:13 PM

The following is from Inman News Blog 10/08/2007. I just wish we could put them in our favorite blogs. I can't figure out a way of doing so. If anyone knows, let me know. 25 Most Influential Real Estate Bloggers: 2007
Inman News has compiled a list of the 25 Most Influential Real Estate Bloggers of 2007, reflecting bloggers who are well-known, well-read and have a knack for stirring up debate on important industry or local topics. There are hundreds of real estate-focused blogs online today, which made choosing only 25 bloggers difficult. The 2007 list includes bloggers who showed influence on issues, consistently attracted eyeballs, stimulated conversation and added a fun voice to gnarly real estate issues.

Broker and Agent Blogs
	Teresa Boardman Founder, St. Paul Real Estate Blog Realtor, Keller Williams Integrity Realty Teresa Boardman is a Realtor and licensed broker with Keller Williams in St. Paul, Minn. She started The St. Paul Real Estate Blog as an experiment in 2005 and quickly gained national and local attention. Her blog focuses exclusively on the city of St. Paul, and contains hundreds of individual posts and more than a 1,000 photos of the city. She claims the majority of her real estate business comes from people who meet her on the blog. Constantly innovating, Boardman just launched a neighborhood wiki at stpaulneighborhoods.com.

	Ardell Della Loggia Founder, SearchingSeattleBlog Designated Broker, Brio Realty Ardell Della Loggia is one of the most outspoken personalities in real estate. A tireless contributor, she blogs at Rain City Guide, on ActiveRain and on her own blog at Searching Seattle. At various times, she has been named a Real Estate Super-Blogger, one of the Top 10 Female Bloggers and The Queen of Real Estate Blogging. Della Loggia has been selling real estate since 1990 and recently joined Brio Realty in Washington State as its designated broker.

	Marlow Harris Founder, 360Digest Real Estate Agent, Coldwell Banker Bain Associates Marlow Harris is a licensed real estate practitioner with Coldwell Banker Bain Associates, and has been selling real estate in Washington since 1985. In 2004, she started 360Digest, which focuses on issues relating to the real estate industry at large. In her professional life, Harris' specialties are unusual homes and she combines her love for unusual architecture and technology in another blog called UnusualLife.com. She also moderates a real estate industry blog for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and is an occasional contributor to the Inman News Blog.

	Doug Heddings Founder, TrueGotham Founder, The Heddings Property Group, LLC Doug Heddings is a Senior Vice President at Prudential Douglas Elliman and among the top 1 percent of real estate brokers nationwide. His blog, TrueGotham, has as its tagline “Dispatches from the Front Line” and focuses exclusively on Manhattan real estate. Heddings started his blog as a way to combat the negative stereotypes associated with real estate professionals and is committed to providing a forum for open conversation about the market. Heddings is often seen as a technological leader in the industry, most recently by adopting video podcasts for all of his listings.

	Noah Rosenblatt Founder, Urbandigs.com Senior Associate Broker, Citi-Habitats Noah Rosenblatt is a native New Yorker and a former professional NASDAQ equities trader. Now a real estate broker with Citi-Habitats, Rosenblatt offers a wealth of advice at his blog, UrbanDigs, to help buyers and sellers get the most profit out of the New York housing market. His philosophy is that every transaction should have true underlying value and his posts often reflect the raw honesty that he shares with his clients. In 2006, Inman News recognized UrbanDigs as the "Most Innovative Real Estate Weblog."

Community/ Multi-Author Blogs
	Dustin Luther Founder, Rain City Guide Director of Interactive Marketing, Move Dustin Luther founded the Seattle-based real estate blog, Rain City Guide, where he earned a national reputation for understanding how real estate professionals can use social networking tools to become an online resource within their communities. Luther inspired many brokers and agents to start blogging and has taught workshops to beginners who want to learn the rules of the road. In 2006, he joined Move Inc., where he drives the creation and adoption of tools meant to enhance community around real estate topics.

	Greg Swann Founder, Bloodhound Blog Broker, Bloodhound Realty Anyone who's delving into real estate blogging who hasn't come across Gregg Swann and the Bloodhound Blog hasn't dug far enough. Swann, an Arizona real estate broker, is the force behind the blog, and leads a team of talented bloggers writing about various aspects of the business. He is known for his lengthy analysis and ability to show original thought on any issue that comes down the path. Swann is a "mumbling Latinist, a stumbling applications programmer and a bumbling poet," according to his site.

Mortgage
	Morgan Brown Founder, Blown Mortgage Chief Operating Officer, New Day Trust Morgan Brown and partners started Irvine, Calif.-based New Day Trust Mortgage because they were tired of hearing horror stories about people's past experiences with their homes loans. That entrepreneurial, pro-consumer spirit shines through in Blown Mortgage, Brown's blog that aims to "blow the lid off the mortgage industry." Brown gives a mortgage practitioners view of current issues and events unfolding in the industry. He regularly creates audio interviews with important industry figures and observers to discuss issues and also has created videos.

	Todd Carpenter Founder, Lenderama Founder, Mariah.com Since 1992, Todd Carpenter has worked as a loan originator, wholesale account executive and sales executive for mortgage and Web companies. What put him on the influential blogger radar was his creation of the Mariah network of Web-based projects covering the mortgage and real estate industry. Carpenter blogs about mortgage issues at Lenderama, which also includes contributions from additional writers. He also is a regular contributor at the Inman News blog and maintains Rembex.com, a real estate and mortgage blog search engine and portal. Rembex indexes blogs written by real estate and mortgage practitioners.

	CR and Tanta Bloggers, Calculated Risk Written by a retired senior executive and a former bank officer, Calculated Risk focuses on the mortgage industry as well as real estate investing, finance and economics. The bloggers, known only as "CR" and "Tanta", say they aren't looking for personal publicity in writing the blog, which explains why not much is known about the authors. The bloggers' posts about real estate, mortgage and related economic happenings attract dozens of comments from readers each day.

	Paul Jackson Founder, Housing Wire "It's pretty simple: This is a blog focused on the mortgage finance industry." That's the self-described explanation of Paul Jackson's Housing Wire blog. Jackson, who's spent the last few years working in the industry and reporting on it, decided it would be fun to chronicle what's happening in the mortgage finance for mortgage nerds everywhere. As of April, Housing Wire gets about 4,000 visitors each day by its own count. Jackson pulls together relevant posts on breaking industry news, such as delinquencies, bank closings, industry studies and more.

Housing Economics
	Jonathan Miller Founder, Matrix Executive Vice President, Radar Logic When quarterly home sales and price statistics are released, many real estate insiders turn to Jonathan Miller's blog, Matrix, to get his take on what it means. Miller, a veteran of the real estate valuation industry, has been sharing his wisdom on Matrix and also a second blog, Soapbox, since 2005. He writes a weekly post for New York real estate blog Curbed. Miller has studied property values in Manhattan for many years and gives thoughtful analysis to the statistics his company tracks.

Industry Commentary
	Kevin Boer Founder, 3Oceans Real Estate Principal, Domus Consulting Group Kevin Boer entered real estate in 2004 after a long stint in technology and consulting and earning his MBA from Yale University School of Management. In August 2006, he founded 3Oceans Real Estate blog, while he was a practicing Realtor with Alan Pinel Realtors in Palo Alto, Calif. He is a fervent advocate of technology, especially paperless transactions, and is considered by many to be one of the most technologically sophisticated Realtors working today. In 2007, he founded Domus Consulting Group with Patrick Kitano, another influential real estate blogger.

	Joel Burslem Founder, Future of Real Estate Marketing Social Media Manager, Inman News Joel Burslem started Future of Real Estate Marketing (FOREM) blog in April of 2006 while working in the marketing department of Prudential Northwest Properties in Portland, Ore. FOREM quickly grew to be one of the key sources on how the next evolution of the Internet was beginning to affect real estate and real estate marketing. With his background in consumer marketing and technology, Burslem is widely seen as an expert in Web 2.0 and is regularly called upon to speak to groups on the subject. In 2007, he joined Inman News where he helps steer many of the company’s social media efforts.

	Patrick Kitano Founder, Transparent Real Estate Principal, Domus Consulting Group Patrick Kitano is co-founder and Managing Principal of Domus Consulting Group, a San Francisco-based management consulting firm that works with brokerages to develop technology marketing strategies. His blog, Transparent Real Estate, aims to document the business strategies of Web 2.0 companies and their impact on the real estate industry. A former investment banker, he managed the business development and financing activities at several Internet technology and real estate companies before starting Domus Consulting. He is an active contributor to the Inman News blog and to Search Engine Journal and is always on the lookout for a "transparency" angle.

Marketing and How-To
	Jim Cronin Founder, Real Estate Tomato Owner, TomatoBlogs.com Jim Cronin is the founder of the very popular "how-to" blog, The Real Estate Tomato, a must-read for real estate professionals looking for tips on how to leverage the Internet into their marketing efforts. Cronin is a passionate believer in the power of blogging and his company, Tomatoblogs.com, is a leading provider of custom developed real estate blogs. Cronin has personally helped thousands of Realtors get online. In addition to providing Realtors with the tools they need, the man behind the Tomato also provides training and ongoing support.

	Joseph Ferrara (shown), Rudolph D. Bachraty III Co-Founders, Sellsius Real Estate Blog Owners, Sellsius Real Estate Sellsius Real Estate Blog focuses on daily marketing tips and one-offs, but there is certainly nothing one-off about the men behind the Sellsius Real Estate Blog. Joseph Ferrara and Rudy Bachraty are two of the most visible real estate bloggers out there today. A pair of real estate brokers from New York, Ferrara and Bachraty have dedicated themselves full time to spreading the word about real estate blogging. Their grassroots effort culminated in 2007’s Blog Tour USA, a month-long cross-country RV trip that ended in San Francisco at Inman News' Real Estate Connect conference - a feat they promise to duplicate again in 2008.

Local Blogging
	Jonathan Butler Founder, Brownstoner Brooklyn-based Jonathan Butler remained anonymous for the first few years writing at Brownstoner. Since revealing his identity earlier this year, Butler left his Wall Street position and is now working full-time maintaining the blog. Originally launched in October 2004, the site focuses specifically on Brooklyn real estate and has become the go-to hub for anyone interested in what’s going on in the borough. Brownstoner was one of the pioneers in the hyperlocal blog movement that focuses on a street-by-street, building-by-building survey of a particular neighborhood.

	Adam Koval Founder, SocketSite Adam Koval founded SocketSite in 2005 after becoming frustrated by a lack of local “buy side” analysis for residential real estate. SocketSite focuses on the trends and local scoop of the San Francisco real estate market and earlier this year, expanded to provide coverage of Silicon Valley. SocketSite is a previous finalist for an Inman News Innovator Award. Prior to founding the blog, Koval was an entrepreneur with a wide variety of early stage and venture-backed companies.

Company Bloggers
	David Gibbons Director of Community Relations, Zillow "Hi, it's David G from Zillow.com." Anyone who's ever mentioned Zillow in a blog post has surely seen this salutation pop up in their comments section. David Gibbons is Zillow's director of community relations, a role that requires him to rigorously read and engage with real estate blogs and the people who write them. Gibbons frequently engages in real estate blog discussions as part of Zillow's social media outreach in an effort to help people better understand the company's services.

	Glenn Kelman CEO, Redfin Glenn Kelman almost single-handedly writes the Redfin company blog, where he announces news to interested visitors and pontificates on other matters concerning the company, the real estate industry, entrepreneurship and other topics. Kelman has no qualms about speaking his mind about brokerage issues, real estate commission structures and industry rules he says serve to lock thousands of tiny shackles on the company’s ability to innovate.

Journalist Blogs
	John Cook Reporter, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Writer, John Cook's Venture Blog While John Cook's Venture Blog revolves around venture capital and startup news, he often gives an insightful take on upcoming real estate companies. Cook is a reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and is rooted in the Seattle tech startup community. He has frequently posted blog items about Zillow, Redfin, HouseValues and a host of other Seattle-area real estate startups and keeps up with happenings in the real estate venture capital scene.

	Peter Coy (shown), Dean Foust, Chris Palmeri, Maya Roney Reporters, BusinessWeek Bloggers, BusinessWeek's Hot Property blog BusinessWeek editors Peter Coy, Dean Foust, Chris Palmeri and Maya Roney chronicle the highs and lows of the housing and mortgage markets on their Hot Property blog. In print and online, the Hot Property team first wrote about the potential downside of lenders pushing riskier, "option ARM" mortgages and the rise in mortgage fraud back in 2005, long before many other media outlets. The Hot Property blog is where readers get the juicy tidbits about housing economics, recent statistics, upcoming reports and a host of other topics that didn't make it to the full-length magazine articles.

Bubble Bloggers
	Keith Founder, Housing Panic The chief blogger behind the Housing Panic blog is a 251-year-old sock puppet named Keith. That's about all that's known about this blogger, who has made it a priority to poke at real estate and housing finance news each day to find the bubble angle and provide a forum for readers to carry out discussions and debates around the topic of real estate bubbles. While the name suggests an alarmist's take on the housing market, Housing Panic has become a widely read blog for those who both agree and disagree with the assertion that a bubble exists and has burst.

	Patrick Killelea Founder, Patrick.net Blogger, Reality Parser It's not unusual for a post at Patrick.net's housing bubble blog, Reality Parser, to get 200-300 comments from readers. Posts often lead to threads that go on for days. That's likely because the chief blogger and site creator, Patrick Killelea, has taken on controversial issues in the housing bubble debate. Killelea is an engineer who works on programming for a large bank, and his blog serves some 14,000 readers a day. Killelea spots a bubble when "the monthly loss in interest, property tax, insurance and maintenance is larger than the monthly loss from renting, there is a housing bubble."

Posted by Michel Bergier on October 8th, 2007 3:13 PMPost a Comment (0)

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What is the MLS?

October 8th, 2007 2:48 PM

What is the MLS?

MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service. MLS is basically an online software that permits the sharing of home information among real estate professionals. Listings brokers input the data about a home for sale and specify how they will share their commission with a broker who brings a buyer.

Most homes for sales are listed in an MLS service by their listing agent. One does not have to list a home for sale in an MLS but it is not a very good idea as it won’t be exposed to other real estate agents. You need to be a real estate agent or a professional affiliate to have real access to an MLS service.

The general public can get access to MLS data though various online services but that data often is limited in scope, outdated and sometimes inaccurate. This is why buyers and sellers should seek the help of realtors who belong to the local association and have unlimited access to their local MLS.

The data that is available about a home ranges from its address, the year it was built, its square footage, number and size of bedrooms, baths, garages, … It also specifies the asking price, the commission split, information about schools, construction materials, community restrictions if any,… If you were to inquire about whether a specific condo allows pets, that information would usually appear on the MLS. Depending on the MLS up to 15 pictures can be posted. Links to a virtual tour, if available, are not uncommon.

Is there more than one MLS?

Many members of the public do not realize that there are many MLS companies. More and more, those MLS companies enter into reciprocal agreements with adjacent ones to enable local realtors to search for properties in surrounding areas. But there is still is a lot of room for improvement in that sector.

In Sarasota/Bradenton FL, many agents are members of either the Sarasota Association of Realtors’ MLS (SAR) or the Manatee Association of Realtors’ MLS (MAR). When they search for listings, they only see the ones that appear on the MLS that they searched. The result is that the customer ends up receiving only a distorted picture of the local market. Unfortunately, there is no agreement between the two boards and like a few other realtors, I decided to obtain a membership in both boards so that my customers would be exposed to all properties in the area. It costs me more, it makes me do two searches instead of one but in the end, a delighted customer make it worthwhile

MLS Reports

The reason you should use an agent is that a lot of information provided by online services is very limited in scope. MLS reports can come in many forms. Some will give you everything and some will provide you next to thing. Some are formatted for agents only and some are formatted for clients only. Some will have many pictures, some will have only and some will have none. Some will display the street address, some won’t. Be sure to work closely with your agent to get the information that you want to make an educated decision.

The searches can be automated and your agent can set up a system where you will receive information about properties that match your exact preferences on a agreed upon schedule, e.g. every day, every week, as they are listed,…

You can also request updates on new listings, solds, expired, price reductions, pending sales,…

MLS Searches

If you are ready to perform an MLS search, keep in mind that many criteria will limit the number of results. If you do not wish to spend more than $300,000, do not list your maximum price at $300,000 as you will miss being exposed to a property listed at $310,000 and that could be bought for $290,000. Give yourself a bit of room for bargaining and you’ll end up being the winner.

Happy Hunting!

Posted by Michel Bergier on October 8th, 2007 2:48 PMPost a Comment (0)

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Best places in Sarasota

October 2nd, 2007 3:20 PM

I am trying to compile an information booklet for all people who come down to Sarasota to buy real estate or rent for any amount of time. I think it would be great if any of you could let me know what your favorite places in Sarasota are and where they are located. By places, I mean anything. Best restaurant, best car wash, best night club, best beach, best neighborhood, best place to rent a bike or a scooter, best you name it...

My favorite French restaurant is "the French Affair". It's located on Mall Ave. That's very close to 41 and Stickney Point. The food is fabulous, the service is delightful and the wine list is the best one in town, assuming you enjoy French wines. Tell them I sent you ;-)

Posted by Michel Bergier on October 2nd, 2007 3:20 PMPost a Comment (0)

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