Some links about my great cousin Jill Landesberg-boyle
Saturday, November 21, 2009
My cousin working to improve a college in one of the best Real Estate areas in our country Key West
Friday, December 28, 2007
Some useful websites
It is amazing to see the world we live in change each day. With that we get new sites and changes to old ones.
First off we have Google maps, yes everyone knows about Google. But do you know about the street level feature? You can actually view areas from the tops of cars. Okay, suburbia may not be available but if you are looking to buy a house in or rent an apartment in New York, you can check out the neighborhood without leaving your current house!
The second is Everyscape.com this is a new company but it has some pretty cool technology and could be better than google maps.
The last one that I USE(there are a lot more than the ones I'm mentioning) is maps.live.com. Finally Microsoft has found some competition to Google. What I like most about maps.live is the Bird's Eye view. Check out the neighborhood before you see the house. You can see in the surrounding houses backyards and how many jalopies they have in the back!!
First off we have Google maps, yes everyone knows about Google. But do you know about the street level feature? You can actually view areas from the tops of cars. Okay, suburbia may not be available but if you are looking to buy a house in or rent an apartment in New York, you can check out the neighborhood without leaving your current house!
The second is Everyscape.com this is a new company but it has some pretty cool technology and could be better than google maps.
The last one that I USE(there are a lot more than the ones I'm mentioning) is maps.live.com. Finally Microsoft has found some competition to Google. What I like most about maps.live is the Bird's Eye view. Check out the neighborhood before you see the house. You can see in the surrounding houses backyards and how many jalopies they have in the back!!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
A great interview for your home inspector!
 | ||
| 10 Questions to Ask a Home Inspector 1. What are your qualifications? Are you a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors or National Associaton of Home Inspectors? 2. Do you have a current license? Inspectors are not required to be licensed in every state. 3. How many inspections of properties such as this do you do each year? 4. Do you have a list of past clients I can contact? 5. Do you carry professional errors and omission insurance? May I have a copy of the policy? 6. Do you provide any guarantees of your work? 7. What specifically will the inspection cover? 8. What type of report will I receive after the inspection? 9. How long will the inspection take and how long will it take to receive the report? 10. How much will the inspection cost? Portions adapted from Real Estate Checklists and Systems and used with permission. www.realestatechecklists.com |
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
I'm Back!!
It's been a long time but I took the summer off to spend extra time with my children so once again I will be adding blogs about two times a week. I would like to touch on the sub-prime market and how that's affected us!!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Sometimes Real Estate is where you don't want to be
Ok, we have all heard it Location, Location, Location. But this photograph says it all. I am not a fan of being eaten by another animal, although some wouldn't mind getting close to these animals. Just remember to always check around the house or property you are buying. Now Olive pythons are native to Australia so in the United States it would be difficult to meet up with one. There are all kinds of dangerous animals in the U.S. from Black Widow Spiders to Rattlesnakes. Oh don't forget the two-legged danger. Yes, I'm talking about the human race. The best place to find out about the crime in your area is to check the local police department or just ask the neighbors.Publish Post
Saturday, May 19, 2007
How Brokers go Bad!!!
Feds probe real estate agents
Money magazine investigation shows Justice Dept. looking into anticompetitive practices.
April 22, 2005: 5:27 PM EDT
By Jon Birger, Money Magazine
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Did you pay your real estate broker too much? The U.S. Department of Justice may be set to turn Tulsa, Okla. into a test-case for ending the stranglehold 6 percent commissions have over the real estate brokerage business.
MONEY has learned that Justice's Antitrust Division is gathering information on the bully tactics that full-commission brokers in Tulsa allegedly use against their discount rivals to discourage commission-cutting. The probe follows other recent efforts to spur competition in the real estate industry.
According to a copy of a Justice Department subpoena obtained by MONEY, federal investigators are seeking information on "possible anticompetitive conduct in the provision of real estate services in the Tulsa area" as well as "documents related to refusal to cooperate on real estate transactions."
An Antitrust Division spokeswoman confirmed the existence of the investigation but declined to provide additional details.
Al Unser, executive director of the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors said: "We received a CID [civil investigative demand] from the Justice Dept. and we have responded."
Economists who study real estate, such as the University of Cincinnati's Norm Miller, believe anti-competitive behavior is the primary explanation for the persistence of the 6 percent commission.
J.D. Smith and Bob Meyer are two Tulsa discount real estate agents who say they were interviewed by federal investigators. They say the investigators wanted information on full-commission agents' alleged refusal to show home-buying clients properties listed by discount brokers -- a tactic known as boycotting.
Boycotting exploits the one major weakness of the multiple listing service.
The MLS's upside is that it centralizes all homes for sale in a single electronic marketplace that can be accessed by all agents -- and these days by Web-savvy consumers as well.
The downside is that brokers must depend on one another to help sell their homes, and that discourages them from undercutting each other's commissions.
While boycotting the listings of discounters is generally considered an antitrust violation -- if undisclosed, it's also a breach of fiduciary duty to clients -- industry insiders are well aware that boycotting goes on, even if they claim not to condone it.
For Smith, the Feds' investigation comes a year or so too late. His realty business on the brink of ruin, Smith recently abandoned discount brokerage and went back to charging 6 percent. "In one week," Smith said, "I've had more showings and more offers from other realtors than I had in the previous two months."
The Tulsa investigation is part of an ongoing Antitrust Division foray into the sharp-elbowed realty world. In March, the Antitrust Division sued the Kentucky Real Estate Commission over a state law that prohibits real estate brokers from offering commission rebates to consumers.
More recently, Assistant Attorney General R. Hewitt Pate sent letters to lawmakers and regulators in Oklahoma and Texas, urging them to reject proposals that would effectively prohibit brokers from engaging in limited-service or fee-for-service realty -- such as listing a home for sale on the multiple listing service for a flat fee of $500.
Bruce Hahn, chairman of the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance, argues that state prohibitions on rebates and fee-for-service discourage competition and inflate commissions paid by consumers. "We've talked to Justice, and we think what they're doing is tremendous," he said.
Money magazine investigation shows Justice Dept. looking into anticompetitive practices.
April 22, 2005: 5:27 PM EDT
By Jon Birger, Money Magazine
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Did you pay your real estate broker too much? The U.S. Department of Justice may be set to turn Tulsa, Okla. into a test-case for ending the stranglehold 6 percent commissions have over the real estate brokerage business.
MONEY has learned that Justice's Antitrust Division is gathering information on the bully tactics that full-commission brokers in Tulsa allegedly use against their discount rivals to discourage commission-cutting. The probe follows other recent efforts to spur competition in the real estate industry.
According to a copy of a Justice Department subpoena obtained by MONEY, federal investigators are seeking information on "possible anticompetitive conduct in the provision of real estate services in the Tulsa area" as well as "documents related to refusal to cooperate on real estate transactions."
An Antitrust Division spokeswoman confirmed the existence of the investigation but declined to provide additional details.
Al Unser, executive director of the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors said: "We received a CID [civil investigative demand] from the Justice Dept. and we have responded."
Economists who study real estate, such as the University of Cincinnati's Norm Miller, believe anti-competitive behavior is the primary explanation for the persistence of the 6 percent commission.
J.D. Smith and Bob Meyer are two Tulsa discount real estate agents who say they were interviewed by federal investigators. They say the investigators wanted information on full-commission agents' alleged refusal to show home-buying clients properties listed by discount brokers -- a tactic known as boycotting.
Boycotting exploits the one major weakness of the multiple listing service.
The MLS's upside is that it centralizes all homes for sale in a single electronic marketplace that can be accessed by all agents -- and these days by Web-savvy consumers as well.
The downside is that brokers must depend on one another to help sell their homes, and that discourages them from undercutting each other's commissions.
While boycotting the listings of discounters is generally considered an antitrust violation -- if undisclosed, it's also a breach of fiduciary duty to clients -- industry insiders are well aware that boycotting goes on, even if they claim not to condone it.
For Smith, the Feds' investigation comes a year or so too late. His realty business on the brink of ruin, Smith recently abandoned discount brokerage and went back to charging 6 percent. "In one week," Smith said, "I've had more showings and more offers from other realtors than I had in the previous two months."
The Tulsa investigation is part of an ongoing Antitrust Division foray into the sharp-elbowed realty world. In March, the Antitrust Division sued the Kentucky Real Estate Commission over a state law that prohibits real estate brokers from offering commission rebates to consumers.
More recently, Assistant Attorney General R. Hewitt Pate sent letters to lawmakers and regulators in Oklahoma and Texas, urging them to reject proposals that would effectively prohibit brokers from engaging in limited-service or fee-for-service realty -- such as listing a home for sale on the multiple listing service for a flat fee of $500.
Bruce Hahn, chairman of the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance, argues that state prohibitions on rebates and fee-for-service discourage competition and inflate commissions paid by consumers. "We've talked to Justice, and we think what they're doing is tremendous," he said.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
NAR Responds to 60 Minutes' May 13, 2007 Segment
CBS News Magazine Show Misses the Mark
May 14, 2007 -- In the world of political campaigns, it's a standard ploy to set the stage with an empty chair when one candidate refuses to debate his opponents.
The CBS show 60 Minutes gave the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® the empty chair treatment in a May 13 segment that examined the impact of online brokerages on the real estate industry. The show featured interviews with a representative from the now-defunct eRealty and the president and CEO of Redfin, but no one from NAR, even though NAR twice offered and prepared Association spokespersons for interviews with Leslie Stahl. It was CBS that made the decision it would rather interview our opponents and let them make unanswered -- and inaccurate and unfair -- accusations about REALTORS® and NAR policies.
The one-sided journalism and egregious errors served no one well, especially the once-vaunted news magazine show. NAR staff spent nearly a year working with CBS, briefing producers on the issues involved. The producers attended the REALTORS® Conference in New Orleans and met with NAR's legal counsel for half a day in Chicago. Yet, still the segment was full of major errors.
NAR is in communication with 60 Minutes about its unbalanced reporting and presentation of misinformation and will be sending the CBS network a letter demanding an opportunity to correct these errors and misrepresentations.
Here are some examples of the misinformation:
Error: The six percent commission is "sacrosanct."
Fact: All commissions are negotiable. The average commission rate is not 6 percent, but 5.1 percent, according to Real Trends.
Error: NAR is the industry's "governing body."
Fact: NAR is a trade association. It does not govern the industry.
Error: In 2003, NAR issued new rules of its own that threatened to block Internet discounters' access to the MLS.
Fact: The Virtual Office Website policy did not block access to MLSs for discounters or any other brokers who are members of the MLS.
Error: The MLS is the database that lists virtually every home for sale in the country.
Fact: There is no single national MLS. Rather, there are more than 900 local and regional multiple listing services. These are not simply "databases" but private exchange of offers of cooperation and compensation between real estate brokers.
Error: Eight states have "minimum service laws" that require REALTORS® to provide a level of service many Internet discounters can't afford.
Fact: "REALTOR®" is a trademarked term and should never be used synonymously with "real estate agent." The intent of minimum service laws is to ensure consumers receive a minimal level of service from licensees.
Error: The brokerage industry has a powerful lobby. Eleven states flatly prohibit rebates.
Fact: The intent of anti-rebate laws is to prevent kickbacks in real estate transactions, not to limit brokers' incentives to attract customers. The brokerage industry does not lobby for anti-rebate laws.
Other key points 60 Minutes misrepresented or overlooked:
NAR supports all business models and favors none. Our 1.3 million members include REALTORS® who work on a full-service basis, as well as those who consider themselves to be limited service, fee-for-service, minimum service, and discounters. We think it's great that consumers have a choice today.
The real estate industry has harnessed technology for the benefit of consumers and will continue to do so. Real estate is both high-tech and high-touch, so can be enhanced by both electronic and personal interaction.
There is no such thing as a "standard commission." Commissions are negotiable and prices vary. The fact is that commission rates have decreased 16 percent from 1991 to 2004 (source: Real Trends).
The real estate business is unique in that competitors must also cooperate with each other to ensure a successful transaction, and MLS systems facilitate that cooperation. The first MLS was created more than 100 years ago as way for brokers to share their listing agreements with each another in hopes of procuring buyers for their properties more quickly and efficiently than they could on their own.
The MLS is a tool to help listing brokers find cooperative buyer brokers to help sell their clients' homes. Without the collaborative incentive of the existing MLS, brokers would create their own separate systems, fragmenting rather than consolidating property information.
CBS News Magazine Show Misses the Mark
May 14, 2007 -- In the world of political campaigns, it's a standard ploy to set the stage with an empty chair when one candidate refuses to debate his opponents.
The CBS show 60 Minutes gave the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® the empty chair treatment in a May 13 segment that examined the impact of online brokerages on the real estate industry. The show featured interviews with a representative from the now-defunct eRealty and the president and CEO of Redfin, but no one from NAR, even though NAR twice offered and prepared Association spokespersons for interviews with Leslie Stahl. It was CBS that made the decision it would rather interview our opponents and let them make unanswered -- and inaccurate and unfair -- accusations about REALTORS® and NAR policies.
The one-sided journalism and egregious errors served no one well, especially the once-vaunted news magazine show. NAR staff spent nearly a year working with CBS, briefing producers on the issues involved. The producers attended the REALTORS® Conference in New Orleans and met with NAR's legal counsel for half a day in Chicago. Yet, still the segment was full of major errors.
NAR is in communication with 60 Minutes about its unbalanced reporting and presentation of misinformation and will be sending the CBS network a letter demanding an opportunity to correct these errors and misrepresentations.
Here are some examples of the misinformation:
Error: The six percent commission is "sacrosanct."
Fact: All commissions are negotiable. The average commission rate is not 6 percent, but 5.1 percent, according to Real Trends.
Error: NAR is the industry's "governing body."
Fact: NAR is a trade association. It does not govern the industry.
Error: In 2003, NAR issued new rules of its own that threatened to block Internet discounters' access to the MLS.
Fact: The Virtual Office Website policy did not block access to MLSs for discounters or any other brokers who are members of the MLS.
Error: The MLS is the database that lists virtually every home for sale in the country.
Fact: There is no single national MLS. Rather, there are more than 900 local and regional multiple listing services. These are not simply "databases" but private exchange of offers of cooperation and compensation between real estate brokers.
Error: Eight states have "minimum service laws" that require REALTORS® to provide a level of service many Internet discounters can't afford.
Fact: "REALTOR®" is a trademarked term and should never be used synonymously with "real estate agent." The intent of minimum service laws is to ensure consumers receive a minimal level of service from licensees.
Error: The brokerage industry has a powerful lobby. Eleven states flatly prohibit rebates.
Fact: The intent of anti-rebate laws is to prevent kickbacks in real estate transactions, not to limit brokers' incentives to attract customers. The brokerage industry does not lobby for anti-rebate laws.
Other key points 60 Minutes misrepresented or overlooked:
NAR supports all business models and favors none. Our 1.3 million members include REALTORS® who work on a full-service basis, as well as those who consider themselves to be limited service, fee-for-service, minimum service, and discounters. We think it's great that consumers have a choice today.
The real estate industry has harnessed technology for the benefit of consumers and will continue to do so. Real estate is both high-tech and high-touch, so can be enhanced by both electronic and personal interaction.
There is no such thing as a "standard commission." Commissions are negotiable and prices vary. The fact is that commission rates have decreased 16 percent from 1991 to 2004 (source: Real Trends).
The real estate business is unique in that competitors must also cooperate with each other to ensure a successful transaction, and MLS systems facilitate that cooperation. The first MLS was created more than 100 years ago as way for brokers to share their listing agreements with each another in hopes of procuring buyers for their properties more quickly and efficiently than they could on their own.
The MLS is a tool to help listing brokers find cooperative buyer brokers to help sell their clients' homes. Without the collaborative incentive of the existing MLS, brokers would create their own separate systems, fragmenting rather than consolidating property information.
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