 Some properties are being advertised as a short sale when they really aren't in an attempt to lure bargain-hunter buyers. The following is an excerpt from Foreclosures, Short Sales, REOs, and Auctions: Tools for Success in Today’s Real Estate Market (Dearborn, 2008) about using the term correctly.
Marketing Properties as Short Sales When They Aren’t
There are a number of licensees who are attempting to attract buyers by using the term short sale in marketing property. It is very similar to the furniture stores that are constantly advertising that they are going out of business to draw purchasers. The fact that a home has lost value or that the loan has increased in amount and is now more than the value of the property does not automatically make the transaction a short sale.
In Chapter 2 what was stressed was the importance of a licensee conducting a thorough analysis, not only of the property value and loans but of the prospective seller’s financial condition as well. As was indicated, according to some licensees who are experts in the field, only a small percentage of short sales are approved by lenders.
What is to be gained by these licensees who advertise properties as short sales when they really aren’t? The answer is attracting more buyers, of course.
Some licensees are describing properties as preforeclosure listing or short sale and use the terms synonymously. Appropriately, a preforeclosure sale of property would involve one where the owner is in default. The property may or may not be worth less than the loan amount.
On the other hand there are owners who are not in default attempting to sell a property for less than the amount of the loan who appropriately call the transaction a short sale.
Is it a short sale if the lender has not approved a sale? How can a lender approve a transaction without having an offer from a buyer? What can be done about these situations? It may be as
Continue reading "Excerpt: Misusing the Term 'Short Sales' in Marketing " »
The National Association of Real Estate Editors announced three winners, along with a first-time author award, for top real estate books this year for the 2008 Robert Bruss Real Estate Book Awards. Check out the list of winners and then share with us the best real estate book you've read this year.
Gold Award
Prefabulous: The House of Your Dreams Delivered Fresh From the Factory (Taunton Press)
By Sheri Koones
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Judges comments: "It explores in depth the different types of prefab homes available on the market. The amount of information is stunning, making this book a necessity for anyone who is considering building this type of house.”
Silver Award
Creating Value: Smart Development and Green Design (Urban Land Insitute)
By Vernon Swaback
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Judges comments: "With interest in a 'green' environment rapidly receiving more and more attention, this book by a well-known architect is must reading for anyone interested in real estate development. Thoroughly researched and making good use of four-color photographs and
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The following is excerpted from Financial Shock: A 360-degree Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis (Pearson Education, 2009) by Mark Zandi, chief economist and cofounder of Moody's Economy.com. Here are four policy changes Zandi recommends to prevent the next financial crisis. Read all 10 in his book.
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Policy Step #1: Adopt a voluntary mortgage write-down plan
Many troubled mortgages could be salvaged if lenders would agree to modify them, typically by reducing the principal owed. The borrower would get to stay in the house, the lender would avoid a costly foreclosure, and the economy might avoid falling into a destructive self-reinforcing cycle in which house price declines beget foreclosures which beget still more price declines. Thus it seems both reasonable and urgent to encourage this wherever possible.
While there is no silver policy bullet that will address this problem, a number of proposals have circulated that could help. Most involve a small commitment of taxpayer dollars.(1)
Passage of an effective mortgage write-down plan faces several hurdles, including reasonable concerns that it would end up helping those who least deserve it. Lenders who faithfully observed sound underwriting methods would not benefit; nor would those homeowners who are working hard to keep their mortgages current despite financial strains.
The counter-argument is that the housing problem is so serious that it threatens the honest and
Continue reading "Excerpt: How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis" »
 By Melissa Dittmann Tracey
If you haven't already, be sure to check out our book review on Leadership and the Sexes. The Weekly Book Scan talked with the book's author and gender expert Michael Gurian to gain more insights into how the sexes communicate differently.
Do your findings on gender differences among leaders in the workplace apply to other relationships too—such as real estate professionals' relationships with their customers?
Gurian: This book is for any male and female interaction at any level. When we looked at the companies that provided quantitative data to us for the book, they were using it at all different levels. It's not just training CEOs, but they are training everybody to understand the gender differences. There is an immersion in the culture that transfers to a real estate office or even just a single practitioner to get training in it. These are hard-wired gender differences, and understanding men and women better and getting the tools to improve your communication will make you more effective.
Is there a risk that these findings on gender differences can be used as stereotypes in the workplace?
Gurian: There really needs to be some immersion in it. If the company or individual, does not immerse themselves in understanding it then they will be prone to stereotype. There's so much popular information out there and you can scan an article and in two minutes and believe you understand men and women. That leads to stereotypes.
Think about marriage: You don't Google three tips on marriage and assume you've got it. It's ongoing in developing the relationship and you're constantly gathering data and relational information on each other to do better.
This [gender research] is a million years of human history and brain development. The craft of this book is that it allows for real estate professionals to immerse themselves on how to negotiate and communicate differently, it outlines the sources in the brain, and provides communication tools. It won't leave you stereotyping, but if you just go to one article, you might.
Learning to become strong negotiators is an important skill for real estate professionals. What are some key ways that men and women negotiate differently?
Gurian: There are lots of levels to this [NOTE: If you own the book, see Chapter 5 and the communication tools in Chapter 6]. When men and women are in a negotiation, there's a different biochemistry at work.
When it's a more intense negotiation, testosterone—an aggression chemical—goes up in men. So we might do knife gestures, pointing the finger at the person or a knife gesture at the contract, or we might interrupt the other person more.
At the very same time that men are getting more aggressive, women want more signals of
Continue reading "Author Q&A: Michael Gurian on Leadership and the Sexes" »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey
 Quick Skim
Do you have a female client who's exceptionally chatty? Or a male client who zones out sometimes? It might be their gender that's to blame. Men and women have different communication styles that often clash in the business world, according to Michael Gurian and Barbara Annis, authors of Leadership and the Sexes (Jossey-Bass, 2008). The authors set out to move beyond gender stereotypes and point to brain imaging studies that can offer you insight into how you can better communicate, lead, and negotiate with people of the opposite sex, so that gender communication blunders never cost you a deal.
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From the Book: 5 Ways Men and Women Communicate Differently
At times, men and women may seem like they really are communicating from two different planets. Why is that? Blood flows differently to varying parts of the brain in males and females, making each gender better at processing certain types of information. The book outlines several of these differences and offers tips to account for these differences and deter misunderstandings.
Here are five differences presented in the book.
1. Women's brains are always "on." Females might appreciate this: "There is more neural activity in the female brain at any given time than in the male brain, as evidenced by 15 to 20 percent more blood flow, with more brain centers 'lit up' in a scan of a female brain than in one of a male brain," according to the book. The female brain tends to be more constantly active, while the male brain is prone to “zoning out” or “blanking out” during conversations. To avoid a zone out, men might unconsciously start an activity, such as tapping their pencils, gazing out the window, or swiveling in a chair.
A woman, particularly during negotiations, might perceive this as he isn’t listening or doesn’t care about what you’re saying. But men’s brains are wired to listen differently than women; men often hold less eye contact and have sporadic “zone out” moments, which might require a little repetition to key points.
2. Men just want the facts. Men usually ask fewer questions to stimulate conversation in their work relationships and often end conversations more abruptly than women, the authors write. Men tend to be more data and fact driven and stay on topic, not getting as personal in conversations as women. That’s because men have six times gray matter in their brain that is related to cognition and intelligence than women. Realizing this, women in conversations with male bosses or clients might want to keep their interactions more targeted to the specific
Continue reading "Book Review: Leadership and the Sexes" »
 The following is excerpted from Sustainable Housing and Building Green (Dearborn, 2008) by Marie S. Spodek and Ken Deshaies.
Audits in the Real Estate Transaction
Energy audits are an excellent source of additional information to help sellers, builders, and buyers make quantifiable decisions when buying new appliances or a new home. Tenants also benefit because energy audits allow them to choose energy-efficient rentals. (VIDEO: Watch an energy audit in action.)
Role of the Real Estate Licensee
Essentially, licensees should be the “source of the resource, not the source of the information.” Real estate licensees should not hold themselves out as experts, and they should not promise savings or results from an energy audit. To avoid any hint of impropriety, agents should never accept a “referral fee” from any of these companies or sell any of the products without fully disclosing any relationship to the company. Even with full disclosure, licensees should avoid
Continue reading "Excerpt: Learn About Energy Audits" »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey
 Quick Skim
It’s time for cities to get walking, not sprawling, writes Christopher B. Leinberger in his new book The Option of Urbanism: Investing in a New American Dream (Island Press, 2008). Not only are buyers demanding it, but cities need it to thrive. Walkable urbanism is when everyday needs—such as parks, shopping, work, and schools—all fall within walking distance (a quarter to a half mile) or are easily accessible by transit from your home. Properties in walkable communities tend to command the highest prices, anywhere from 40-200 percent more than drivable single-family housing. His book makes a solid case for why and how cities can make themselves more walkable.Buy the Book
From the Book: 5 Ways Cities Can Become More Walkable
Walkable cities tend to have easy public transport and lots of shops, making for a highly desirable place to live. However, demand for housing in these places often outweighs the supply. Here's what cities need to do to encourage more "walkable urbanism" developments.
1. Change zoning. True walkable urbanism requires high popular density, which often runs counter to zoning codes. Zoning laws also traditionally have set out to keep industrial and retail away from housing, which must coexist in a mixed-use development. Communities can adopt a new planning process that involves property owners, neighbors, retailers, developers, and planning and elected officials working together in bringing these often-complex developments to reality. Some cities are developing form-based codes that are not based on use (which is often the case with traditional zoning), but on the form of the building. These form-based codes are then implemented through an overlay district, which is placed on top of traditional zoning maps.
2. Invest in transit. The best way to encourage walkable urbanism is through transportation investment. "Transportation drives development,” Leinberger says. Often times, the transportation or rail station comes first, and then the development. Leinberger points to Washington, D.C., with its commuter Metro rail line, as a good example of how transit can foster the development of close-knit communities around it. Transit connections and bus and trolley circulator systems are ideal for walkable urban development.
3. Educate the financial community. Multi-use projects tend to be more costly due to multiple-story construction and top-notch finishes, Leinberger writes. Construction budgets
Continue reading "Review: The Option of Urbanism" »
 Here are the latest top selling books in real estate from Amazon.com:
1. The Subprime Solution: How Today's Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What to Do about It, By Robert J. Shiller
2. Chain of Blame: How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis, By Paul Muolo and Mathew Padilla
3. Financial Shock A 360º Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis, By Mark Zandi
4. Rich Dad's Advisors®: The ABC's of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Miss, By Ken McElroy
5. Real Estate Investing for Dummies , By Eric Tyson and Robert S. Griswold
6. The Pre-Foreclosure Property Investor's Kit: How to Make M Buying Distressed Real Estate -- Before the Public Auction, By Thomas Lucier
7. Home Buying For Dummies, 3rd edition, By Eric Tyson and Ray Brown
8. SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times, By Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, and Jay Papasan
9. Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition, By Marc Reisner
10. Complete Guide to Real Estate Tax Liens and Foreclosure Deeds: Learn in 7 Days-Investing Without Losing Series , By Don Sausa
 The new fiction novel, Red Hot Property (Infinity Publishing, 2008), follows the adventures of four rookie real estate agents as they embark on their careers, juggling work demands and weaving their way through the mystery and danger that sometimes looms.
In recognition of REALTOR® Safety Week , which kicked off yesterday, we talk with the book's author Devin O'Branagan, a real estate practitioner with ERA Tradewind in Longmont, Colo., about why she wrote the novel, which brings real estate safety to the forefront.
The book is a fictional account of real estate agents just starting out, but as you point out, the book is also a cautionary tale to those in the industry. What was that cautionary lesson that you wanted to get across to your peers?
One of my main reasons for writing this novel is the issue of safety. I hope this will shake up my fellow REALTORS® a bit and cause them to place a greater emphasis on safety. I see this all the time in our industry — and I'm guilty of this too: We take big risks in our job. I just think we're too trusting. Every day we see real estate agents take some of the same risks of the characters in the book — we're running out the door after a call to meet clients we don't know in an area with no cell phone service.
I wanted to dramatize some of the dangers of our profession in the book because I thought it would have a much greater impact than a how-to list of safety tips. I long ago learned that people are often affected more emotionally by the dramatization of an event. If the reader came to care about these characters and then were blind-sided by what could happen, maybe they would suddenly realize that it could happen to them too.
In the book, the characters are exposed to dangers that real estate practitioners sometimes face, such as at open houses. Are any of these situations based on true stories?
Some of it is based on true stories. For example, when one of the main characters is attacked by a dog at a showing, there really was an incident of a real estate agent in Denver where a dog grabbed her by the throat.
These kinds of dangers can happen in this profession. There are sexual assaults, robberies,
Continue reading "Author Chat With Devin O'Branagan" »
Here are the latest top selling books in real estate from Amazon.com:
1. The Subprime Solution: How Today's Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What to Do about It  , By Robert J. Shiller
2. The Subprime Solution: How Today's Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What to Do about It (Kindle Edition), By Robert J. Shiller
3. Rich Dad's Advisors®: The ABC's of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Miss (Rich Dad's Advisors), By Ken McElroy
4. The Pre-Foreclosure Property Investor's Kit: How to Make Money Buying Distressed Real Estate -- Before the Public Auction , By Thomas Lucier
5. Home Buying For Dummies, 3rd edition , By Eric Tyson and Ray Brown
6. Real Estate Investing for Dummies , By Eric Tyson and Robert S. Griswold
7. Real Estate Finance & Investments (Real Estate Finance and Investments) , By William B Brueggeman and Jeffrey Fisher
8. SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times , By Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, and Jay Papasan
9. Financial Shock: A 360º Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis , By Mark Zandi
10. What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know about Cash Flow... And 36 Other Key Financial Measures , By Frank Gallinelli
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