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Friday, March 15, 2013
TV Agents Blow Whistle on Shady Real Estate Tricks
TV Agents Blow Whistle on Shady Real Estate Tricks
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 — Buying a house can be a stressful ordeal, especially when you have to navigate a world of cutthroat real estate brokers, parse through doublespeak and face blatant lies every step of the way.
In a new ABC News 20/20 investigation, two major players in the real estate game come clean about some of the most common tricks of the trade which every person seeking to buy or sell property should know.
Ryan Serhant, a top New York City real estate agent who stars in the Bravo reality show Million Dollar Listing New York, has no illusions about his business: it’s a no-holds-barred struggle for survival.
Whistle-blowers: Real estate agent Ryan Serhant, the star of a Bravo reality show, left, and Sandra Rinomato, the former host of Property Virgins on HGTV, right, reveal some of the most common tricks of the trade
Bait and switch: Serhant says many agents would keep a listing up long after it’s been sold, and if someone calls asking to see it, they would offer to show them something else
‘Sometimes real estate can get dirty,’ he told ABC’s Deborah Roberts. ‘This is a bare-knuckle business, and there are no refs on the sidelines’
Serhant explained that in New York City alone, there are 27,000 real estate agents. Last year, there were just under 12,600 contracts, which means that many of the players in the business struck out.
Wall of silence: If someone was killed or hurt in a home up for sale, the real estate agent would often keep mum about it
Some agents are not above posting false web listings in a classic bait-and-switch scheme that should be familiar to anyone who ever bought a used car.
Serhant explained that he can take a photo of a house from anywhere around the world and create a listing page for it pretending that the property is in Manhattan.
Alternatively, sometimes agents would keep a listing up years after it’s been sold.
If someone calls asking to see the property, the agent would say that it is off the market or just went into contract, and immediately offer to show the would-be buyer something similar.
Besides having to contend with ruthless brokers not overly burdened by ethical standards, buyers and sellers have to learn to understand the jargon of the trade so as not to be duped.
Sandra Rinomato, a veteran realtor and former host of the popular HGTV network show Property Virgins, explains that there are certain key phrases that come up time and again in listings, which are purposefully used to mislead potential clients.
Rather that describing a house or apartment as small, Rinomato says a crafty realtor would label it as ‘cozy,’ while ‘awaiting your touch’ means that the property is a fixer-upper that would require a lot of work, time and money.
Self-promotion: Open houses are held not to sell the property, which is done through online listings and ‘For Sale’ signs, but to raise the profile of the real estate agent
Another important advice for the first-time buyer is: do your homework and ask neighbors about the property you’re looking to buy because you cannot trust your agent to tell you if something is off about it unless it’s visible to the naked eye.
5 TOP TRICKS OF THE REAL ESTATE TRADE:
1. Bait-and-switch: Agents would put up fake listings, or keep a listing up years after it’s been sold. When asked to see the property, they would offer a customer something else
2. Realtor doublespeak: Listings often feature certain key words to mislead clients, such as ‘cozy’ to describe a tiny house or apartment
3. Self-promotion: Open houses are held not to sell the property, but to raise the profile of the real estate agent
4. Wall of silence: Some agents would keep mum about a murder or a pest infestation that took place in a house they’re selling
5. Double end: Real estate agents would conceal a higher offer on a home from their client if it means having to share commission with another agent
If someone was hurt or killed in a home, or if the property had a pest infestation, many less-than-honest agents will keep that information to themselves or play dumb so as not to lose the sale, according to Serhant.
It seems that one cannot walk down a street in Manhattan or Brooklyn without running into an ‘open house’ sign inviting people to check out a property for sale.
However, Rinomato tells 20/20 that the real purpose of open houses is not to sell the property, which is mostly done through online ads and ‘For Sale’ signs, but rather to get the broker’s name out there.
Fans of shows like HGTV’s Property Virgins have seen would-be homeowners put in an offer on a home, which ends up being rejected because someone else had put in a higher offer.
But Rinomato says things are often not as they seem.
According to the realtor, agents representing sellers sometimes keep the higher offer from their client in a practice commonly known in the business as ‘double ending’ to avoid splitting commission with another agent.
In other words, an agent would conceal a higher offer on a house from the seller to keep the entire commission to herself.
Do it yourself: Sellers can spend thousands of dollars to professionally stage their home, or they can remove the clutter, tidy up and throw a fresh coat of paint on the walls
Finally, real estate agents would often recommend sellers to hire top-dollar professional stagers to give the home a makeover in a bid to increase its marketability.
But Rinomato says that the same effect can be achieved for a fraction of the cost if homeowners give their property a thorough cleaning, get rid of clutter and add a fresh coat of paint.
To view the original article, click here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2290702/The-inside-secrets-real-estate-agents-TV-investigation-exposes-shocking-tricks-used-buy-sell-houses.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
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Wednesday, March 13, 2013 — Buying a house can be a stressful ordeal, especially when you have to navigate a world of cutthroat real estate brokers, parse through doublespeak and face blatant lies every step of the way.
In a new ABC News 20/20 investigation, two major players in the real estate game come clean about some of the most common tricks of the trade which every person seeking to buy or sell property should know.
Ryan Serhant, a top New York City real estate agent who stars in the Bravo reality show Million Dollar Listing New York, has no illusions about his business: it’s a no-holds-barred struggle for survival.
Whistle-blowers: Real estate agent Ryan Serhant, the star of a Bravo reality show, left, and Sandra Rinomato, the former host of Property Virgins on HGTV, right, reveal some of the most common tricks of the trade
Bait and switch: Serhant says many agents would keep a listing up long after it’s been sold, and if someone calls asking to see it, they would offer to show them something else
‘Sometimes real estate can get dirty,’ he told ABC’s Deborah Roberts. ‘This is a bare-knuckle business, and there are no refs on the sidelines’
Serhant explained that in New York City alone, there are 27,000 real estate agents. Last year, there were just under 12,600 contracts, which means that many of the players in the business struck out.
Wall of silence: If someone was killed or hurt in a home up for sale, the real estate agent would often keep mum about it
Some agents are not above posting false web listings in a classic bait-and-switch scheme that should be familiar to anyone who ever bought a used car.
Serhant explained that he can take a photo of a house from anywhere around the world and create a listing page for it pretending that the property is in Manhattan.
Alternatively, sometimes agents would keep a listing up years after it’s been sold.
If someone calls asking to see the property, the agent would say that it is off the market or just went into contract, and immediately offer to show the would-be buyer something similar.
Besides having to contend with ruthless brokers not overly burdened by ethical standards, buyers and sellers have to learn to understand the jargon of the trade so as not to be duped.
Sandra Rinomato, a veteran realtor and former host of the popular HGTV network show Property Virgins, explains that there are certain key phrases that come up time and again in listings, which are purposefully used to mislead potential clients.
Rather that describing a house or apartment as small, Rinomato says a crafty realtor would label it as ‘cozy,’ while ‘awaiting your touch’ means that the property is a fixer-upper that would require a lot of work, time and money.
Self-promotion: Open houses are held not to sell the property, which is done through online listings and ‘For Sale’ signs, but to raise the profile of the real estate agent
Another important advice for the first-time buyer is: do your homework and ask neighbors about the property you’re looking to buy because you cannot trust your agent to tell you if something is off about it unless it’s visible to the naked eye.
5 TOP TRICKS OF THE REAL ESTATE TRADE:
1. Bait-and-switch: Agents would put up fake listings, or keep a listing up years after it’s been sold. When asked to see the property, they would offer a customer something else
2. Realtor doublespeak: Listings often feature certain key words to mislead clients, such as ‘cozy’ to describe a tiny house or apartment
3. Self-promotion: Open houses are held not to sell the property, but to raise the profile of the real estate agent
4. Wall of silence: Some agents would keep mum about a murder or a pest infestation that took place in a house they’re selling
5. Double end: Real estate agents would conceal a higher offer on a home from their client if it means having to share commission with another agent
If someone was hurt or killed in a home, or if the property had a pest infestation, many less-than-honest agents will keep that information to themselves or play dumb so as not to lose the sale, according to Serhant.
It seems that one cannot walk down a street in Manhattan or Brooklyn without running into an ‘open house’ sign inviting people to check out a property for sale.
However, Rinomato tells 20/20 that the real purpose of open houses is not to sell the property, which is mostly done through online ads and ‘For Sale’ signs, but rather to get the broker’s name out there.
Fans of shows like HGTV’s Property Virgins have seen would-be homeowners put in an offer on a home, which ends up being rejected because someone else had put in a higher offer.
But Rinomato says things are often not as they seem.
According to the realtor, agents representing sellers sometimes keep the higher offer from their client in a practice commonly known in the business as ‘double ending’ to avoid splitting commission with another agent.
In other words, an agent would conceal a higher offer on a house from the seller to keep the entire commission to herself.
Do it yourself: Sellers can spend thousands of dollars to professionally stage their home, or they can remove the clutter, tidy up and throw a fresh coat of paint on the walls
Finally, real estate agents would often recommend sellers to hire top-dollar professional stagers to give the home a makeover in a bid to increase its marketability.
But Rinomato says that the same effect can be achieved for a fraction of the cost if homeowners give their property a thorough cleaning, get rid of clutter and add a fresh coat of paint.
To view the original article, click here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2290702/The-inside-secrets-real-estate-agents-TV-investigation-exposes-shocking-tricks-used-buy-sell-houses.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Kiplinger: Housing Recovery Firmly Underway
Kiplinger: Housing Recovery Firmly Underway
DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2013
Prices are rising and inventories are falling in markets throughout the United States, which has led financial reporting and forecasting firm Kiplinger to declare the housing recovery “firmly” in motion. Moreover, the company says housing will help carry the overall economy at a time when U.S. exports are decreasing, says Karen Mracek, a Kiplinger editor and real estate analyst.
“The biggest reason we think we’re on firm ground is that we’re seeing every indicator on the way up,” Mracek says. “As with the overall economy, it’s kind of hard to call the bottom or the pivot point. But we’re seeing a range of indicators that suggest pretty solid growth going forward.”
In addition to home values and supply, positive indicators include the number of multiple-bid situations, new-home construction, and credit availability, she says. Solid improvements in these fundamentals will lead to formation of more new households and will also help more borrowers come out from underwater — and trade up to a new home. They’ll also create new jobs in real estate and construction, Mracek explains.
The recent gains made in housing have some concerned that real estate could be entering another bubble market, but Mracek disagrees with that assessment. “There might be [a bubble] in some concentrated markets,” she says. “But I don’t think it will be a bubble that’s as widespread and disastrous as the one that happened in the last decade.”
Improvements have been — and will continue to be — uneven. The turnaround will probably be slower in metro areas in Florida and the Midwest.
Nationally, Mracek says the current housing recovery is real and sustainable, but she also acknowledges that the rise in home values and decline in inventories won’t maintain their current pace.
“We see prices leveling out a bit more [in the future] from the late jumps in 2012,” she says. “There are still foreclosures for the banks to work through. As prices improve, you’re going to see banks get rid of REOs.”
— Brian Summerfield, REALTOR® Magazine
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Foreclosures and Delinquency Rates Down Sharply
Foreclosures and Delinquency Rates Down Sharply
— According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) recently released National Delinquency Survey, delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties in the U.S. fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 7.09 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, the lowest level since 2008, a decrease of 31 basis points from the previous quarter, and down 49 basis points from one year ago.
While delinquency rates typically increase between the third and fourth quarters of the year, even the non-seasonally adjusted delinquency rate dropped 13 basis points to 7.51 percent this quarter from 7.64 percent last quarter.
The delinquency rate includes loans that are at least one payment past due but does not include loans in the process of foreclosure. The percentage of loans on which foreclosure actions were started during the fourth quarter was 0.70 percent, the lowest level since the second quarter of 2007, down 20 basis points from last quarter and down 29 basis points from one year ago. The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the fourth quarter was 3.74 percent, the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2008, down 33 basis points from the third quarter and 64 basis points lower than one year ago.
The serious delinquency rate, the percentage of loans 90 days or more past due or in the process of foreclosure, was 6.78 percent, a decrease of 25 basis points from last quarter, and a decrease of 95 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2011.
The combined percentage of loans at least one payment past due or in foreclosure was 11.25 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, a 46 basis point decrease from last quarter and a 128 basis points decrease from the same quarter one year ago.
“We are seeing large improvements in mortgage performance nationally and in almost every state. The 30 day delinquency rate decreased 21 basis points to its lowest level since mid-2007. With fewer new delinquencies, the foreclosure start rate and foreclosure inventory rates continue to fall and are at their lowest levels since 2007 and 2008 respectively,” said Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research.
“The foreclosure starts rate decreased by the largest amount ever in the MBA survey and now stands at half of its peak in 2009. Similarly, the 33 basis point drop in the foreclosure inventory rate is also the largest in the history of the survey. One cautionary note is that the 90+ delinquency rate increased by 8 basis points, reversing a fairly steady pattern of decline and the largest increase in this rate in three years. While we normally see an increase in this rate in individual states when they change their foreclosure laws, 38 states had increases in the percentage of loans three payments or more past due, indicating that we could see a modest increase in foreclosure starts in subsequent quarters.
“The two biggest factors impacting the number of loans in the foreclosure process still are the magnitude of the problem in Florida and the judicial foreclosure systems in some states. 12 percent of the mortgages in Florida are in the process of foreclosure, down from a peak of 14.5 percent last year but still an extraordinarily high rate that is impacting the national rate. In addition, while the percentages of loans in foreclosure dropped in almost all states, the average rate for judicial states was 6.2 percent; triple the average rate of 2.1 percent for nonjudicial states. In those cases, the ultimate reduction in the number of loans in foreclosure will have less to do with the recovery of the economy and the housing market than with the return to reasonable foreclosure timelines.
“The performance of FHA loans is mixed. While the foreclosure starts and foreclosure inventory percentages both fell, the delinquency percentages generally remained flat or increased slightly, particularly the percentage of loans 90 days or more past due. However, 44 percent of the FHA loans that are seriously delinquent were made in the years 2008 and 2009, while loans made in those years represent a smaller share of FHA’s overall book of business.
“Finally, Superstorm Sandy had an impact on the delinquency and foreclosure rates in the states that were affected, although the impacts are much more modest that what we saw after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut saw increases in total past due rates, while most other states in the nation saw a drop overall. While forbearance is in place for many of the borrowers affected by the storm, we ask servicers to report these loans as delinquent if the payment was not made based on the original terms of the mortgage regardless of the forbearance plans in place. We expect to see improvements in these states as we move into 2013,” Brinkmann said.
Change from last quarter (third quarter of 2012)
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the overall delinquency rate decreased for all loan types except FHA loans. The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate decreased 26 basis points to 3.79 percent for prime fixed loans and decreased 68 basis points to 8.02 percent for prime ARM loans. For subprime loans, the delinquency rate decreased eight basis points to 19.15 percent for subprime fixed loans and 61 basis points to 22.34 percent for subprime ARM loans. The delinquency rate for VA loans decreased by 37 basis points to 5.97 while the FHA delinquency rate increased by three basis points to 11.17.
The percent of loans in foreclosure, also known as the foreclosure inventory rate, decreased from last quarter to 3.74 percent. The foreclosure inventory rate for prime fixed loans decreased 24 basis points to 2.10 percent and the rate for prime ARM loans decreased 114 basis points from last quarter to 6.68 percent. For subprime loans, the rate for subprime ARM loans decreased 106 basis points to 18.24 percent and the rate for subprime fixed loans decreased eight basis points to 9.28. The foreclosure inventory rate for FHA loans decreased 23 basis points to 3.85 while the rate for VA loans decreased 13 basis points to 2.08.
The non-seasonally adjusted foreclosure starts rate decreased 50 basis points for prime ARM loans to 0.97 percent, 16 basis points for prime fixed to 0.38 percent, nine basis points for subprime fixed to 1.82 percent, 54 basis points for subprime ARM loans to 2.86 percent, 26 basis points for FHA loans to 0.86 percent and eight basis points for VA loans to 0.49 percent.
Change from last year (fourth quarter of 2011)
Given the challenges in interpreting the true seasonal effects in these data when comparing quarter to quarter changes, it is important to highlight the year over year changes of the non-seasonally adjusted results.
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2011, the foreclosure inventory rate decreased 42 basis points for prime fixed loans, 204 basis points for prime ARM loans, 137 basis points for subprime fixed, 393 basis points for subprime ARM loans, and 29 basis points for VA loans. FHA loans saw an increase of 31 basis points in the foreclosure inventory rate from the same quarter one year ago.
Over the past year, the non-seasonally adjusted foreclosure starts rate decreased 24 basis points for prime fixed loans, 86 basis points for prime ARM loans, 51 basis points for subprime fixed, 93 basis points for subprime ARM loans, two basis points for FHA loans and 11 basis points for VA loans.
To view the original article, click here: http://www.worldpropertychannel.com/north-america-residential-news/-national-delinquency-survey-mortgage-bankers-association-delinquency-rates-loans-outstanding-foreclosure-report-foreclosure-starts-number-of-foreclosures-in-2012-6549.php
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