It’s that time of the year when thoughts turn to chestnuts roasting on an open fire, sleighing through the snow laughing all the way, and making predictions about the future that are likely to be completely wrong. I’m working on that. But in advance of it, I thought I’d take a look at my track … Read more
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that if you have a REO or short sale practice, you want to pay attention to some legal cases going on around the country: Trouble is, MERS might lack legal standing to bring a foreclosure action. At least, that’s what the attorneys for the homeowners who are getting … Read more
As is somewhat normal, Brian Larson has a thought-provoking post on the future of the MLS up on MLS Tesseract. I gather it’s just one part of a series that he wrote a while back on Inman. In this particular post, Brian argues that interbroker compensation (aka, “Offer of Cooperation and Compensation”) is an anachronism … Read more
Just wanted to let my readers know that as of sometime in January of 2011, I will be yet another Yankee who has fled to Texas. My wife has just accepted a job at a company based in Houston, and since I can do what I do from just about anywhere, we said… what the … Read more
NAR has finally gone to the mattresses over Federal policy. Some time ago, I wrote that the mortgage interest deduction may be phased out or limited as part of Obama Administration’s new “sustainable housing” policy. At the time, I’ve heard quite a few people say, “It’ll never happen”. The thought was that the public loves … Read more
Move (NASDAQ: MOVE) has just launched MortgageMatch.com — a consumer-facing application that Move spokespersons say is the most important thing they’ve done since… well, acquiring ListHub. I’m writing this while sitting on the webinar/teleconference where they’re unveiling it, so… my thoughts are likely to be somewhat scattered. Once the announcement is made, and a few … Read more
From the dusty files of the excruciating minutiae of bankruptcy court proceedings (courtesy of the NY Times) comes this story: But while banks may have booted a few robo-signers and tightened up some lax procedures, one question at the heart of the foreclosure mess refuses to go away: whether institutions trying to take back a … Read more
From the dusty files of the excruciating minutiae of bankruptcy court proceedings (courtesy of the NY Times) comes this story: But while banks may have booted a few robo-signers and tightened up some lax procedures, one question at the heart of the foreclosure mess refuses to go away: whether institutions trying to take back a … Read more
A month ago, I read this depressing story on the Interwebs and it’s stuck with me since. Gary Shilling, the author, runs a research service for which one would pay a presumably hefty premium — I don’t subscribe to it, so I’m going simply on what’s on that website. His conclusion is that housing prices will … Read more