Mon.Mar 25, 2024

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State Farm will not renew more than 70K property policies in California

Housing Wire

Illinois-based State Farm General Insurance will not renew 30,000 residential property insurance policies in California , as well as 42,000 commercial apartment policies in the state, the company announced last week. The company is withdrawing completely from offering commercial apartment policies — which impact multifamily property owners, not renters insurance policies — in California.

Insurance 453
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Loosening The Knot

Appraisal Buzz

Something that I like to do is to research the etymology of various words. This is essential in understanding older/historical texts, so that you can discern the usage of the word as it was intended by the author. It can be easy to merely overlay our own current usages and connotations and miss the true meaning and intent of the author’s words.

Sellers 379
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VA should expedite regulatory changes for agent commissions: CHLA

Housing Wire

On the heels of the $418 million settlement recently announced by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), mortgage trade group Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) has called on the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to expedite regulatory change that would allow veterans and active-duty service members to fund buyer’s broker commissions when purchasing a home with a VA mortgage.

Agents 437
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Truv Verifications Soon to be Available Through Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter

Appraisal Buzz

Truv , a provider of automated employment and income verification technology for mortgage lenders, banks and credit unions, is now a conditionally authorized report supplier for mortgage lenders using Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter (DU) validation service. After final approval, which is expected later this year, Truv’s consumer-permissioned platform will be able to obtain and transmit income and employment data through the DU validation service, the company says in a release.

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Global equity release market poised for significant growth, report suggests

Housing Wire

The current global market cap for “equity release” products, including reverse mortgages, could hit $50 billion by 2033, more than doubling its current size. This is according to a report compiled by the European Pensions and Property Asset Release Group (EPPARG), a trade association that represents European equity release companies. “The report gathers data from market leaders across 13 countries globally with established or developing equity release markets, and [analyzes] growth potential,” t

Marketing 437
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Long as the dog likes me…

Appraisal Buzz

The post Long as the dog likes me… appeared first on Appraisal Buzz.

Appraisal 370

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KW hit with $250M lawsuit over profit sharing reductions

Real Estate News

The class action case, brought by a former Keller Williams agent, argues that the brokerage doesn’t have the right to retroactively alter the program.

Brokerage 287
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HighTechLending adds Brian Boccia as key reverse mortgage specialist

Housing Wire

California-based multichannel mortgage lender HighTechLending appointed reverse mortgage industry veteran Brian Boccia to serve as a senior account executive in its third-party origination (TPO) channel. He joins the company after prior experience at companies like Mutual of Omaha Mortgage and Reverse Mortgage Funding (RMF). Aiming to keep in mind the financial difficulties that seniors may be facing, Boccia expressed a commitment to the reverse mortgage space and a need to understand senior pai

Mortgage 427
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KW leaders send message of calm at Open House

Real Estate News

Nothing is changing yet, and when change does come, it won’t eliminate buyer agents or cooperative compensation. ‘‘No one can force you to work for free.

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HomeServices, Hanna Holdings lead 2024 RealTrends Verified Core Services list

Housing Wire

Today’s brokerage firms must rely on core services to make up for the low margins of the residential real estate practice. As part of the brokerage rankings, RealTrends collects the number of affiliated service transactions a firm does. These numbers, part of RealTrends Verified , are submitted by the firm but not subject to our verification system.

Brokerage 427
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Forta Solutions Reports First Warehouse Loan Funded Through its Agility Platform 

Appraisal Buzz

Warehouse lending software provider Forta Solutions hit a milestone recently: the funding of its first loan through its SaaS warehouse lending platform, Agility, which launched in October 2023. Designed by warehouse lenders and built with modern technology, the platform features APIs that enable seamless integrations and automated workflows with both internal and third-party vendors’ systems.

Lending 195
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These LOs are TikTok sensations. They call a potential ban “unfortunate”

Housing Wire

It may be counterintuitive, but loan officer Scott Betley, a 32-year-old TikTok sensation , says he isn’t worried about a potential U.S. ban of the short-form video app. Betley, who has more than a decade of experience helping first-time and move-up buyers, joined NFM Lending as a loan officer in 2021. The following year, the Maryland-based lender created an Influencer Division, appointing Betley as vice president and co-creator.

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Floify Introduces Per-Loan Pricing Option for Mortgage Lenders

Appraisal Buzz

Mortgage point-of-sale (POS) solutions provider Floify has launched Lender Edition , a flexible per-loan pricing option for mortgage lenders. Floify Lender Edition is the counterpart to Broker Edition , a one-stop lending platform configured for the needs of mortgage brokers that was introduced in December 2023, the firm says in a release. Lender Edition is specifically designed to address the challenges faced by mortgage lenders, such as supporting best-in-class borrower experience, while maint

Mortgage 195
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HousingWire journalist wins prestigious data journalism award 

Housing Wire

The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) announced the winners of the 2023 Best in Business Awards , honoring excellence in business journalism from 2023. HousingWire journalist Will Robinson won the Data Journalism category for his data reporting series on the seismic changes in the real estate industry. The series was published on HousingWire.com and the DataDigest newsletter, which was launched in 2023 in partnership with CoreLogic.

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Top tips to take some of the bite out of taxes

Real Estate News

Tax time can be confusing for agents, but tracking mileage, making quarterly payments and hiring an accountant can pay off. A veteran CPA explains.

Agents 243
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Moehrl attorney: Market shift after NAR settlement ‘will take time’

Inman

Robby Braun, partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, addresses "misconceptions" about the NAR deal's impact and says Realtors who try to ignore the changes "will get left behind.

Realtors 197
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New home sales cool, but still up nearly 6% annually

Real Estate News

The inventory of new homes remains elevated, helping offset the low levels of available existing homes.

Inventory 235
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Let’s debunk 7 mainstream media falsehoods, post-NAR settlement

Inman

Premier Sotheby’s International Realty President and CEO Budge Huskey corrects the record on commissions — and the potential impact of the NAR settlement on buyers, sellers and agents.

Realty 191
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The Mortgage Collaborative Bring’s Blue Sage Solutions Interim Servicing Solution to Members

Appraisal Buzz

The Mortgage Collaborative has added mortgage technology firm Blue Sage Solutions to its roster, allowing the consortium to deliver the Blue Sage Digital Servicing Platform (DSP) to its members at preferred rates. Blue Sage’s DSP is a cloud-based system that provides all necessary functions to perform interim servicing. It revolutionizes mortgage operations through open API technology that seamlessly merges loan origination and servicing functions and is compliant at the federal, state and agenc

Mortgage 195
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DOJ launches criminal probe into RealPage amid rent-fixing scandal

Inman

The DOJ opened its investigation into the property management software firm as well as several multifamily building operators who authorities believe collaborated in a "price-fixing combination.

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test

Appraisal Buzz

The post test appeared first on Appraisal Buzz.

Appraisal 195
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NYC’s ‘worst landlord’ attacked first day of 2-month Rikers sentence

Inman

New York City's worst landlord, Daniel Ohebshalom, was punched on Friday during an inmate brawl at Rikers. Ohebshalom was sentenced for failing to fix more than 700 housing violations.

Landlords 176
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Customer Story: Takitimu North Link

GoForrmz

“ Over the last two years, it’s been nothing but great for us. GoFormz makes everything easy, straightforward, organized, and consistent. ” — Blayn Fenwick, Environmental Advisor, Takitimu North Link About Takitimu North Link Project The Takitimu North Link Project a Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Project, under construction in Tauranga, New Zealand is being delivered by a Fulton Hogan/HEB Construction Joint Venture to improve safety, access, resilience, and provide greater trav

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Squatting is having a moment. Ignore it

Inman

A few high-profile squatting cases have gone viral in recent days, but no available data actually indicates the practice of unlawfully occupying property has become more frequent.

Agents 173
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Property Taxes: Complete FAQ

BiggerPockets

It’s common to have questions about your property taxes, but one is more important than all the others combined: Why did my property taxes increase. There’s no individual answer to this question, as it can depend on a variety of factors. Here are 19 frequently asked questions (FAQs) to help you understand property taxes as a whole, and with that, determine why your taxes have increased.

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5 insights real estate professionals need this spring selling season

Inman

Coldwell Banker's recent survey reveals key insights into homebuyer and seller attitudes, offering guidance for real estate professionals.

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Are Vacant Offices the Next Big Opportunity for Residential Investors?

BiggerPockets

Are empty city office buildings going the same way as zombie shopping malls, or can they be revitalized to become residential apartments and condos?

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A man is the face of SERHANT., but the firm is powered by women

Inman

You probably know Ryan Serhant and Josh Team pretty well, but how about the firm's female leaders who are helping to drive it to success?

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No, Wall Street Is Not Buying Up Main Street—Here’s Why It’s All a Myth

BiggerPockets

Wall Street buyers only make up a tiny percentage of the market, yet there's an entire campaign to place the blame on them.

Buyers 85
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New-home sales fall abruptly in February for first time in 3 months

Inman

Sales of newly built homes slipped a modest 0.3 percent between January and February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662,000, according to data released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Marketing 165
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Owner Financing: Complete FAQ

BiggerPockets

Owner financing offers buyers and sellers more opportunities with real estate transactions. Before entering this type of transaction, it’s important to know what owner financing is, how it works, who benefits, and who pays property taxes on owner financing.

Finance 67
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How agents can thrive through the power of kindness and mindfulness

Inman

Agent Aaron Hendon shares insights about how mindfulness and kindness can have significant impacts on your business and personal health.

Agents 176
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How to “Travel Hack” Like a Pro and Get FREE Flights, Hotel Stays, and More!

BiggerPockets

Want to know how to travel for FREE in 2024 and 2025? We’re about to introduce you to the magical world of travel hacking. Never heard of it before?

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Lesson Learned: You’ve gotta put the pedal to the metal

Inman

Learn how this New York City agent and vintage car enthusiast moved to the U.S. on her own at 17 and, through hard work and determination, built a life and a real estate career to be proud of.