article thumbnail

Side’s Hilary Saunders discusses the evolution of brokerage models

Housing Wire

Photo credit: AJ Canaria Hilary Saunders , the co-founder and chief broker officer at Side , sees the current challenges facing the real estate industry as yet another opportunity for brokerage models to further evolve. “I Hilary Saunders speaks at The Gathering by HousingWire on Monday, April 22.

Brokerage 421
article thumbnail

Former Homesnap employees stole trade secrets over online marketplace tech, CoStar alleges

Housing Wire

Online real estate market provider CoStar Group has sued former Homesnap founder Guy Wolcott and three others for allegedly stealing trade secrets related to its online information platform feeding its various marketplace products, including Homes.com and Apartments.com , according to court documents obtained by HousingWire.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Reffkin trades in Compass stock for $7M cash bonus

Housing Wire

While the firm has succeeded in trimming costs and reducing operating expenses , it is now finding itself in the crosshairs of multiple copycat commission lawsuits , which will lead to an increase in legal costs. For the changes to Reffkin’s compensation plan alone, Compass will pay $25,000 in legal fees, according to the SEC filing.

article thumbnail

ALTA: Protecting property rights with title insurance

Housing Wire

For most real estate industry professionals, title insurance needs no introduction. A trusted product , title insurance has been used to protect real estate transactions and property rights for over a century. Diane Tomb, ALTA CEO Contributor. In fact, Iowa’s total closing costs were higher than 12 other states in 2021.

Insurance 473
article thumbnail

The opportunity cost of modern-day redlining

Housing Wire

Modern-day redlining persists, and it’s costing lenders millions in legal fees. Recently, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken a strong stance on redlining, taking direct legal action against bad actors and thrusting the topic into the national spotlight. More recently, Patriot Bank paid $1.9

article thumbnail

Title insurers reckon with attorney opinion letters

Housing Wire

When they talk about reducing closing costs for underserved communities, these people need title insurance more than anybody else because while $10,000 in legal fees may be doable for someone who owns a $4 million house, it is a struggle for someone who owns a $140,000 house.”.

Insurance 396
article thumbnail

Investment Property: How Much Can You Write Off on Your Taxes?

Zillow

There are certain things you can do as a real estate investor to help manage your tax bill and maximize your after-tax return on investment. To do so, however, you need to understand the primary ways in which investment real estate portfolios get taxed. A third way, estate tax , applies only to dead investors.).