TRANSPARENT REAL ESTATE

New Book for Realtors - Real Estate Unleashed

Shashank Shekhar — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 06:20:00 GMT

Real Estate Unleashed - The Game has changed! Do you know How to win it? - A Book for Realtors was recently published by Create Space, an Amazon company. The book was launched at Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, San Jose, CA and San Mateo County Association of Realtors, San Mateo, CA. There are more book tours planned across several Real Estate Boards across Northern California. About the Book: Real Estate Unleashed is about the new wave of real estate - the steak and not just the sizzle. Too many Real Estate Agents don’t get the big picture. They are so immersed in what’s happening on a daily or a weekly basis that they fail to plan for what’s ahead. This book (probably the only one of its kind) tries to rectify that problem. No other book on this topic provides the bigger picture. The book starts by giving you the fundamentals of Economy, Real Estate and Lending. The authors then delve into some of the major changes that are going to impact the industry in a BIG way. It also provides you step-by-step instructions on how you can win this new game of Real Estate, the rules of which has been completely changed. Among other things, in this book you will learn: How to master the REO Business The fastest growing demographics The Buyers and Sellers of Tomorrow How to generate business on the web How to create a mega brand called YOU How to plan and execute the right way to guarantee success Little known No to Low downpayment loans that can help you close ...

What is causing Mortgage Rates to spike and what's the outlook?

Shashank Shekhar — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 17:36:00 GMT

Mortgage rates have gone up every single week for last 5 weeks - now up ~.75%. (Get the mortgage rate update in this post). It all started with Fed announcing Quantitative Easing 2. The big question is why so sudden and why so steep! There are several possible reasons:Markets are increasingly more optimistic that 2011 economic growth will be stronger than what had been expected. Expectations until a couple of weeks ago were for GDP growth in 2011 to be 3.0%, now the consensus is for growth to be at 4.0% and a decline in the unemployment rate from the present 9.8% to 8.7% by the end of 2011.The extension of the Bush tax cuts, the 2.0% cut in workers contribution to social security will put more cash in consumers' pockets.Also driving rates higher, the end of safety moves generated by issues in Europe and in the US and Congress's unwillingness to cut federal spending. The $858B tax cut bill now moving through Congress is yet one more Christmas tree filled with earmarks (pork), politicians can't do anything that doesn't end up in more unnecessary spending. The fiscal budget bill also moving through Congress is hung with earmarks driven by Democrats and with not a lot of strong resistance from Republicans.Outlook for Mortgage Rates:Since Real Estate recovery is key to overall economic recovery, you might think that the Fed won't allow the rates to continuously go up. But surprising as it may sound, the Fed doesn't directly control mortgage rates. Ben Bernanke & Co. directly control the Federal Funds rate -- i.e,. the rate at which banks lend to one another on an overnight basis and that serves as a benchmark for short-term credit. But the longer the term of the debt, the less direct control the ...

Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended for Some Military Personnel

Pat Kitano — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:25:00 GMT

Due to the U.S. military’s involvement in overseas conflicts from 2008 to the present, the government has extended the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit until April 30, 2011, for some military personnel.Those who have been unable to receive this benefit due to military service now have the opportunity to utilize the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers or the $6,500 tax credit for existing home buyers.Qualifying for the Tax CreditActive-duty military members who served at least three months outside the U.S. during the last year may be able to purchase a home with the tax credits. Service members have until April 30, 2011, to sign a purchase agreement on a home and until June 30, 2011, to close on the property. The requirements to qualify for the tax credits are the same for military member as they were for the general public, including:* The home’s purchase price cannot be greater than $800,000* Individuals can’t make more than $125,000 per year; married couples can’t have a combined income greater than $225,000* First-time buyers and their spouses cannot have owned a home in the last three years* To qualify for the $6,500 tax credit, military members must also have lived in the same house for five of the last eight years.Why is a VA loan beneficial?With a VA loan, qualified borrowers will not only be eligible to take advantage of the tax credits, but they will also have access to the numerous financial benefits the VA loan program offers.The VA loan program has helped over 18 million veterans and active duty service members achieve homeownership since 1944. VA loans allow military buyers the opportunity to purchase a home with no money down and without the need for mortgage insurance. The program also offers competitive rates and no penalties ...

Engage your community by giving them what they want: Daily Deals!

Pat Kitano — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 03:55:00 GMT

You may have been introduced to Groupon from last week's $25 for $50 worth of Gap clothes offering. It sold 441,000 coupons across America and made "Daily Deals" the war cry of the new local advertising model for the Great Recession. We've always believed the best way to engage your community is to give them what they want. In today's economy, deep discount daily deals makes complete sense. Yet, most consumers don't know hundreds of these great deals exist right in their own neighborhood. Well, give the people what they want to see: We've added a Deals! page onto our Breaking News Network that aggregates and lists all Daily Deals from Groupon, Living Social, Restaurant.com, etc. for every specific Breaking News city in map format. CentennialCoBuzz.com is the first place Centennial Colorado's citizens need to go to find every discount in their city. We also broadcast special deals automatically across the social media via Twitter and Facebook feeds: Finally, heard of "365 Things to Do" on Facebook? It's a great way to engage your community on a personal level by providing valuable lifestyle tips. What's next? We think the community wants to know about deals, so we're developing "Daily Deal" Facebook feeds (like Centennial Daily Deals) across the Network. It's an automated ticker tape of every new deal that happens in a city, and we hope consumers will monitor it and "like" it. How to Leverage Daily Deals for Community Engagement How do you build strong relationships with your business community that translates into deal flow and referrals to your business? Give your business community what it wants: free advertising and promotion via Breaking News, and its associated Twitter and Facebook feed. There's a ...

Why HOW (Home Ownership Workshop) is the new WOW!

Shashank Shekhar — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 05:57:00 GMT

Real Estate and Lending industry has always been ridiculed for not doing enough towards educating the home buyers. In fact a lot of blame for the mortgage meltdown was placed on the fact that the buyers were not made aware of "what they were getting into." Now real estate professionals across 15 states have come together to put Home Ownership Workshops (called HOW in short) for First Time Home Buyers. These professionals are part of Breaking News Network and are already providing value to their communities by being their real time media resource. Home Ownership Workshops are a series of web classes designed to educate the home buyers on different aspects of the buying process. The goal is to empower the buyers by providing them the knowledge so that they can take informed decisions. And the best part is - it's free. The topics for next 6 classes are: Financing options for First Time Home Buyers How to buy a Foreclosure or Short Sale property How to get your credit in shape before buying your first home How to choose your Real Estate Agent and Loan Officer What are the closing costs involved in buying a home 6 things you should know before you make an offer on a house A one time registration for all these 6 classes can be done at - https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/423351617 Classes will be taught by Shashank Shekhar who is a Mortgage Broker/Banker ...

The Breaking News Network is meeting at Inman Connect in San Francisco

Pat Kitano — Thu, 20 May 2010 01:19:00 GMT

We're having our first face-to-face gathering of our Breaking News Network participants at Inman Real Estate Connect between July 13-15 in San Francisco. Inman has generously offered us a 25% discount if you register here with the code BNN . Register before the prices go up this Friday, May 21! ...

Guest post: Buying Real Estate While in College: A Very Possible Dream

Pat Kitano — Sun, 09 May 2010 00:19:00 GMT

Melissa Tamura approached me to write an article about a collegiate perspective on real estate. The best thing Melissa has done in this article is to tangibly describe how college students think about real estate, and she has outlined a mission statement that can be applied to any college student. I wish Melissa all the best. In the future, with the experience of purchasing a home under her belt, she could use her blog Zen College Life to guide other college students to do the same. In fact, we have a national network of Breaking News sites run mostly by Realtors that can support her message. What do many college students desire? Freedom, independence, and perhaps, some cash in the bank. One of the best ways college students can achieve these ideals is by purchasing real estate. Yes, what once was impossible is now a very possible reality for many college students. Real estate can allow college students to be savvy investors and gain incredible amounts of money by renting rooms out to other students. This article will explain how you too can buy real estate while in college. As a future law student, personally, researching real estate in Florida has become my own hobby. My goal is to purchase a property, rent it out to other students, and thus grow a healthy profit on the property while I am in law school. Investment properties can help students pay off hefty student loans later in life.For students without a regular income, purchasing a home may seem impossible. However, it does not have to be. The key is to get your parents involved. Parents can take out a mortgage on a home, and then you pay your parents back on the mortgage payments. Of course ...

Our sponsor charity at Mortgage Revolution

Pat Kitano — Sun, 02 May 2010 18:19:00 GMT

The contraction of the news reporting industry has been well documented, and leaves behind a nagging social question. Who is funding the stories that will illuminate the good causes going unnoticed, and the investigative reporting that uncovers the Watergates. Even more important, who is charged with this kind of reporting at the local level when salaried local journalists go by the wayside? I've chosen to support a nonprofit organization developing the new journalistic models to present the stories that need to be heard and funded. Spot.us "crowdsources" reporting from an engaged community of individuals and organizations who vote with micropayments. The missions of Spot.us and Mortgage Revolution are aligned. At the core, both organizations are about making sure the channels for information distribution remain intact, for mortgages and for journalistic reporting. I'm proud of be associated with Mortgage Revolution and the contributions from all of you will help Spot.us to develop a new model to engage our communities through other organizations just like Mortgage Revolution. We ask you to stay tuned as we unveil this new model after the conference. Still time to register for Mortgage Revolution: http://www.mortgagerevolution.info/san-francisco-registration/ ...

Mortgage Panel at Virtual RE Bar Camp

Shashank Shekhar — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 18:49:00 GMT

At the recently concluded Virtual RE Bar Camp, I was on the Mortgage Panel with Mark Madsen, Chris Brown, Scott Schang and Justin McHood. The purpose of the panel was to show real estate agents who are active bloggers why it makes sense to have mortgage content on their blog. From the Loan Officer's perspective we talked about that the main purpose of contributing on their agent's blogs and also how should they decide on what blog to contribute at and how frequently. Below are the slides from the presentation. Feel free to connect with me by following me on Twitter or visiting my Mortgage Blog. Mortgage Panel at Virtual RE Bar Camp View more presentations from Shashank Shekhar. ...

Virtual REBarCamp April 6 - my new presentation on the Impact of Geolocational Media

Pat Kitano — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:15:00 GMT

I'll be presenting next week at Jim Cronin's brilliant Virtual REBarCamp. Register here and meet me on April 6 at 2:15 in room #4. My new presentation is on "The Impact of Geolocational Media" Geolocation is the new social buzz with Foursquare and Gowalla, butTwitter and Facebook are closing in with mobile services. What is the impact of theseservices beyond "checking in"? We'll discuss their strategic importanceand predict their futures. This won't be a mechanics course on how to log in at your neighborhood Starbucks, it's a high level discussion on the power of geolocation and how it will impact local advertising, online presence and... real estate. ...