Five winning real estate professionals will be chosen at random to receive a comprehensive digital business and personal style makeover, including: an all-expense-paid, two-night trip to Chicago, business coaching, educational training on online marketing, a full style makeover and a professional photo shoot.

All licensed real estate professionals are eligible to enter the sweepstakes, which will run from May 15, 2012 through August 10, 2012.

HomeFinder.com’s goal in launching this industry program is offset some of the difficulties the industry has faced over the past few years. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reported a 25 percent decrease in the number of members from 2007 to 2011.

“By providing digital marketing coaching and style makeovers, HomeFinder.com wants to give the winning agents tools to help rebuild their business and jumpstart this next era for the real estate industry,” said Mark Tepper, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at HomeFinder.com in a news release.

The five winners of the 2012 Agent Makeover Sweepstakes will be flown to Chicago from September 12-14, where they will stay overnight in a exclusive hotel off of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and receive expert coaching from local industry leaders on specific social media practices, SEO coaching, and online marketing techniques.

The winners will also undergo a full makeover to include hair and makeup styling at a revered Chicago salon, wardrobe consultation, and a professional photo session to conclude the style makeover. A networking dinner will be held on the evening of September 13, 2012.

“Our Agent Makeover Sweepstakes will give the winning agents the opportunity to improve their business in a way that is fun and engaging, and to enjoy some rejuvenating time away in our hometown,” said Tepper. “When they return back to work, we hope they will take with them the valuable knowledge and tools to take their business to the next level.”

Contestants may enter the contest twice: once by visiting the HomeFinder.com site and once through their Facebook page. Winners will be chosen on August 15, 2012 and contacted directly.

Greg Herb

A Pennsylvania Realtor® was one of two Realtors® presented with NAR’s Federal Political Coordinator Meritorious Service Award yesterday during the National Association of Realtors®’ Mid-Year Meeting in Washington, D.C.

“Greg is an outstanding Realtor® and community leader who is most deserving of NAR’s recognition,” said Congressman Gerlach. “Just as importantly, he is a terrific spokesman for the real estate industry and the key role it plays in the economic vitality of our communities. NAR could not have picked a finer honoree than Greg Herb.”

Herb coordinated a Real Estate Roundtable with Gerlach in 2010. He volunteers in a variety of capacities with Gerlach’s campaign, including making phone calls and serving on the Finance Committee for Gerlach.

Herb is a tireless advocate on behalf of his fellow Realtors® on state issues as well. He serves as a key contact for state Senators Bob Mensch and John Rafferty and Representatives David Maloney, Thomas Quigley and Marcy Toepel.

As PAR’s Legislative Chair for the last two years, he championed the campaign against Private Transfer Fees (PTFs) and mandatory sprinklers in new home construction. Legislation on these issues was signed by Gov. Tom Corbett last year. Herb has continued to fight to regulate Appraisal Management Companies in Pennsylvania and that legislation passed earlier this year. He also testified on the Mechanics’ Lien and CO detectors before House and Senate hearings.

Herb encourages other Realtors® to get involved in legislative issues. He produced videos about PAR’s legislative actions and since implementing the new videos, PAR has marked an increase in Realtor® responses to Calls-to-Action.

“Greg has a real passion for government affairs and is willing to make personal sacrifices in order to ensure that the Realtor® voice is heard on the Hill,” said PAR President Frank Jacovini.

“He is always ready to drop everything to assist when a legislative ‘emergency’ arises, no matter how busy he may be,” Jacovini added. “Greg is a real asset to PAR and my right-hand man when I need assistance in the political advocacy arena.”

A strong Realtors® Political Action Committee (RPAC) supporter, Herb is a Golden “R” investor and a member of the President’s Circle.

Nearly 1,300 Realtors® are expected to be at the Washington Monument on Thursday, defending home ownership and creating a visible presence uniting for private property rights.

Realtors® visiting the Virtual Rally can show their location on a map – showing that Realtors® from across the United States support home ownership. Once Realtors® have logged onto the Virtual Rally, their participation message will automatically be sent to their members of Congress.

The Realtor® Rally program is expected to begin at 9:30 a.m. Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD), Sen. Isakson (GA) are slated to speak during the program.

Coverage of the events in Washington will also be featured on Facebook, Twitter and videos posted on the Virtual Rally site.

“The scholarship is a great opportunity to either complete a course for broker’s credit or to earn a designation,” said LouAnn Kenney, chair of PAR’s Member Services Coordinating Committee. “The $500 can also be used to cover the cost of the course and travel expenses.”

Scholarships of $500 are presented annually to eligible PAR members who demonstrate a desire to complete educational programs above and beyond the level of state-regulated continuing education.

“Winning the PAR scholarship allowed me to take advantage of many classes that I would not have otherwise had the opportunity to experience and learn from,” said Beth Colvin, a Realtor® with RE/MAX in Johnstown and 2012 scholarship winner.

Colvin says the scholarship has allowed her to assist customers with what she believes is the best and most up-to-date information. “I pride myself on customer service and the scholarship has only helped me to become more knowledgeable and has raised the bar on my personal goals,” she said.

Realtor® Joan Shields of Lebanon, who earned the ABR (Accredited Buyer’s Representative) designation, believes earning designations allows Realtors® to better serve their clients.

“The scholarship program is one of the benefits that more Realtors® should use,” Shields said. “I am very dedicated to my career in real estate and believe that education and earning designations enables me to provide better service to my clients. I would not have been able to earn my ABR had it not been for the scholarship program.”

Interested applicants must be an active PA Realtor® and have held Realtor® membership for at least two years. Previous recipients of the scholarship are ineligible to apply for additional scholarships.

To apply, fill out the application and mail to: PAR, Attention: Sam Neely, 500 North 12^th Street, Lemoyne, PA 17043-1213. An email will be sent to confirm receipt.

Applications must be received by PAR by July 31, 2012. The scholarship term begins January 1, 2013 and ends December 31, 2013.

The report also revealed that a projected 4.8 million people have posted about where they planned to go on a certain day, a potential tip-off to burglars, while 4.7 million have “liked” a Facebook page about health conditions or treatments, details that insurers might use against them.

Many users don’t expect the information they post to go beyond their own network of friends, but the report devotes an entire section to how they can lose control of that information, particularly through Facebook apps and games.

“Whenever you run one, it gets your public information, such as your name, gender, and profile photo, as well as your list of friends even if you haven’t made that list public. And if you give the app certain permissions, it can peer deeper into your data and even see information that your friends share with you, unless they have specifically forbidden sharing with apps in their own privacy settings,” the report stated.

“The result is that unless you’ve chosen your privacy settings meticulously, a friend who runs an app could grant it access to your information without your knowledge. Given that fact, it’s troubling that our survey found that only 37 percent of Facebook users say they have used the site’s privacy tools to customize how much information apps are allowed to see.”

Users can do more to protect their privacy and security on Facebook, Consumer Reports noted, and offered the following tips:

• Think before you type. Even if you delete an account (which takes Facebook about a month), some information can remain in Facebook’s computers for up to 90 days.
• Regularly check your exposure. Each month, check out how your page looks to others. Review individual privacy settings if necessary.
• Protect basic information. Set the audience for profile items, such as your hometown or employer. And remember: sharing information with “friends of friends” could expose it to tens of thousands.
• Know what you can’t protect. Your name and profile picture are public. To protect your identity, don’t use a photo, or use one that doesn’t show your face.
• “Unpublic” your wall. Set the audience for all previous wall posts to just friends.
• Turn off Tag Suggest. If you’d rather not have Facebook automatically recognize your face in photos, disable that feature in your privacy settings. The information will be deleted.
• Block apps and sites that snoop. Unless you intervene, friends can share personal information about you with apps. To block that, use controls to limit the information apps can see.
• Keep wall posts from friends. You don’t have to share every wall post with every friend. You can also keep certain people from viewing specific items in your profile.
• When all else fails, deactivate. When you deactivate your account, Facebook retains your profile data, but the account is made temporarily inaccessible. Deleting an account, on the other hand, makes it inaccessible to you forever.

Consumer Reports based its conclusions on a survey of 2,000 U.S. households. It estimates Facebook’s entire U.S. user base at around 150 million people. The full report can be found in the June 2012 issue of Consumer Reports and online at ConsumerReports.org

The number of reported mortgage foreclosure scams has shot up 60 percent so far in 2012, according to a report from the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF). Nearly half of the scams involve individuals claiming to offer “legal services.”

“Regretfully, every new government initiative spawns a slew of foreclosure avoidance scams, often from the same cast of characters doing business under various names to avoid easy detection and identification,” said Colleen Hernandez, CEO of the foundation,  in a news release that accompanied the findings.

“Most of these scams involve individuals supposedly offering mortgage foreclosure avoidance assistance that trained HPF counselors provide at no cost. Sadly, with most scams, no meaningful services are ever provided,” she added.

An Austin, Texas man was sentenced last week to five years in federal prison for bankruptcy fraud and identify theft in connection with a nationwide foreclosure-rescue scheme. Frederic Alan Gladle pleaded guilty in January after admitting that he operated a scam from 2007 to 2011 that raised $1.6 million from victims.

Prosecutors said Gladle, 53, recruited homeowners who were in danger of losing their homes and told them that he could delay foreclosure for $750 a month. He then submitted false documents in bankruptcy courts, adding his clients’ homes to unrelated bankruptcy cases, temporarily delaying banks’ efforts to foreclose on the homes.

With the threat of foreclosure constantly looming there are many potential victims available for these scammers. One in every 622 housing units received a foreclosure filing in March, according to the most recent stats from RealtyTrac.

HPF has a website listing six main warning signs of a scam. The FTC also has advice on avoiding mortgage-relief scams. HPF encourages anyone who has questions to call (888) 995-HOPE.

Method of research

The authors of the study sought to measure changes in overall real estate market values at both county and municipal levels. Changes at these two levels reflect the sum value of all properties in a given locale – data which may significantly affect future appraisals. Researchers examined market values from 2007 to 2009, the early years of Marcellus development. The study did not include more recent data but Realtors® may still gain insight into a realm of great uncertainty.

Impact on market values

Market value is an estimate of what landowners would receive if they sold their properties in a competitive market or, stated another way, the fair price buyers likely would pay. Changes in overall market values reflect changes in demand for property in general.

Looking at changes on a broad county level, the study found no real pattern linked to Marcellus development. From 2007 to 2009, counties with more than 90 new wells increased average property values by 13.8 percent – only slightly higher than the 13.7 percent average increase in counties with no new wells over the same period. Statewide property values on average increased by 12.5 percent.  By contrast, counties with low or medium level Marcellus activity experienced slightly smaller average increases.

Impact was more directly felt at the local municipal level. Townships and boroughs with a greater number of wells saw property values increase more dramatically than those with fewer wells. Municipalities with 20 or more Marcellus wells experienced a 15.8 percent increase in average market value, compared to an increase of only 12.2 percent in those with no wells.

Implications

The most surprising fact from the study is that, when looking at broad regions of the real estate market, Marcellus Shale development has had a relatively minor impact on overall values. General trends, however, may fail to address questions about changing market values for parcels immediately adjacent to drilling activity.

The research only reflected the overall value of properties in areas of Marcellus development. In communities with significant drilling activity, real estate is impacted by a variety of factors affecting market value. Hotels and support services have emerged, increasing the market value of nearby parcels. On the other hand, properties near well sites or compressor stations have suffered from property damage and decreased water quality. The impact of development on individual landowners often depends upon location relative to such changes, not simply on overall activity in an area. Tremendous value increases for properties with productive wells may be offset by decreases elsewhere in an area.

More research is needed certainly to determine the impact of Marcellus development on current property values in Pennsylvania. But this study provides some of the first comprehensive data drawn from actual market transactions. While single purchases in the Marcellus region continue to be a speculator’s game, this new information can provide Realtors® with a deeper understanding of the factors impacting overall market trends.

According to the report, the two key forces are driving the green growth: green homes are often viewed as higher quality and can potentially save consumers money on utility costs.

The Green Home Builders and Remodelers study found green homes comprised 17 percent of the overall residential market in 2011, and that number is expected to grow between 29-38 percent of the market by 2016.  This equates to a five-fold increase.

According to the report, construction industry professionals report an even steeper increase in green home remodeling. Thirty-four percent of remodelers expect to be doing mostly green work by 2016, a 150 percent increase over 2011 activity levels.

Many home builders have shifted to the remodeling market due to the drop in new home construction. In fact, 62 percent of the builders who do both new and remodeling work verified that the economy has increased their renovation work.

In a press release by McGraw-Hill Construction, Harvey M. Berstein, vice president of Industry Insights and Alliances, said “The housing market is critical to the U.S. economy and the results of our study show that despite the drastic turndown in housing starts since 2008, green has grown significantly as a share of activity-indicating that the green market is becoming an important part of our overall economic landscape.”

Forty-six percent of builders and remodelers said “building green” makes it easier to market themselves in a down economy, and 71 percent of firms that are dedicated to green home building reported the same.

By 2016, many more builders anticipate that they will be dedicated to green building work on over 90 percent of projects, the report concluded. Remodeling will grow even more dramatically with 22 percent of remodelers reporting that they anticipate they will be dedicated to green work in 2016.

The green home building study, produced by McGraw-Hill Construction in conjunction with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Waste Management, was designed to provide key insights into market opportunities. The full report is available for viewing on the McGraw-Hill website.

While the Seattle based company has been allowing users to search neighborhoods on WhitePages.com, the tool comes to mobile in a new version.

The company, which has already recorded more than 17 million mobile downloads, released the new and improved version last week giving users free access to more than 200 million residential listings and 30 million neighborhood businesses.

The recent updates include a new “Nearby People” feature to make it easy to get in touch with neighbors. Users are given access to neighbors’ phone numbers, mailing addresses and household members.

“This functionality gives you instant access to your neighbor’s information,” said Michele Mehl, a representative for WhitePages. “If you’re a Realtor®, you can use the app to type in your listings and find nearby people or businesses. You can also use the information to call neighbors and ask them what it’s like to live in the neighborhood or how the schools are, and so on.”

The information can also be used to contact neighbors in the event of an emergency. “If your neighbor left their garage door open or there’s a fire, you can use the app to find their contact information and let them know,” she added.

Mehl says the contact information provided through the app is public information. “Anybody can go into WhitePages.com and edit their information or make it private. You have complete control over the way you’re listed on the website. Many people actually prefer to add information such as email addresses.”

Another feature is the new “Nearby Stores” functionality. The app allows users to explore and find nearby businesses in over 30 top categories throughout neighborhoods across the U.S. In addition, the app allows users to share their destinations with followers on Facebook or Twitter.

The WhitePages app can be downloaded for free in iTunes.