All posts in Issues

Looks like Verizon missed the memo …

by TampaRENews on December 29, 2011 in Economy, Issues, Technology with Comments Off

Verizon will charge fee for paying bill

Shades of Bank of America or Netflix: Verizon’s new $2 fee for paying a bill with a credit card has customers fuming.

By Karen Datko on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 5:23 PM
 Could Verizon Wireless be following the likes of airlines and big banks – nickel-and-diming customers with new fees for things that used to be free?

 Starting Jan. 15, Verizon will charge customers at $2 fee if they pay their bill with a credit card online or over the phone. There are lots of ways to avoid the fee – and Verizon users should take advantage of them – but the backlash is already building.

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Shadow inventory down 16% from a year ago

by TampaRENews on December 21, 2011 in Economy, Issues, Local Real Estate, United States Government with Comments Off

CoreLogic: 1.6M homes not yet on the market represent 5-month supply

By Inman News, Wednesday, December 21, 2011.

Inman News®

<img title=”Homes image via Shutterstock.com.” src=”http://www.inman.com/files/imagecache/article-photo/files/imagefield/shutterstock_60032393-shadow-inventory.jpg” alt=”Homes image via Shutterstock.com.” />Homes image via Shutterstock.com.

Lenders had a “shadow inventory” of 1.6 million distressed properties and repossessed homes they hadn’t yet put up for sale at the end of October, down 16 percent from a year ago, loan data and analytics provider CoreLogic reported today.

Six states account for half of the shadow inventory: Florida, California, Illinois, New York, Texas and New Jersey.

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NAR overestimated real estate sales by 14%

by TampaRENews on December 21, 2011 in Economy, Issues, Local Real Estate, MLS, NAR with Comments Off

November existing-home sales up 12% from year ago

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, December 21, 2011.

Inman News®

<img title=”Balloon houses image via Shutterstock.com.” src=”http://www.inman.com/files/imagecache/article-photo/files/imagefield/shutterstock_59837908.jpg” alt=”Balloon houses image via Shutterstock.com.” />Balloon houses image via Shutterstock.com.

The National Association of Realtors says it overestimated home sales by more than 14 percent since 2007 because an adjustment that the trade group makes to data it collects from multiple listing services to account for sales that take place outside of MLSs got out of whack over time.

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Mortgage Fees Would Rise Under Payroll Tax Cut Deal

by TampaRENews on December 20, 2011 in Economy, Florida Realtors, Issues, Local Real Estate, United States Government with Comments Off

This is a post of a real estate article written by Lenn Harley.

SMOKE AND MIRRORS AGAIN ON CAPITOL HILL.  Read more HERE.

If you’re a real estate agent, a real estate broker, a loan officer, a home buyer or a home owner,

YOU HAVE A TARGET ON YOUR BACK.

Congress has done it again.  The government has targeted one group of Americans to benefit another.  This is what Congress calls “paid for” when they design legislation to benefit one group of voters and sticks their hands in the pockets of another group to “pay for it”.  In most cases of course, the group to benefit are expected to vote for the politician(s) who sponsor the legislation.  In this case it’s an extension of the so called “payroll tax cut”.  This is not a “payroll tax cut”.  Never was and never will be.  It is a clear reduction in the withholding for FICA contribution to fund Social Security benefit recipients.  Of course, as usual, the benefit is immediate and the “pay” for it will be a charge to American home owners and buyer for the next ten years.  Have we ever seen Congress buy any votes by cutting one single $Dollar of

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Thinking about becoming a landlord? You should know this

by Deborah Farmer on December 7, 2011 in Economy, Florida Realtors, Issues, Local Real Estate with Comments Off

JUPITER, Fla. – Dec. 6, 2011 – With real estate prices low, many people are considering buying an investment property and becoming a landlord.

It might sound simple, but real estate pros warn that there’s a lot to know. The landlord who doesn’t follow such basic guidelines as conducting a thorough background check can get stuck with a nightmare tenant. It takes both business sense and common sense.

“Most of my tenants, 98 percent, are terrific,” said Jupiter real estate broker and investor Carl Presto, who owns 60 properties. “The problem is that 2 percent.”

The down economy that has resulted in real estate bargains also means it’s more difficult to find a tenant who can afford to pay first and last month’s rent and a security deposit upfront. Landlords report they have to go through 30 to 40 applicants before finding a qualified tenant.

Landlords also find they are competing with foreclosed houses, which some people rent below market, forcing rents lower.

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Take advantage of expiring tax deductions

by TampaRENews on November 25, 2011 in Economy, Events, Issues, Links, Local Real Estate with Comments Off

Real Estate Tax Talk

By Stephen Fishman, Tuesday, November 22, 2011. Inman News™

There are several tax credits and deductions set to expire at the end of the year, and given the federal deficit problem, there’s a good chance they won’t be extended. If you want to take advantage of them, you need to act before Jan. 1, 2012.

Mortgage insurance premium deduction

If you itemize deductions, you may deduct the premiums you pay for mortgage insurance, just like you do mortgage interest. However, this deduction is phased out if your income exceeds certain levels. To qualify for the full deduction, a couple or a single taxpayer must have an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less. The deduction is phased out completely if AGI exceeds $109,000.

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11 Tips for Safe Online Shopping …

by TampaRENews on November 24, 2011 in Economy, Issues, Links, Media, Technology with Comments Off
Billions of dollars will be spent online over the course of the next month, and, unfortunately, there are those that will be looking to steal some of it. Make sure you’re not a victim.
Managing Editor, Business eric_griffith@pcmag.com
  Eric Griffith
Eric Griffith

Let’s face it, there’s every reason in the world to shop online. The bargains are there. The selection is mind-boggling. The shopping is secure. Shipping is fast. Even returns are pretty easy, with the right e-tailers. Shopping has never been easier or more convenient for consumers.

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Holiday Shopping Tips from the Internet Crime Complaint Center

by TampaRENews on November 21, 2011 in Economy, Events, Issues, Links, Local Real Estate, Media, Technology with Comments Off

Prepared by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

November 21, 2011

Holiday Shopping Tips

In advance of the holiday season, the FBI reminds shoppers to beware of cyber criminals and their aggressive and creative ways to steal money and personal information. Scammers use many techniques to fool potential victims including fraudulent auction sales, reshipping merchandise purchased with a stolen credit card, sale of fraudulent or stolen gift cards through auction sites at discounted prices, and phishing e-mails advertising brand name merchandise for bargain prices or e-mails promoting the sale of merchandise that ends up being a counterfeit product.

Fraudulent Classified Ads or Auction Sales

Internet criminals post classified ads or auctions for products they do not have. If you receive an auction product from a merchant or retail store, rather than directly from the auction seller, the item may have been purchased with someone else’s stolen credit card number. Contact the merchant to verify the account used to pay for the item actually belongs to you.

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Edina Realty Pulls Its Real Estate Listings from Third Party Aggregators

by TampaRENews on November 21, 2011 in Economy, Issues, Links, Local Real Estate, Media, MLS, NAR with Comments Off

Citing a multitude of reasons that affect both consumers and REALTORS®, Edina Realty leadership decides to pull its real estate listings from third party aggregators Trulia.com and Realtor.com

Edina, Minn. – Nov. 18, 2011 – Edina Realty leadership has decided to pull the company’s real estate listings from third party real estate aggregators such as Trulia.com and Realtor.com. Edina Realty will no longer list its properties on Trulia.com starting Nov. 30, and Realtor.com in the “near” future.

“We’re confident that our decision to pull our listings from Trulia.com and Realtor.com is the right one for consumers as well as our agents and brokerage,” said Bob Peltier, president and CEO of Edina Realty Home Services. “Our clients are number one. And we have an obligation to represent them according to a specific code of ethics and state law. That means we are invested in the integrity of the information we publish on their behalf. The inaccuracies we’ve seen on third-party aggregator sites give us cause for alarm, and the reality is that we are no longer willing to surrender our business – or the consumer’s real estate experience – to third party aggregators, who are not required to operate under the same rules and laws as brokers.”

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The $8,000 housing credit ‘swindle’

by TampaRENews on November 20, 2011 in Economy, Issues, Local Real Estate, United States Government with Comments Off

Pity anyone who took the tax credit to buy a house in 2009 or 2010.

By MSN Money partner on Tue, Nov 8, 2011 2:09 PM

This repost comes from Brent Arends at partner site MarketWatch.

Call it the Great Rock & Roll Real Estate Swindle. Call it a $26 billion Bait & Switch. Call it the Mother of All Boondoggles.

Call it whatever you want.

But as foreclosures surge again and house prices continue to slide, new data out this week reveal more of the grim verdict on the $26 billion federal program in 2009 and 2010 to offer tax credits to home buyers.

You may remember that between spring 2009 and September 2010 the government handed out credits of up to $8,000 to induce people to buy a new home. It was supposed to gee up the housing market.

How’d that work out?  Click here ~ http://on-msn.com/tfgQYD

 

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