newtontitle

Mortgage Brokers Might Be The Real Winners With Loan Modifications

According to Salon.Com, about 40 mortgage brokers and real-estate agents paid $195 to attend a seminar conducted by broker Allen Brodetsky and local real-estate attorney Steve Vondran in Long Beach to learn fresh ways to make money.

What was this new method.  Something that bankruptcy and consumer lawyers have known for some time -- Qualified Written Request, which is a request of receipts and disbursements of a mortgage loan that has to be provided to a borrower on request so they may perform an audit of their loan.

This is the first step in pursuing loan modifications.  When borrowers are unable to pay their monthly mortgage bills, a frequent occurrence in this era of self-destructing subprime loans, loan modifications allow the borrowers to renegotiate the terms of their mortgages. They pay a lower monthly charge and keep their houses, and the broker earns a paycheck for arranging the new deal.

Vondran and Brodetsky do loan mods and investigate improprieties in the loan records, and they are teaching others to do the same thing.  Many of the lenders did, and loan mod brokers who can promise their clients a legal review have an edge on the competition.By the Obama administration's account, its new housing rescue plan, which goes into effect on Wednesday, will pull up to 4 million homeowners back from the brink of foreclosure. It also offers another 5 million or so excessively indebted borrowers the chance to refinance into lower-interest loans.

Now the government is thinking about getting into the act with money and bankruptcy protection.

In California, home to nearly one-fourth of all the foreclosures in the country, there are now applications pending from some 500 brokers and real estate agents seeking to get in on this new line of business, which hardly existed six months ago. (but now has its own trade group). California's Department of Real Estate, which licenses mortgage brokers and real estate agents, has so far authorized more than 200 companies to negotiate with mortgage lenders to modify loans. They may charge borrowers whatever they choose for this service, as long as they only collect a portion of the fee upfront and take the rest once the job is completed. The going rate ranges from a flat $2,985 to about 1 percent of the amount of the mortgage, or $4,000 on a $400,000 loan.  California's state regulator urges borrowers to use loan mod advisers from the state's approved list, if they're going to pay someone for help.

The Obama plan aims to improve that dismal track record of loan mod specialist, by promising lenders that if they and a borrower can work out a deal bringing monthly mortgage payments down to 38 percent of the homeowner's income, the feds will kick in money for five years to bring down the bill even further, making it more likely the borrower will be able to keep paying, and for many borrowers, a lower payment will be all the difference between staying in one's home and going into foreclosure.

Just like mortgage brokers, loan mod companies are under no obligation to act in borrowers' financial interests, short- or long-term. Under California's model contract, which brokers are encouraged to emulate in their dealings with borrowers, almost any change to a mortgage is an acceptable result, whether or not it saves a borrower money. And while the client has to accept the proposed deal in order for the company to get paid in full, the sales forces at these firms are veterans of pressure pitches to people in tough financial situations.

Title Companies Are Feeling The Pain - We Propose A New Way

Title insurance is a percentage game.  Profitability depends a great deal not only on the number of transactions a title agency handles, but also on the dollar amount of the transaction.  So, when housing sales fall and housing prices fall it is a double whammy of sorts for title insurance companies.

What does not help the situation, however, is the absolutely outrageous cost structures in which title insurance companies have placed themselves.  Newton Title is going to strive not to do this.  Expensive marketing expenses, expensive staff that primarily deal with who they know as opposed to what they know, and the space, furnishings, and aesthetics that do not impress anybody in this day and age, are all really too much.

Let me ask you a question.  Do you really want to sit in posh surrounding, costing a princely sum, for a closing knowing that you and the property you are trying to buy or sell is paying for this opulence?  I do not think so.

The declining state of the industry is not good. Stewart Title lost $26.6 million in the last quarter, a fall of 25%.  Land America financial rating is put on negative watch.  Also, Old Republic Title lost $45.4 million in one quarter.

How does a title agency make it better.

First, do away with the free donuts and the bagel slingers.  Who needs jabbers hanging out at the water cooler.  Realtors, buyers, sellers, lenders, builders, and investors are like everybody else.  They have issue or problem to which they need quick, cheap, available and reliable solutions.  You achieve this through tech -- not glad handing.  Give them a lot of cheap, reliable and easy tech and they will reward you.  Get rid of the danish, the pens, the folios, and free cookies.  Quit insulting people in this way.

Second, get rid of the expensive staff.  Again, if you get rid of the marketeers, and apply tech, you can effectively eliminate the non-essentials for the productive.  The problem ultimately with closers or marketing personnel is that they can tell you what problems need to be corrected to proceed, but they are not lawyers and they can neither help you nor guide you in getting this accomplished.  Real estate professionals do not want deals to fall through for incidental reasons, yet it happens everyday because title companies tell a seller to clear up a lien, let us say, but can or will not provide them assistance in doing so.  The hard work of the real estate professional is then for naught.  Replace the essential staff with attorneys who have an interest in the closing.

Third, is the office space.  Get rid of it.  Tech should allow you to close where you want, when you want, and how you want.  The issue is not only convenience of the client or customer, but  in making a title company or agency profitable.  Nobody wants to deal with an unprofitable company.

Our model would not make us immune from a downturn.  It would, however, make us immune from  financial  disaster because it is one thing not to make as much money as opposed to losing money.  Again, title companies with financial problems do not make for good relationships.

We should really use these bad financial times to correct the errors in the system and try something new.

Leave It To The Banks To Overreact

Banks and other lenders get drunk with enthusiasm of making the big time with increasingly risky loans where they can charge a lot and spread the bounty around.  Almost everybody that knew anything about it knew this would come back to bite, but greed is a terrible thing to waste.  Well it did come back to bite.  Then what do the banks and financial institutes do?  Well, of course they overreact, sending the economy further into a tailspin.

I have got to admit that I have neither understood or appreciated this "rational market" theory.  There is nothing rational about it. What the banks and mortgage lenders and investment banks did was cause the solicitation of loans that they knew -- they knew -- were not sustainable.  They just hoped they could securitize them, bundle them, market them and lay them off on China, the Mideast, Europe and big US investors like insurance companies before anybody caught on.  Oh, they will say differently because each person in the chain only paid a small part, but it was motivated by the common factor of greed.

Well, now it has hit the fan.  And, what do the banks and financial institutions do?  They overreact.

According to CNNMoney, banks have been drastically tightening their lending standards, effectively putting credit out of reach for many consumers in search of mortgages, credit cards or car loans.

According to the Federal Reserve's first-quarter survey of senior loan officers at some of the nation's largest financial institutions, banks were turning away an increasing number of consumers because of credit fears.  The Fed is likely to report that this trend continued in the second quarter when it releases its latest senior loan officer survey later this month.  Hoping to preserve capital and rid themselves of these troubled loans, financial companies have, as a result, held borrowers to a much higher standard.

Hoping to clear out all the toxic mortgages from their books, banks and other lenders are also raising the bar for potential homebuyers, demanding bigger down payments and additional up-front fees, effectively pricing some shoppers out of the market.  By raising the bar, some would-be borrowers have fallen by the wayside.

While the rates on various loans hinge on a variety of factors, such as the 10-year Treasury note and the prime rate, banks tend to have some leeway when it comes to setting lending rates. And some institutions are certainly taking advantage of this fact.  Some banks, for example, are boosting rates sharply on loans in order to avoid attracting any new business. Others are upping rates simply to make a few extra bucks.

Banks must also walk a fine line when it comes to credit.  For example, some lenders will see the value in turning away new loans in order to preserve capital and to live on for another day. But, it is possible that by making credit standards too difficult, institutions are effectively turning away business and ultimately sacrificing earnings growth.  Also, banks and financial institutions run the risk of driving both existing and potential customers into the arms of their competitors - a risky proposition as borrowers can often be a repeat source of business.

Fannie Mae Will Make Getting A Mortgage More Expensive

According to CNNMoney, obtaining a mortgage is about to get more expensive and more difficult.

Fannie Mae guarantees mortgages.  It is in financial trouble.  It is taking steps to shore up its finances.  The end result, however, is that you are going to pay more for taking out a mortgage.

Fannie in announcing announcing a $2.3 billion loss said it would make major changes that could have a significant effect on mortgage liquidity and pricing.

The company said it will increase its fees, stop buying certain high-risk loans and charge a higher risk premium for buying loans in the declining market.

Fannie increased fees for some loans by a quarter of a percentage point, based on borrowers' credit scores and the amount of their down payments. It will charge, for example, 1% (up from 0.75%) for a buyer with a credit score of 680 paying 20% down.

Fannie also doubled its "adverse market delivery charge" to 0.5%. That is an across-the-board fee assessed against every loan Fannie buys, according to a Fannie spokeswoman. Fannie first instituted the charge this spring.

"It's very negative," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. "Any time there's an additional imposition of fees in obtaining a mortgage, it knocks some potential buyers out of the market."

Fannie's smaller cousin, Freddie Mac, which has also announced big losses, has been taking similar steps to shore up in finances and reduce its exposure to risky loans.

The additional fees imposed by Fannie will hit newcomers particularly hard because first-time buyers are usually most on the margins and struggling to afford a home purchase. The added fees will be passed on to borrowers and could mean quarter-point increases in interest rates.

Reducing the number of first-time buyers can have a domino effect on the market. Existing homeowners looking to trade up to bigger, more expensive homes may postpone doing so because they can't sell their present home.

Fannie will also eliminate buying Alt-A loans by the end of 2008. Alt-A loans, a category between prime and subprime, accounted for about 11% of the company's loans during the last years of the boom. They have been used mostly by people who couldn't or wouldn't document their incomes, their assets or both. These buyers will find it harder to obtain financing once Fannie stops buying the loans.

The cutback in Alt-A, however, will hurt people buying second homes to rent out or resell, rather than first time homeowners.  Removing some of them from the market will decrease demand in a market already struggling with high inventory.

Fannie and Freddie, as private companies created and sponsored by the government, have to foster home ownership while satisfying their shareholders. They have to maintain profitability or risk triggering a government rescue.

How To Sell Real Estate When You Cannot Find One Of The Owners

For a number of different reasons you can find yourself in the need of selling land or property in which you are one of the owners (but not the only owner), and you cannot find the other owner.  The question is, in that situation, what can you do?

It is a serious problem, but it is not one that does not have some resolution.

The bottom line is that you might be able to sell your partial interest in the property either to a buyer who is willing to purchase only a partial interest, or to sell the entire property with a court allowing you to keep that percentage of the sales funds (after expenses) that belongs to you, and escrowing those that do not.

First, it goes without saying that you have to make a serious and dedicated effort to find the other owner or his or her heirs, if the other owner turns out to be deceased.  This might include publishing notices in newspapers and doing public record searches, or even retaining a private investigator.

If you can still not find the other owner, you will need to go to court and file suit to partition the property. In effect, you will ask the court to either force the sale of the property to a new buyer and with you getting paid your share of the proceeds and the share belonging to the other owner being preserved for him or her.

If you do not wish to go through this process, every area usually has one or more land or property speculators that will purchase just your undivided percentage of the land and undertake this process themselves.  They will, however, typically pay you a lesser sum than what your interest is worth for the risk they undertake.

Green-Built Home Registry

The Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas is launching one of the first Green Home Registries in the country.

GreenBuiltNorthTexas.Com will launch with a listing of approximately 800 homes that have been built to green standards, including job site management, energy efficiency, water efficiency, homeowner education and indoor air quality.  And, each house on the Green MLS has been inspected twice by an independent company for compliance with green building guidelines.

You will be able to search for under builders, subdivision, city and Zip Code.

It costs home builders $30 to list a home on the site.

Texas And Houston Has Some Of The Highest Closing Costs In The United States

According to Bankrate, New York, Texas and Florida lead as the most expensive states in terms of closing costs.

The average origination and title fees nationwide on a $200,000 mortgage totaled $3,118, according to Bankrate's annual survey of closing costs. The fees in the survey don't include taxes, insurance or prepaid items such as prorated interest or homeowner association dues.  Fees in New York City were highest, averaging $4,016. Houston followed with fees that averaged $3,975. Then came Buffalo, N.Y., with fees averaging $3,845, and Miami, at $3,683.  North Carolina was the least expensive averaging $2,650.

Concerning is that as the housing market has slumped fees have actually gone up according to Mike Kratzer, president of FeeDisclosure.com, a Bankrate company, which provides consumers with information to help cut their mortgage transaction costs.  This is especially true with appraisal fees as lenders want a more thorough job done by appraisers.

The trend in lender fees is to, instead of charging separate fees for underwriting, processing and document preparation, to lump these lender's fees together into a higher fee than the formerly separate fees added together. Or, the other trend for lenders is to add e-mail, PDF and document-printing fees.

Most of the problem seems to be with the lenders and not the title companies or agencies.  But, since the title company is a neutral party, it is up to the purchaser or his or her Realtor to catch some of these junk fees.

"Question every cost. You don't just have to take it," says Christopher Cruise, who trains mortgage brokers and loan officers. "If it says 'administrative,' or 'doc prep' or 'miscellaneous,' it's just pure junk."

Even mortgage executives, when e-mailing among themselves, refer to these fees disparagingly. According to the August issue of Conde Nast Portfolio, Countrywide executives referred to some fees as "junk" and "garbage." When ordering a low-cost mortgage for a politician, the executives would specify "no junk" or "no garbage fees."

Also, be aware of double-dipping. Sometimes a loan broker will charge an origination fee and a broker fee, but this is the same thing.

If the fee seems suspicious, ask for it to be waived.

Green Can Help Sell A House In A Bad Market

Most everyone realizes the housing market is not good.  Some places it is just downright bad, and in some places it is just slow.  If it is your house not selling, then you probably think it is bad.  If it selling but you have to sacrifice everything like price to get it sold, the market is slow.  And, so it goes.

What can be done?

Well, as reported by The Daily Green and other sources, green can bring in the green.  It can actually help you sell your house.

Experts are predicting on a nationwide basis that 2008 sales will be down more than 40% from the markets peak just a few years ago, and prices will have plummeted 20%.  But, if you have to sell, you have to sell.

The good news is that you can make your house more marketable in a market with lots of choices for the buyer by making eco-renovations.  These are renovations that reduce your energy bill, water usage, clean up the air quality of the house, and generally leave the planet a better place.

Home builders are finding brisker home sales for those homes more green.

There is even a multiple listing service for green homes called listgreen.com

The steps can be small, and can start with adding better energy efficient appliances.  Repaint with low-VOC paints.  Flooring choices are critical.  Insulation is one of the best things that you can do.

Just promote the green changes made.

Texas Approves Massive Wind Power Project

There is probably nothing more important to the survival or the growing Texas real estate market than electricity.  The lack of enough availability, there will be no new construction and people will not want to buy homes or establish businesses in the area.

With this, by a vote of 2-1, the Texas Public Utility Commission granted preliminary approval  to a $4.9 billion dollar plan to build new transmission lines to carry wind-generated electricity from West Texas to urban areas like Dallas and Houston.

Texas is already the national leader in wind power and generates close to 5,000 megawatts a day using wind.  But, a lack of transmission lines has kept a lot of that power from being put to use.

If I Had The Money I Would Not Need The Loan

According to CNNMoney if you want to buy a new house in this down market you had better bring a lot of your own cash to the table.  This is because down payment requirements, as well as up-front fees, have soared.

As with any correction, there is often an over-correction.  However, it still shuts many good home buyers out of the market.  Worse, it is a self-fulfilling prophesy of sorts.  They cut off the reasonable access to loans to home buyers who can afford to make the payments, and then the housing market goes into decline.

It does not help that inflation is likely driving up costs that everybody from attorneys to title agencies feel they need to increase in order to keep up themselves, especially with the decline in business.

JP Morgan Chase is reported to be requesting a minimum of 10% down in most markets, and 20% down in hard-hit areas.  And, in Reno, Nevada, which has been devastated by the housing crises, the bank requires 25%.  Makes you wonder if the housing market was devastated by foreclosures the mortgage lenders made to people who obviously could not pay the money payments, or because they will not make reasonable loans to those who can and want to purchase those houses.

Have You Discussed Wind Power?

Green is a selling point.  Some buyers are looking for it now, and it is expected that many more will in the near future.  Some are looking for green, and some want to look at the prospect of making a property more green.  Ultimately, that conversation has to turn to wind power.

Recently, Main Street posted an article, which details some of the things you need to know to determine if a small or residential wind turbine or wind generator is a good fit.

A small wind turbine is capable of producing up to 100 kilowatts of electricity a month.  That is enough to run about five refrigerators.  So, installing one is not going to eliminate the electric company.  It will only mitigate against higher energy purchases.

The problem is often the amount of land and the unobstructed wind that can reach the turbine or fan.

Main Street recommends these steps -

STEP 1 – GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR ELECTRIC BILL
As a potential buyer, you are expected to reduce the amount of electricity you use and become more conscious of how you do use your electricity. 

STEP 2 – LEARN WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS
These devices don’t come cheap. They start around $12,000. You may ask yourself if the money you save on your electric bills will amount to the money you spent on the wind turbine.  Also, consider the wind speed in your area. An average minimum for local wind speeds of 10 MPH is required for the device to be effective. 

STEP 3 – SEEK OUT STATE REBATES
The typical payments run in terms of cash transactions, but a number of customers pay through home equity loans.  To help you need to get online and find all of the rebates that are available from state and local agencies, including tax savings, for installing these devices.

STEP 4  - LAY THE FOUNDATION
Installation takes about two days.  The first day is dedicated to laying the foundation and arranging the transmission. The second is to put the turbine up.

To go a little further than Main Street did, from a legal standpoint, you are going to have to check ordinances that might exist, restricted covenants, and the difficulty that might be faced from community organizations or HOAs, before starting.  These can always be a problem for change.

The Key To Success - Knowing Who They Are

Success is about owning things -- namely real estate.  The key to industry is really real estate when you think about it.  Not so much the real estate a particular company owns or how it is otherwise invested, but its key executives typically own expensive homes, employees have to be relocated, they have to be housed.  Key company executives sit on top of large employee pools, all of which need housing -- a place to live.  They deal with suppliers and independent contractors that do the same.  The big leagues then, in any real sense, is catering to these people either directly or indirectly.  Yet, most real estate agents, brokers or Realtors do not even know who these player are by name or in any other sense.  Too often new real estate agents just hand up their shingle, tend to the open houses of other Realtors and hope that magic strikes.  I would not count on it.

The issue is not the size of any transaction, although that is very important.  The issue is the constant flow of work that this one source can provide.  It is hard to prime the pump, but it matters how easy the water flows once it is primed.  The same is true in real estate sales.

In this regard, The Houston Chronicle has developed and has published on their website a database of Houston's highest paid executives.  It is your job to know these people.  Forget meeting them for now, to start you have to recognize the names, the companies, and other such information.  Then you have got to start cultivating leads to meet these people or at least slowly introduce them to the fact you even exist.  Will it take time and a lot of effort.  You can be sure.  But, it is starting from right here how real estate success stories are made.

Most Real Estate Websites Stink

Most potential buyers and sellers of real estate start their search for a house or property online.  Most find or clarify who they might wish to represent them online.  Real estate agents and brokers dominate online.

The problem is that the actual web presence of most real estate agents and brokerages are simply atrocious.  They are bad, and bland, and uninformative.  They offer nothing to the viewer.  Too many rely either on bad templates executed poorly, or on companies that charge good money but really only rely on templates themselves.  And, the free websites that agencies provide?  Most are just useless.

Then there are the websites on the other side of the spectrum. Design is great, but it is all just a show.  There is so much flash that for a second you might forget that the site has no real content.

Content is king.  It is not only key for placement on Google and other search engines, but what people are really looking for is content.  And, not just a list of your listings.  How too articles, posts, descriptions.  Detailed information about your market, school districts, values and the like.  Not just bad link to the MLS.  Or, what about those agency sites in which you have to input your personal information just to access MLS.  Talk about disrespecting the consumer.  Forget the flash.  A little design would be nice.  You need video.  Not slick video.  Youtube video.  Simply video that talks to people.  We are talking cheap tech, easy to use, easy to set up, and nobody does it.

It took me 10 minutes with Illustrator and Typepad to set up this site.  The site I describe might take an hour.  I am not an expert. Yet, real estate agencies and brokerages pay out the nose for this stuff and it simply does not look good.  It impresses nobody.  And why should it.  A web designer knows nothing about your market, your abilities or how you sell a property.  I hate to say it, but most sites look the way they do because they are afterthoughts in which little personal time is spent on the site by the agent or brokerage.  Someone pays to have it thrown together because, well, you are expected to have a website.

If you expect to succeed in real estate, you had better darn well concentrate on the Web a little bit better.  That is my advice.  If your brokerage is not helping you do this effectively, is not motivating you to do this actively, is not pushing you to add content, content, content, then what good is the brokerage.

Think about it this way.  How can you succeed in a market dominated or motivated increasing by the Web if you and your brokerage do not have an aggressive web strategy?  Forget about how many clients or customers you represent.  Think about how many you have given up.

Most potential buyers and sellers of real estate start their search for a house or property online.  Most find or clarify who they might wish to represent them online.  Real estate agents and brokers dominate online.

The problem is that the actual web presence of most real estate agents and brokerages are simply atrocious.  They are bad, and bland, and uninformative.  They offer nothing to the viewer.  Too many rely either on bad templates executed poorly, or on companies that charge good money but really only rely on templates themselves.  And, the free websites that agencies provide?  Most are just useless.

Then there are the websites on the other side of the spectrum. Design is great, but it is all just a show.  There is so much flash that for a second you might forget that the site has no real content.

Content is king.  It is not only key for placement on Google and other search engines, but what people are really looking for is content.  And, not just a list of your listings.  How too articles, posts, descriptions.  Detailed information about your market, school districts, values and the like.  Not just bad link to the MLS.  Or, what about those agency sites in which you have to input your personal information just to access MLS.  Talk about disrespecting the consumer.  Forget the flash.  A little design would be nice.  You need video.  Not slick video.  Youtube video.  Simply video that talks to people.  We are talking cheap tech, easy to use, easy to set up, and nobody does it.

It took me 10 minutes with Illustrator and Typepad to set up this site.  The site I describe might take an hour.  I am not an expert. Yet, real estate agencies and brokerages pay out the nose for this stuff and it simply does not look good.  It impresses nobody.  And why should it.  A web designer knows nothing about your market, your abilities or how you sell a property.  I hate to say it, but most sites look the way they do because they are afterthoughts in which little personal time is spent on the site by the agent or brokerage.  Someone pays to have it thrown together because, well, you are expected to have a website.

If you expect to succeed in real estate, you had better darn well concentrate on the Web a little bit better.  That is my advice.  If your brokerage is not helping you do this effectively, is not motivating you to do this actively, is not pushing you to add content, content, content, then what good is the brokerage.

Think about it this way.  How can you succeed in a market dominated or motivated increasing by the Web if you and your brokerage do not have an aggressive web strategy?  Forget about how many clients or customers you represent.  Think about how many you have given up.

Selling Real Estate Probably Just Got A Little Harder

As reported by Bankrate and other news sources, the federal government has finally put its foot down, and it has enacted rules that prohibit lenders from providing subprime mortgages unless the borrower can repay them.  In the past, stated-income loans (now referred to as "liar loans") allowed borrowers to exaggerate their incomes without having to provide tax records that might prove otherwise.  How good are the new rules?  That is any body's guess.  For one, the new rules do not go into effect until October 1, 2009.  Two, subprime loans have already fallen on their own from $52.3 billion in the first quarter of 2007 to just $3.3 billion in the first quarter of 2008.  What it does mean is that it is going to be much harder for real estate agents to get some types of clients or customers approved, or find those that can get approved.  This, of course, includes those that cannot pay for the loans, but also self-employed individuals and undocumented workers.

For The Love Of Real Estate, Or Love Is Where The Home Is

As reported on AP and MSNBC, Deven Trabosh, a 42-year-old single mom is trying to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.  She is offering her four-bedroom home and a shot at marrying her on the Internet in the same ad.  "I figured let's combine the ad because I'm looking for love and I'm looking to sell the house," said Trabosh, who teeters around the nearly 2,000 square-foot house in patent leather heels.

"Marry a Princess Lost in America," Trabosh wrote in the ads she posted on eBay and Craigslist last week. She describes a life of romance and travel and a home decorated with vaulted ceilings, upgraded tile and a soaking tub in a gated community with a pool and tennis courts.

Trabosh, a licensed real estate agent who hasn't practiced in years, knew she would struggle to sell the home in the troubled real estate market, but insists her fairytale ad isn't just a sales gimmick.

As reported on AP and MSNBC, Deven Trabosh, a 42-year-old single mom is trying to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.  She is offering her four-bedroom home and a shot at marrying her on the Internet in the same ad.  "I figured let's combine the ad because I'm looking for love and I'm looking to sell the house," said Trabosh, who teeters around the nearly 2,000 square-foot house in patent leather heels.

"Marry a Princess Lost in America," Trabosh wrote in the ads she posted on eBay and Craigslist last week. She describes a life of romance and travel and a home decorated with vaulted ceilings, upgraded tile and a soaking tub in a gated community with a pool and tennis courts.

Trabosh, a licensed real estate agent who hasn't practiced in years, knew she would struggle to sell the home in the troubled real estate market, but insists her fairytale ad isn't just a sales gimmick.

Can You Have Too Many Real Estate Agents?

My guess is that you can have too much of anything.  The question is do you want to inspire people to join the ranks during down times or during fast times.  It is really one of profitability.

For example, in 2001 the booming housing market encouraged many people to join the Realtor ranks.  It was a real estate sales gold rush of sorts.  Between 2001 and the beginning of 2008 the subscriber count to the MLS in Houston swelled from 14,759 to 25,867, a giant 75% increase.  It far outpaced growth, with the increase in home sales at only 52%.

It is true that the value of homes sold rose 85% since 2001, but that growth, as we are finding out, might be part and parcel of the number or real estate agents competing for business.  There are those real estate experts that claim the competition became so heavy that Realtors were listing homes at whatever price the seller requested in order to score the listing.

The truth of the matter is that this type of hyper activity hurts good real estate agents who try to do a good job and to make a good consistent living at the profession.

With the rapid increase in the number of Realtors, income decreases.  For example, the National Association of Realtors found that Realtor average income actually fell to $47,700 in 2006 from $49,300 in 2004, despite spiking sales prices and an increase in transactions.

Now the ranks of licensed real estate professionals is declining. That was not unexpected.  Many of the statewide organizations budget for substantial declines.  More importantly, fewer people are now joining the ranks for now.  For example, in California, in January, 2007 11,000 people took the licensing exam.  In 2008 it was about 1,300.  And, none of this counts the number of agents that have not left the ranks but are simply not practicing any longer.

A more reasonable number of agents will likely lead to a more stable real estate market with reasonable increase in home values eventually and better and longer lasting income for real estate agents.

My guess is that you can have too much of anything.  The question is do you want to inspire people to join the ranks during down times or during fast times.  It is really one of profitability.

For example, in 2001 the booming housing market encouraged many people to join the Realtor ranks.  It was a real estate sales gold rush of sorts.  Between 2001 and the beginning of 2008 the subscriber count to the MLS in Houston swelled from 14,759 to 25,867, a giant 75% increase.  It far outpaced growth, with the increase in home sales at only 52%.

It is true that the value of homes sold rose 85% since 2001, but that growth, as we are finding out, might be part and parcel of the number or real estate agents competing for business.  There are those real estate experts that claim the competition became so heavy that Realtors were listing homes at whatever price the seller requested in order to score the listing.

The truth of the matter is that this type of hyper activity hurts good real estate agents who try to do a good job and to make a good consistent living at the profession.

With the rapid increase in the number of Realtors, income decreases.  For example, the National Association of Realtors found that Realtor average income actually fell to $47,700 in 2006 from $49,300 in 2004, despite spiking sales prices and an increase in transactions.

Now the ranks of licensed real estate professionals is declining. That was not unexpected.  Many of the statewide organizations budget for substantial declines.  More importantly, fewer people are now joining the ranks for now.  For example, in California, in January, 2007 11,000 people took the licensing exam.  In 2008 it was about 1,300.  And, none of this counts the number of agents that have not left the ranks but are simply not practicing any longer.

A more reasonable number of agents will likely lead to a more stable real estate market with reasonable increase in home values eventually and better and longer lasting income for real estate agents.

Why A New Company In A Down Market?

I could be argued, I guess, that nobody should be considering a new title company or agency during a time of a declining in the real estate market.  But, I am not sure that is true.

First, there is the argument that there is really no good time to start a new company.

Second, in boom times, loyalties run high.  If a real estate agent is making good, easier money, even though the brokerage is not preparing the agent for the future, what is the incentive to leave?  A weaker market disrupts business relationships.  It causes agents and others to react to what is happening, and it causes them to reevaluate their situation.  I puts them in a position to make a change.  All of a sudden you can see the flaws in the business partners referred because you have the time and are not blinded by easy success.  It is easy to serve someone well in a up market.  Some companies make it look easy because in an up market it is easy.  In  a down market the truth reveals itself.

Third, as a new new title company, there is nothing to lose because the company did not participate in the better times.  Business that represents a loss for some agencies represents a gain for the new one.

It is not wise to enter at the top of the market because there is no other place to go but down.  The better choice, it would seem, is to enter at the bottom of the market where the opportunity for growth over time is the greatest.

I could be argued, I guess, that nobody should be considering a new title company or agency during a time of a declining in the real estate market.  But, I am not sure that is true.

First, there is the argument that there is really no good time to start a new company.

Second, in boom times, loyalties run high.  If a real estate agent is making good, easier money, even though the brokerage is not preparing the agent for the future, what is the incentive to leave?  A weaker market disrupts business relationships.  It causes agents and others to react to what is happening, and it causes them to reevaluate their situation.  I puts them in a position to make a change.  All of a sudden you can see the flaws in the business partners referred because you have the time and are not blinded by easy success.  It is easy to serve someone well in a up market.  Some companies make it look easy because in an up market it is easy.  In  a down market the truth reveals itself.

Third, as a new new title company, there is nothing to lose because the company did not participate in the better times.  Business that represents a loss for some agencies represents a gain for the new one.

It is not wise to enter at the top of the market because there is no other place to go but down.  The better choice, it would seem, is to enter at the bottom of the market where the opportunity for growth over time is the greatest.

Do You Need NewtonTitle.Com?

I am not your idea of a real estate partner.

Or, maybe, just maybe, I am.

Presently, NewtonTitle.Com is just a concept.  It is my own personal mind game in which I try to reason out what the perfect title company and real estate partner would look like.

I am not an escrow agent.  I am not a title company marketer.  I am not a real estate agent.  I am certainly not a Realtor.  I am a lawyer.  And, I am a lawyer that primarily involves himself in bankruptcy litigation.

But, does this matter?  Should it matter?  My initial thought is no.  After all, if you are a Realtor, contractor, developer, investor, attorney, lender or someone from the real estate professions the last thing you need is someone else soliciting you for business that fits in the same box.

What you likely need is increased productive.  You need transactional help and guidance.   You need someone and some organization that cares deeply about you, that can take the heavy matters off your shoulders, but you do not need an organization that takes too much from you, and your clients and customers.

Let us face facts.  The world is changing, and the big title underwriters claim to have a lead in this regard.  They talk in terms of "platforms" and "proprietary software and systems".  But, what does that mean exactly? The world has entered the age of cheap tech, social marketing, and open source resources.  It is all about inviting the Wold in, and the large title companies are all about keeping the World out so as no one may intrude on their platforms and software.

But, ask yourself this question, what do you believe is the best way to attract customers or clients in wanting to to either sell or buy a home or in closing the transaction they choose?  A closed in system or a wide open system that is transparent and financially accessible?  One that is burdensome or easy?

That is my background, really.  Forget the law degree for a moment. It is all about the power of the Third Wave.  You can view one of my legal blogs BY CLICKING HERE.  The same model that works for Third Wave attorneys should work here.

And, what better way to explore this process than to do so in bits and pieces right here in a blog.

As we go along, I would appreciate very much your thoughts and comments, whether good or bad.  Just email me or hit the comment link below any post.

I am not your idea of a real estate partner.

Or, maybe, just maybe, I am.

Presently, NewtonTitle.Com is just a concept.  It is my own personal mind game in which I try to reason out what the perfect title company and real estate partner would look like.

I am not an escrow agent.  I am not a title company marketer.  I am not a real estate agent.  I am certainly not a Realtor.  I am a lawyer.  And, I am a lawyer that primarily involves himself in bankruptcy litigation.

But, does this matter?  Should it matter?  My initial thought is no.  After all, if you are a Realtor, contractor, developer, investor, attorney, lender or someone from the real estate professions the last thing you need is someone else soliciting you for business that fits in the same box.

What you likely need is increased productive.  You need transactional help and guidance.   You need someone and some organization that cares deeply about you, that can take the heavy matters off your shoulders, but you do not need an organization that takes too much from you, and your clients and customers.

Let us face facts.  The world is changing, and the big title underwriters claim to have a lead in this regard.  They talk in terms of "platforms" and "proprietary software and systems".  But, what does that mean exactly? The world has entered the age of cheap tech, social marketing, and open source resources.  It is all about inviting the Wold in, and the large title companies are all about keeping the World out so as no one may intrude on their platforms and software.

But, ask yourself this question, what do you believe is the best way to attract customers or clients in wanting to to either sell or buy a home or in closing the transaction they choose?  A closed in system or a wide open system that is transparent and financially accessible?  One that is burdensome or easy?

That is my background, really.  Forget the law degree for a moment. It is all about the power of the Third Wave.  You can view one of my legal blogs BY CLICKING HERE.  The same model that works for Third Wave attorneys should work here.

And, what better way to explore this process than to do so in bits and pieces right here in a blog.

As we go along, I would appreciate very much your thoughts and comments, whether good or bad.  Just email me or hit the comment link below any post.