Lew Sichelman

6 days ago | uexpress.com | Lew Sichelman

A new rule regarding listing houses for sale allows sellers to opt out of placing their homes into their local multiple listing service, the idea being to give their agents extra time to peddle the place within their own companies and their networks of potential buyers. But do you really want to withhold your property from the widest possible audience just to give your agent a chance to bank the entire commission, or at least keep the payday in-house? The evidence suggests that's not a smart move.

1 week ago | miamiherald.com | Lew Sichelman

Homeowners who are in danger of losing their jobs — or who have already been laid off — have a financial cushion besides what they have in savings. It’s called equity, which is the difference between what the house is worth on today’s market and what you still owe on your mortgage. Even if you bought your house just a few years ago, you may have already built up significant equity, thanks to quickly rising prices. The trick is figuring out how you can access it before you are out of work.

1 week ago | nationalmortgageprofessional.com | Lew Sichelman

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Boston office has seen “a steady increase” in title theft — so much so that it has issued a warning to property owners and real estate professionals to beware. The scams the G-men have labeled as “quit claim deed fraud” have resulted in “devastating consequences” for owners who had no idea their properties were being sold “right out from under them.”The schemes involve fraudsters who forge documents to record a phony transfer of property ownership.

1 week ago | bankerandtradesman.com | Lew Sichelman

A new rule regarding listing houses for sale allows sellers to opt out of placing their homes into their local multiple listing service, the idea being to give their agents extra time to peddle the place within their own companies and their networks of potential buyers. But do you really want to withhold your property from the widest possible audience just to give your agent a chance to bank the entire commission, or at least keep the payday in-house? The evidence suggests that’s not a smart move.

2 weeks ago | uexpress.com | Lew Sichelman

Which would you rather pay a real estate agent to help you sell your $450,000 house: a 6% sales commission or $27,000 They’re exactly the same amounts, of course. But 27 grand sounds like a lot more than 6%, doesn’t it? And that’s why an unpublished (as of this writing) report from Stephen Brobeck, a senior fellow at both the Consumer Policy Center, contends realty professionals almost always quote percentages instead of hard-and-fast numbers.