In Oregon and Washington, Certified Commercial Investment Members have been cutting down the number of their expensive social events like golf tournaments and hotel lunch programs and relying on lower-cost marketing strategies such as online networking, real estate blogging, classified ads listing and meeting people at events organized by other people.

According to Linda McClellan, head of the Clark County Association of Realtors in Washington State, the struggles of the real estate selling industry are shown in the sharp drops in realtor association membership across the country.

Her 88-year-old association, for instance, has already lost 800 members since 2005, when 2,200 real estate professionals were enthusiastically earnings loads of money from selling and buying properties. This year, McClellan expects about 200 more members to cancel their membership.

CCIM, meanwhile, expects its average of 300 members to drop this year due to continued uncertainties in the residential and commercial property subsectors. Association leaders feel that commercial real estate brokers are being swayed by the rising trend of finally retiring from work or retooling for other jobs or businesses.

To cope with declining membership, associations have been eliminating the perks they previously offered to their members. When holding retreats or other big events, they approach companies for sponsorship.

Linda Fisher, president of the Portland chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women, said she has been working harder to solicit sponsorship from companies. During the boom, most companies can easily give $2,000 to be the sole sponsor of an event. These days, Fisher said, the most she can collect from one firm is $500.

According to Anita Rifberg, president of the Southwest Washington-Oregon chapter of CCIM, real estate brokers today need to exert more effort to find networking opportunities in affordable ways. They also need to update themselves continually about changes in the market. Once they fall into complacency, it would be very difficult to get back, reconnect with movers in the business sector and start again.

According to many real estate professionals, it would still benefit commercial real estate brokers to stay as members of professional associations because these groups exercise greater power in business communities, provide networking opportunities, support advantageous legislation and conduct continuing education in the real estate business.

Analysts, including Mark Zandi of Moody’s Economy.com, believed that more lenders agreed to short sales in 2009 as the Obama administration included short sales in its options for preventing foreclosures.

Out of the more than 2.8 million homeowners that received delinquency or foreclosure notices in 2009, over 871,000 ultimately lost their homes while the rest – about 1.9 million – were able to save their properties either through loan modifications or short sales or by simply paying their arrears and restoring their accounts to current status.

In many cities, short sales are increasingly accounting for a bigger portion of total home sales. In Indianapolis, according to the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors, as of the first week of January, 8.2 percent of home sales available for sale are properties in short sale.

In the Elk Grove section of the Sacramento area, foreclosure sales fell year-over-year by more than 46 percent in December while short sales shot up by 114 percent.

Recently, several real estate brokers in Chicago completed their training to earn the Certified Distressed Property Expert designation to be able to handle more competently short sales and take advantage of the sharply rising market for short sales.

Brokers who are trained in handling distressed sales know what lenders expect and know how to negotiate with them. Additionally, as short sales oftentimes involve deep emotions on the part of homeowners, brokers are better equipped to understand owners and to walk them through the short sale process.

In New Mexico, broker Deanna Dopslaf, president of counseling service Southwest Foreclosure Alternatives, strived to become one of a few certified default resolution experts in the state because she saw opportunities in specializing in the short sale niche. She admitted that short sales take months to complete and that commissions are uncertain, but she has discovered that she has the ability and compassion to help distressed homeowners.

In another report released by Point2 Technologies, real estate professionals throughout the U.S. said that they are optimistic about the housing sector in 2010. Real estate brokers who participated in the survey said that foreclosures and low appraisals will continue to batter the residential market, but they hope that the market corrections taking place will soon stabilize the real property sector.

Therefore having adequate home insurance is important because of the serious problems and inconveniences under insurance may create. Compared to those without insurance, the possessors of an adequate home insurance policy can live with the feeling of security that their homes, as well as its furnishings, and other related buildings are ensured. Generally speaking, home insurance provides coverage against losses caused by natural disasters. Nevertheless, those who live in a high-risk area need to be careful, as for them, losses related to natural disasters may not be covered. The coverage level must be checked individually, as each policy is different from one another!

In comparing several insurance types and products, the most important thing is comparing the coverage level. This is even more important than the price of the policy. For instance, certain home insurance products also have a personal liability component, which can be very useful for instance if our neighbours’ properties are damaged due to some problems in our house, such as fire. In this case an appropriate insurance will pay for the damages suffered by our neighbours.

There are thousands of insurance companies that provide coverage to those who want to protect their properties. Therefore a careful comparison needs to be done between several offers in order to choose the cheapest one that provides the most extensive coverage. It is very useful and one may save time with doing this job with an online comparison tool. This service is free, easy to use, and one may get home insurance quotes in the shortest possible time and from various companies. If people compare these quotes it should be obvious which product offers the best rates.

A good home insurance product should provide comprehensive coverage at the lowest rates possible, and it should cover the following features. First of all, it must cover the home structure. Second it is desirable for home insurance to cover the house owner’s personal belongings as well as his/her liability to others. Finally, it is useful if the contract contains information regarding the situation if the policyholders’ house is damaged in such a way that people have to shift elsewhere until the house is repaired completely. A good policy must ensure to pay the living expenses in similar cases for the policyholder and his/her family during the whole period of the reparations.

So let’s see in practice what kind of details should be provided and selected in order for people to get a free home insurance quote and choose an appropriate policy! The first section usually refers to property and applicant’s details. Regarding property details, applicants have to answer several questions referring to the property type they own. One has to select one answer from the following list: house, terrace, bungalow, flat or other. The next step is a short property description, which is followed by questions concerning the year that the property was built, the roof construction (tile, slate, concrete, felt on timber, asphalt, corrugated iron, timber, thatch, shingle, glass, or other), as well as the external wall construction (brick, stone, concrete, timber, timber frame with plaster panels/ brick walls, prefabricated – (non)combustible, flint, glass, corrugated iron, or other). Similarly, people have to write the number of bedrooms the house has and the number of smoke alarms.

Finally, applicants have to give the answer to these questions:

• Has the property or adjoining property ever shown signs of subsidence, heave, landslip or cracking?
• Has the property ever suffered from flooding or is it within 400 m of water?

The next step is a short security details section, that refers to the burglar alarm system of the property (if it has any), if the house is situated in a Neighbourhood Watch area, if all externally accessible windows are fitted with key operated locks, and if lock is fitted to main external door. The more security feature, the better.

The last section contains some questions referring to personal information, such as occupancy details, ownership status (landlord tenant, mortgaged, or owned outright), as well as the answer to the question if the property is usually occupied during the day and the night.

Although these steps seem to be complex and probably confusing, they are not at all! People only have to write a few short sentences and choose the right answer to some simple questions. Applicants only need like five minutes to get through this process which ends with getting free quotes from different insurance providers. It is remarkable that online comparison tools only deal with reputable companies, so one can be sure the list he/she gets contains only safe offers. And if there seems to be an adequate home insurance product, people can apply immediately by pushing the button next to the corresponding (chosen) insurance quote. So practically, one may compare the different offers, choose an appropriate home insurance and apply for it within a few minutes!

Last but not least, it is worth the effort of purchasing an adequate home insurance policy because this can protect people from the nerve-racking thoughts of their property not being safe! A final advice for future home insurance policyholders is to take their time and read out the insurance contract carefully, do not miss out the small print and the excluding factors in order not to be deceived by hidden information! Remember that concluding an adequate home insurance means safety and security every homeowner should consider getting!

In Westchester, New York, forming teams of three to five real estate agents operating under another name within a larger real estate brokerage has been gaining ground. An example is the broker team in Rye called Alix Prince Team, which is part of the brokerage Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International.

Prince said she and three other real estate agents work together and then divide whatever commission they get based on each agent’s contribution to the sale and then share part of the commission to their brokerage.

According to Prince, a team is more successful if each member has a particular skill and contributes a significant asset to the team. Her team consists of young agents who are able to produce new listings using their past work experiences and social networks.

In Manhattan, Elaine Clayman, who heads an 8-member team operating under brokerage Brown Harris Stevens, said that clients prefer working with teams because they do not have to worry about a particular real estate agent resigning and leaving transactions uncompleted because there are other home brokers in the team who will take over.

In Larchmont, New York, Tom McGuire and three other real estate agents at Weichert Capital Properties and Estates formed Realtors 4. Unlike other models for teams, they split evenly the commission. They do not have to analyze each agent’s contribution to the sale. Two of them get better listings and the two other agents work better as buyers’ representatives.

The White Plains team of Christine Ricci works within Keller Williams Realty. Her team is comprised by two buyers’ agents, an administrative officer, a part-time coordinator for marketing and a bookkeeper working part-time. Ricci explained that the responsibilities should be clear to avoid the common pitfalls of work teams.

Ralph Roberts, author of the book “Power Teams,” said that one of the problems in teams is handling egos, as some are better than others in producing money. But he reiterated that during these times when the competition is fierce and the market is struggling, agents and brokers need help from their colleagues.

Nevertheless, according to Stephanie Singer, spokesperson for the National Association of Realtors, despite the rise in the number of realtor teams working within larger brokerages, only about 9 percent of NAR home brokers are members of teams.

Consequently, the form titled Advance Fee Agreement for Loan Modification Services can no longer be used.
So if you are a homeowner looking for a real estate professional, lawyer or foreclosure prevention firm to help you obtain loan modification from your lender, remember that you can no longer be charged advance fees.

Last October 11, the law prohibiting the collection of advance fees for loan forbearance or modification services covering one- to four-unit residential units was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the law took effect immediately.

For those who have already signed loan modification contracts with a broker before October 11, the agreements are still valid, but you can no longer be charged for additional fees until the loan modification service is completed.

Just make sure that the broker you have hired is licensed in California and that he holds the No Objection letter issued by the Department of Real Estate before October 11. See to it also that he is providing you the services described in the contract.

You can check if your loan modification specialist has a No Objection document by going to dre.ca.gov/cons_adv_fees_list.asp.

For home brokers who have not yet been updated about the law and unknowingly collected advance fees after October 11, they must return the fees fully and immediately.

For homeowners who want to check foreclosure prevention or loan modification specialists that have pending cases or complaints against them or have been ordered by the DRE to stop providing loan modification services, they can go to dre.ca.gov/cons_drs.asp.

If you are being approached by brokers or lawyers offering or providing loan modification services but are charging you fees in advance because of purportedly special exemptions, report them to the Department of Real Estate, California Attorney General or California State Bar.

Homeowners are often lured into signing deceptive foreclosure prevention agreements because they are swayed by the knowledge of swindlers concerning their mortgages. But swindlers research foreclosure notices and other publicly available records to get information.

All in all, deal only with home brokers or lawyers who are licensed and well-recommended and whose backgrounds you have already checked.

So you can decide best which type of broker to choose, the differences between these two types of brokers are described here.

A full-service discount real estate broker offers sellers and buyers the full range of realty services at a commission rate lower than the predominating commission rate in the area. In a market where six or seven percent is the predominating commission rate, the full-service discount broker may charge only three or four percent.

Additionally, in states that have no laws on brokerage incentives, the full-service discount broker may provide rebates, gift certificates, vouchers, coupons or discounts to the home seller or buyer. Rebates are often equal to one-percent of the home purchase price. All these incentives are provided to encourage the use of the services of the discount broker.

According to real estate experts, rebates are often used to go around the rules of commission agreements, particularly for the home buyer and the buyer’s broker. Giving rebates to home buyers will enable discount real estate brokers to compete in attracting clients. However, this is only possible in states where there are no laws about real estate incentives.

For clients planning to hire flat-fee brokers, they should know the brokerage services that will not be offered.

A flat-fee broker, or sometimes called fee-for-service or limited-service broker, allows house sellers to choose which among the typical services provided by full-service brokers to pay for. Some flat-fee brokers have arranged different arrays of brokerage services into packages with corresponding rates, ready to be shown to prospective home sellers. Some list basic services into packages and then offer other services as options.

Many flat-fee brokers offer a Multiple Listing Service-only package. This enables home sellers who cannot access MLS to list their houses in these listings.

On the whole, flat-fee brokers fit home sellers who know how to carry out some aspects of the home selling or buying process, but who are not knowledgeable or who need assistance in other aspects while full-service discount real estate brokers fit home sellers or buyers who need all brokerage services but at a discounted cost.

According to brokers who attended a conference of the California Association of Realtors in San Jose this week, the median price for a previously owned single family-house will increase to $280,000 next year, an increase of 3.3 percent from the projected median of $271,000 for this year.

Home sales, meanwhile, are predicted to drop to 527,000 next year, a decrease of 2.3 percent from the projected home sales of 540,000 for the current year.

The projected increase in home prices next year follows two consecutive years of sharp price declines – more than 38 percent of price drop in 2008 and the projected price drop of nearly 22 percent this year. The projected home sales increase of nearly 23 percent this year follows the 26.8-percent home sales increase last year.

James Liptak, who leads the California home brokers, said that the statewide housing market is now defined by two market sectors which are performing differently. He explained that the low end has been attracting investors and first time home buyers while the high end is facing difficulty because of the lack of financing and uncertainties about the direction of prices.

Another major reason for the weakness in the higher end of the market is the disappearance of move-up buyers, according to Mark Hanson of property research firm Field Check Group. He said that move-up buyers cannot sell their properties at a price that would enable them to buy a higher-priced home.

Hanson also predicted that home sales at the lower end of the market will drop because of the drop in inventory. But he added that the inventory will grow if redefaults increase and if loan modifications and other foreclosure programs fail.

Meanwhile, Dave Stark, explained that activity in the housing market next year will depend on the availability of home loans. He explained that home price reductions are in part caused by tougher access to home financing. Stark, director for public affairs for an association of home brokers in Alameda County, also added that demand and supply will still be the main factors in determining how the California market turns out next year.

But now, many brokers are asking for financial documents before showing homes for sale, especially higher-priced units. Some argue that they do not want to waste precious time showing properties to people who are only looking or people who mistakenly think they can afford the properties.

Up to now, many prospective buyers are still offended if they are immediately bombarded with questions about their capability to pay even before they can obtain important information about the properties.

In cases where brokers or listing agents ask for detailed financial statements that include pay stubs, tax returns and bank statements before they can be shown the properties for sale, prospective buyers are hesitant and sometimes angry. They think the brokers are being invasive of their privacy and they worry about identity theft.

Michael Signet, executive sales director at Bond New York, explained that brokers now need to know immediately if prospective buyers are really serious about buying. He added that buyers even benefit from the early financial scrutiny because soon they will realize that the properties are beyond their financial capabilities, thereby saving their time and effort.

New York City houses broker Edith Nanazia said that she is now increasingly meeting sellers who require her to email or fax the financial documents of her clients. She added that pre-approval from a bank no longer suffices for many sellers.

Nanazia said that some of her clients have been questioning the need to provide financial documents early in the house buying process, so she has been patiently explaining the trend.

To make things easier for her clients, Nanazia said she uses the financial disclosure form designed by the Real Estate Board of New York. This form includes the buyer’s total income and total assets and liabilities.

Nanazia however believes that sellers should not ask for other financial documents such as copies of past tax returns.

According to Jeffrey Tanenbaum of Barak Realty, it has been difficult making a sale because of the financial disclosure requirement. As a houses broker, he now has to tread carefully when telling a prospective client about financial disclosure at the first meeting in order not to lose the client.

While there are a lot of successful home purchases through brokers in person or online, there are also many house purchases that turned home ownership dreams into nightmares.

Know some of the most common nightmares experienced by buyers, so you would know what to look after or what to ask when you are still in the process of hiring your broker or doing the home search and home purchase by yourself.

One of the most common nightmares is the shock buyers feel at the time of closing. When they finally sit down to sign the purchase contract with excitement, they become appalled at the closing costs, interest rates and mortgage payments which have become much higher than what they have previously talked about.

To avoid this nightmare, find a house broker able to explain to you the home buying process and the closing process. Get referrals from your social and business networks and examine the licenses and certifications held by the brokers you are considering before choosing your broker.

Another common nightmare is the presence of squatters in the property you have paid for. This usually occurs when you buy a house at an auction without checking first on the property.

Many home buyers have also been frustrated by short sales. Short sale is a great opportunity to acquire a distressed property because the house is usually well maintained. As the occupant is the one selling the property to avoid foreclosure, the seller does his best to make the property well maintained to get a good sales price.

But sometimes short sales fail after the home buyer has invested so much time and money in inspecting the property. Sometimes banks change their minds without any notification if they see a better option. At other times, lenders fail to accomplish the needed paper work, putting your move-out and move-in schedules into costly chaos.

Other common nightmares involve the house itself. After moving in, you soon discover that the house which looked great when you first saw it is full of damages and defects.

To avoid these nightmares, find a responsible house broker who will guide you smoothly through the home buying, closing, home inspection and home ownership processes.

California brokers released their sales and price forecasts as their group California Association of Realtors held its annual conference this week in San Jose.

According to the brokers, total sales of pre-owned single-family houses will fall from 540,000 units this year to 527,500 units in 2010. The median price will increase to $280,000.

Sales of homes reached their highest level in 2004 when a total of 625,000 units were sold and fell to their lowest level in 2007 when only 346,000 units were sold. The median home sales price reached its peak in 2007 when it hit $560,300 and then sharply declined as the downturn began. This year, the median home sales price has gone down by over 50 percent to around $271,000.

Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist of the association, said the year 2010 will be characterized by sales of low-priced foreclosed homes to investors and first-time home buyers and sales of high-cost homes at lower prices. She predicted that many owners of higher-priced homes will be forced to sell their homes because of job loss.

In addition, home brokers also said that many owners of higher-cost homes are not be able to modify or refinance their loans because of the reluctance of banks to provide jumbo loans at a time when the employment picture is dark.

Appleton-Young said that although there are slight differences among individual housing markets in California, the city of San Diego reflects the same economic conditions in other cities. Inland properties are falling in values while properties along the coast are being abandoned because of job losses and reductions in income, she added.

Nonetheless, Appleton-Young mentioned that there several positives in the San Diego market. She said that although San Diego has some areas where foreclosures are soaring, the demand for foreclosures is strong and that home affordability is being pushed up. She remarked that the higher end of the San Diego housing market is weak because many sellers are not yet willing to reduce their prices.

Appleton-Young also expressed confidence that the federal tax credit will be extended beyond its November expiration date. In a survey of home brokers conducted by the association, 40 percent said their buyers made their home purchases because of the federal tax incentive.