Indy Realtor's Blog: Misc, Rants, Etc.

I just received this email from Trulia “affording me the opportunity” to help millions of homeowners in need by helping Trulia create their foreclosure glossary:

“More home buyers and owners are going through the complex foreclosure process today than ever before.  That's why we're asking real estate experts (like you) from the Trulia Voices community to help create a Foreclosure Glossary. 

What's in it for you?  The Foreclosure Glossary is a great opportunity to showcase your foreclosure expertise and help millions of homeowners in need.

Take a minute to share your foreclosure expertise here!”

The part that seems to be omitted is “What’s in it for Trulia???”

Let me put this email through my Trulia Translation Machine and tell you what it…

Even though I try to avoid them like the plague, I showed an expensive home the other day that was a short sale situation.  The first thing we encountered when entering the home was that o so familiar smell of a wet basement that seems to stick with you even after you leave the house.  We immediately open the door to the basement and the door, the drywall, and just about every surface is covered in mold.  Being the brave Realtor I am, I decide to go down the stairs to investigate just how bad the situation is.  Before I reach the bottom of the stairs I am met with at least 3 – 4 feet of standing water and almost get totally soaked.  Needless to say, my clients were not interested and we were on our way.  So we wasted a few minutes and maybe got a mold…

The Department of Justice Antitrust Division launched a new website this week aimed squarely at the real estate industry.  The DOJ and the National Association of Realtors have been embroiled in a legal battle for a few years now because the DOJ believes that NAR supports policies that deter competition and unnaturally keep real estate commissions high. 

Although this site bolsters my case and obviously I am in favor of what they are talking about, it does seem a little lopsided.  There is some great information here, for example, that certain states actually ban rebates and other states, Indiana being one of them, have minimum service laws that require a customer to receive a certain level of service.  These seem like blatant violations of my rights…