The race is on for our 2nd Annual Academy Award of Real Estate! Last year’s Oscar for Best Real Estate Client was awarded to Bradley Cooper, who was selected by members of the real estate industry as the nominee they’d most like to help buy or sell a home. Voting is now open for this year’s Oscar for Best Real Estate Client. To vote, simply: Like RISMedia...
Predatory lending has declined sharply in the years since Dodd-Frank, but it, and other types of mortgage fraud, still steep into housing even today and affect every stage of the homeownership cycle. Mortgage fraud, an umbrella term, is “a crime characterized by some type of material misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission on a loan which is then relied upon...
In a city famous for its fabulous food, music and art, New Orleans also has some of the most colorful homes in the world – many with legends that are even more interesting than the homes themselves. Encompassing everything from French Quarter cast-iron balconies and colorful court yards such as the Gardette-LePretre Mansion where a Turkish sultan and his harem...
By James White Snow may be beautiful to behold, but it is a pain to deal with. Between potential spills and back injuries, damaging your home or making you late for work, snow removal is both a hazard and a hassle. If you’re weary of labor-intensive shoveling and noisy snow-blowing, you may already be on the lookout for creative alternatives to snow removal. To...
Tax season is upon us and if you have a pending or recent home sale, you'll surely want to know: what income taxes will you have to pay on the sale? The amount of taxes you'll be responsible for depends on the length of time you've spent in the home. If your family resided in the home for two of the last five years, single homeowners can earn $250,000 tax-free! For...
Celebrity real estate is a high-paced world of wheeling and dealing. Over the past 10 years, plenty of famous faces have scored big or lost out in attempts to secure (or sell!) the home of their dreams. To help commemorate its 10th anniversary, Zillow put together this list of some of the hottest homes that have come and gone as these stars vied to scratch their...
It's almost Valentine’s Day - that one special day in the year where you rush around like a complete lunatic making romantic plans for you and your sweetheart to show them just how much you love them. If you haven’t made any plans yet, you need not worry! If hotels and restaurants are booked up, and chocolates and flowers are all sold out, Terry's Fabrics has...
Home is where the heart is…not. Spite houses—homes built to draw the ire of onlookers—have been a gesture of contempt for centuries, directed toward neighbors, local authorities, developers and other adversaries left wondering, “Where’s the love?” Take a look at some of the most obnoxious spite homes below. The Froling Spite House Credit: Wikimedia Commons Located...
We're going to say that again: it has its own lazy river! This Mediterranean-style Poway, Calif. estate (more photos below) located in the Maderas Golf Club is its own luxury resort and home all in one. In addition to floating around their own compound, its new buyers can go to work in their on-site gym or hit the basketball court or full-sized baseball field without...
By Jeff Knox, Knox & Associates, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas I am a techie broker. I'm a techie broker because I have to be, not because I started out wanting to be one or because I already was one. I once had a guy with another firm ask me: "Are you a technical guy who became a broker, or a broker who became a technical guy." I am the latter. It is my belief...
