MRIS recently changed the way that the “# of Levels” field in Matrix/Keystone was defined; based on agent feedback, they have now changed the definition again. Read the rest of this entry »

Buyer Agents: tired of getting frustrated when dealing with short sales for your clients? Here are some good tips from NAR, as well as information on how to get the Ethical Homes Short Sale Checklist (for making sure that you’re not wasting your time on a short sale with no chance of closing) and the Ethical Homes Bank-Influenced Property Disclosure (for making sure that your clients know what they’re getting themselves into when they start looking at short sale and post-foreclosure properties). Read the rest of this entry »

Agents often need to get physical documents to clients or other agents more quickly, reliably, and auditably than US Postal Mail delivery. Read the rest of this entry »

In a previous article, we gave some rough rules of thumb for estimating monthly mortgage payments; based on feedback from buyers and homeowners looking to refinance over the last few years, we’ve come up with some simpler ways of getting those estimates, including one trick that makes it easy to see how much your payment will change if your interest rate changes. Read the rest of this entry »

A lot of homeowners have recently been getting offers of “Mortgage Protection Insurance”, which would pay off their mortgage in case of death or disability; for most homeowners, though, Mortgage Protection Insurance isn’t a great deal. Read the rest of this entry »

Trying to figure out what the monthly payment on a loan will be, but don’t have a financial calculator handy? Here are some quick rules of thumb that I’ve come up with that will give you a pretty good estimate of the monthly payment (and what portion of that payment is initially interest) for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (or the initial payments for a 30-year adjustable-rate mortgage). Read the rest of this entry »