TheREALTYgram Blogger

Going to San Francisco to Real Estate Connect;Special Foreclosure Workshop to Help Homeowners

I am heading to the top real estate conference of the year in July, Real Estate Connect, in San Francisco in July. I will be speaking at a pre-conference Foreclosure Workshop titled, "Relationships 2.0: How to Help Homeowners While Closing Business" on July 23, 2008.

The Real Estate Connect Conference is sponsored by Inman News. The confab assembles real estate industry leaders to share thoughts and ideas in one of the most highly charged and provocative meetings in the industry.

Foreclosure Fair in Tucson Smashing Success!

Almost 500 homeowners facing foreclosure met in the Tucson (AZ) Convention Center yesterday and attended workshops and one-on-one counseling sessions with loss mitigators and lenders. Many of these people will keep their homes. Sadly, there was no REALTOR participation at the event.  The event was sponsored by Pima County, with partners that include Freddie Mac, HUD, state regulatory agencies, lenders, ACORN, The Urban League, and Legal Aid.

Additional workshops are being planned for Tucson and other locations throughout Arizona.

Podcast: How REALTORS Can Help AmericansKEEP Their Homes

I had a discussion yesterday with Regan Brewer,  Homeowner Services Coordinator for ACORNHousing.org. We talked about REALTORS' role in helping homeowners at risk of foreclosure. We talked about helping those homeowners KEEP their homes. Sometime over the weekend I will post the visuals.

Gay, Single Man Prevails In Discrimination CaseAgainst Long and Foster Real Estate In Virginia

  "In the first case of its kind, the Alexandria [VA] Human Rights Commission unanimously agreed Monday night that Long & Foster Real Estate Co. discriminated against a single gay man who wanted to buy a home in a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood," reports the Washington Post. The commission's decision was unanimous, although it remains unclear whether the ruling was made based upon the city's human rights code violations relating to family status or sexual orientation. The basis for the decision will be made public in 30 days. Thanks to Inman Blog for the story.

Colorado RE/MAX 100 Agent, Loan OfficersBusted On Home Loan Forgery Charges

A district attorney in Colorado  has indicted RE/MAX 100 real estate professional Ricardo Medina and independent loan officers Nancy Rios and Perla Alvarado on charges of forgery, theft, and conspiracy under the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, according to the National Assn. of REALTORS^®. (Note that NAR has already stripped the REALTOR^®  designation from Medina in its press release.)

The charges stem from their involvement in a scheme that provided $6.5 million in federally insured home loans to undocumented Hispanics. Medina is accused of targeting Hispanics who would not have qualified otherwise and then working with Rios and Alvarado to forge documents such as loan applications, credit letters, check analyses, W-2 employment forms, utility bills, and employment verification letters in order to secure loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration for applicants.

"They didn't even have to come up with any money," says Scott Storey, Jefferson County District Attorney, adding that some of the loans went into default. Doug Anderson, president of Washington Park Mortgage in Denver and former president of the Colorado Association of Mortgage Brokers, says loan fraud remains a problem because the state does not require licensing for mortgage brokers.

From The Denver Post:

"Certain banks in Colorado and across the nation allow undocumented workers to take out home loans if they have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, which the IRS issues to workers regardless of immigration status.

"But many Hispanics, even with an ITIN number, fail to qualify for loans because they lack a credit history or cannot prove sufficient employment - and that's where forged documents come in.

" 'There's a huge number of these kinds of transactions and it's happening under our noses,' said Doug Anderson, president of Denver-based Washington Park Mortgage.

"Bob Brown, of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, said Medina, Rios and Alvarado each lived "lavish lives," with salaries of several hundred thousand dollars a year."

HUD Announces RESPA Roundtable;Who Will Prevail, Consumers Or Predators?

  We have been waiting breathlessly for HUD to make an announcement about RESPA reform. Insiders who told us to expect an announcement short weeks ago did not foresee more cold feet in the warm summer months. Jane Wickell's Home Buying/Selling Blog talks about HUD's long trek to RESPA reform:

"Enacted to protect consumers during a real estate transaction, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) is over 30 years old and overdue for some serious reform in order to make loan comparisons an easier process. HUD proposed changes a few years ago, but backed down under pressure from members of the banking and real estate industry. Now HUD is back on track and plans to hold a series of roundtable discussions this summer to get industry input regarding the pathway to reform. Folks attending these invitation-only meetings will hopefully put the interests of consumers first--and if they don't it's essential that HUD not bend to pressure by special interest groups who are looking only at their bottom line, no matter what the cost to home buyers."

There are approximately 35 invitees who will participate in each session. Here is a list of all participant invitees.   

The following  is a select group of organizations that will be present at ALL roundtable discussions:

AARP, ACORN, Center For Responsible Lending, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, National Assn. of Attorneys General, National Assn. of Consumer Advocates, National Assn. of Mortgage Brokers, National Assn. of REALTORS^®, National Center on Poverty Law, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, National Consumer Law Center, U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Somebody may want to send HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson a pair of HOT SOX to keep his tootsies warm. That may help get him through these hearings and ultimately to an announcement podium.

I Found A Golden Nugget In An E-Mail Signature Line

I found this book in an e-mail signature line from John Reilly, my e-PRO cyber professor. After clicking the link and reading the description I ordered it immediately. It looks like a winner and I can hardly wait for delivery. Check out the review on Amazon.com: 

From Library Journal "Sophisticated real estate players will appreciate the revisions made to this highly comprehensive dictionary of terms. All of the entries are brought into conformity with the 1986 Tax Reform Act. Controversial topics that have resulted from this legislation, such as the IRS definition of a dealer in real estate, are treated well. ... a section containing over 300 abbreviations is a helpful touch."

"From abandonment to zoning, and over 2,800 terms in between, The Language of Real Estate has every term that real estate professionals need. this industry best seller is a must have for all students, practitioners, and educators. Highlights include:
* Appendix boasts over 350 commonly used abbreviations.
* Subject classification index lists terms by topic.
* Spanish key terms help both ESL students and those who will be working with ESL customers."

Time For A Name Change At Denver's 'Swastika Acres'

What's in a name? When the neighborhood is called "Swastika Acres", one would think that the residents would start a petition to change the name. How could 57 families live in an upscale neighborhood in Denver with this moniker and not petition to change the name?

Popular Real Estate List Serv Will CeasePosting Comments On Gay Rights Issues

The moderator of a 13,000-member real estate list serv told subscribers last night that it will no longer post messages relating to gay issues in the real estate community. "...If anyone else wants to post one more time on the subject, feel free...but after tomorrow, I think we need to give it a rest for awhile. There is plenty we can find to talk about," said Saul Klein to RealTalk list serv members last night. Klein's post followed a week of impassioned posts about gay rights and associated issues. Klein is president of InternetCrusade, the e-PRO creator, author and instructor, and a partner in Real Estate Electronic Publishing Co.

The week-long discussion thread about gay issues began as an energetic fair housing exchange, generated heated posts about "protected classes" and drew impassioned responses from both gay-friendly and gay-unfriendly REALTORS^®.  Most of the responses, in fact, were highly supportive of individual rights across the board. It seems that the repetetive use of the "G" word inflamed some of the subscribers, who likened the discussion to a frank talk about sex and called for a cessation to the topic altogether. Here are excerpts from some of those posts:

The New Mexico legislature amended the Human Rights Act, making it unlawful to discriminate in New Mexico based on sexual orientation or gender identity...California has added marital status, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, and source of income, while other states have added military status, Section 8 and other groups. Some cities have added their own classes, such as the recent inclusion of "size" in San Francisco. ..The point is that no one should be hindered because of who or what they are. "Fair Housing" means without regard to...who they are, period. What language they speak, who they sleep with, which God they worship, the color of their skin...none of these should affect anyone's free right to housing. ...Why all this attention to the 'protected classes', if we use the GOLDEN RULE? It is easier to be deaf, dumb and blind to differences if we just use the 'RULE', IMHO....Here in good ole Massachusetts it is a protected class...in fact with same sex marriage being legal, we are seeing a boom in the number of new gay and lesbian couples from all over the US buying homes in Western MA...First of all, it's sexual orientation, not sexual "preference." Think about  it...Secondly, at the present time the federal government does not consider gays to  be a protected group. Heck, the federal government openly discriminates against gays. Gays are only protected by some local jurisdictions. ...I've never had anyone say to me "we're gay, you know" or words to that effect and I've certainly NEVER asked anyone if they are gay. I would think those kinds of questions would be impolite...When I'm selling real estate brokerage services-- working the real estate transaction cycle-- I ask questions about real estate needs not what people do when they're naked....Well, I advertise that I am "GLBT friendly" on my site and in gay-oriented  directories. Those in the know, know what I mean. Because they know this, they are very open with me from the get go. That's usually why they chose me  ...I have friends, colleagues, neighbors who are gay.. .SO WHAT? I don't have to be gay, or justify that I'm not , to support EQUAL treatment for all human beings...If it's actually recognized anywhere as such, sexual preference is not a "protected class" in the majority of the United States, is not yet recognized in the eyes of NAR, and thank the Lord, I doubt God will EVER accept it...it's [disappointingly] an option to engage in a sexual relationship with a partner of the same sex. ...I find it embarrassing that NAR and the federal government does not recognize  sexual orientation as a protected class....MINNESOTA LAW includes the protection from discrimination of  individuals because of age, source of income, martial status and  sexual preference. Individuals believing they have been discriminated  against may seek relief through the Minnesota Human Rights  Commission, HUD and the Attorney Generals Office. ...This thread is becoming offensive and is certainly out of context for the  venue. I literally cringed when I read some of these posts. It has gone from discussing protected classes in different areas to judgment, religious preaching etc. I invite those who made posts about GOD and gays reread what you wrote, to even make the statements made you have passed and professed judgment which, from my understanding of Christian based religions is to be left to GOD. Let's get back to real estate discussions."

Most of the posts sound like legitimate real estate discussion to me.

Portly Citizenry Enjoys Equal Rights By StatuteIn Michigan, California, District of Columbia

I have been a REALTOR^®  in Bethlehem, PA for some 21 years. I have worked on local and state committees dealing with Fair Housing and I have been an outspoken advocate of fair housing and civil rights for many years. Do you know that Weight is a "protected class" in certain areas of the country? The following are Discrimination Factoids:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 declares that all persons within the United States have a right to employment free from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It has been used in weight discrimination cases where weight standards are applied differently to different protected classes (e.g. women and men), and where weight standards have an adverse impact on a protected class.
• The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against an otherwise qualified individual with handicaps, solely on the basis of that handicap, in any program which receives federal assistance.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) extends the protection against discrimination on the basis of disability to the private sector.
• State of Michigan: Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act, Act 453 of 1976, Sec. 209, bans discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, national origin, age sex, height, weight, or marital status. (Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 37.2102 (1985 & Supp. 1993).
• Santa Cruz, CA (July 1992), defines unlawful discrimination as "differential treatment as a result of that person's race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, sex gender, sexual orientation, height, weight, or physical characteristic".
• District of Columbia, Human Rights Law Subchapter II, Sec. 1-2512, outlaws discrimination in employment based upon "race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, physical handicap, matriculation, or political affiliation". (D.C. Code Ann. § 1-2501 (1987 & Supp. 1993).
• San Francisco, CA (June, 2000) passed a law specifically outlawing discrimination against people based on their weight.