Tips for Choosing a Real Estate Agent - Independent Versus the Broker Franchise

The general rule is that it's the agent, not the office that's most important. Go with the best agent you can find, independent or franchise. However, if you don't know any agents and can't get a recommendation, the national franchises usually maintain at least minimal quality con­trol, have procedures that protect both them and you, and usually have heavy errors-and-omission insurance in case one of their agents makes a bad mistake.

Today it's very hard for an independent office to survive. National franchises such as Coldwell Banker, Century 21, R/EMax and others offer heavy advertising, name-brand recognition, and legal support and associated services to agents. They often overwhelm small independent offices with their competition.

As a result, most agents today in most areas belong to a franchise of one sort or another. My own experience has been that only those independents that are either extremely strong, with excellent agents, or very weak, with poor agents, have not been gobbled up by one or the other of the franchises. That usually means that if you're dealing with an independent, you've probably got the best, or the worst, of the field.

It's important to understand, however, that although you may go with a national name in real estate, in most states you're still dealing with a local office. For example, a broker friend of mine had successfully operated an independent office near Los Angeles for over 20 years. He had seven agents working full-time for him, every one a winner.

However, he decided that he could make more money with less effort by associating with a national franchise. So one day, he simply converted. His office now bears both the national name and his own name. It's a fran­chise, he's still the broker in charge and the agents are the same. He operates under the umbrella of the national firm, which provides the support noted above, but you still deal with him or one of his associated agents. In a sense, you're getting the best of both worlds.

Except... the national franchise has strict rules regard­ing the amount of commission charged, how deals are handled, where escrows are placed, and so forth. My friend no longer has the flexibility he once had to tailor-make a deal to suit his clients and customers. Today, he follows the rules. This sometimes benefits those clients and customers, and other times it causes them grief and produces a poorer result.

Gary writes for My Hawaii Real Estate where you can find Oahu homes for sale in the all the major islands. Review real estate on Oahu along with our MLS search for Honolulu real estate listings.

New State Laws Regarding Mortgage Broker Law May Actually Increase Foreclosures

Lenders are closing their doors left and right. Over 100 national wholesale lenders have gone out of business since the first of the year. Foreclosures are the topic de jour. What's happening out there? Jim Cramer from CNBC's Mad Money recently had a rather emotional assessment on national TV just days ago. You can search for it on the internet. Is somebody at fault? Why is this happening? What are the repercussions? Recently Bank Of America made a 2 billion dollar investment in Countrywide. You know there is a credit crisis when on of the very largest banks in the world steps in to help recapitalize one of the largest mortgage companies in the world.

"The mortgage market is in trouble". There are many reasons why we are in the current crisis situation that presents itself today. While many would like to blame the banks and brokers for the crisis, they are failing to focus on the borrower and their responsibility in the loan process. Nobody put a gun to the head of the borrowers as they possibly intentionally overstated income on certain loan products. Unfortunately, over zealous legislation by various states has sought to solve the problem by creating laws that remove certain types of financing. The states are trying to legislate the free market system of supply and demand. If certain loan products have higher default rate, the investors will eventually not buy them. If no one will buy the loan, it won't be created. Instead, the State of Minnesota as with other states has removed the ability of borrowers to get "No Documentation" and "Low Documentation" loans. There is a book call "1984" by George Orwell where "big brother" decides what is allowed by society. The new State of Minnesota mandated mortgage legislation reminds me of this." For your reference, there was a wonderful DVD produced with John Stossel called The Blame Game: Are We a Country of Victims that I would highly recommend the legislature view before making any more laws that will hurt consumers rather than help. Until we start accepting responsibility for our actions, we will be a nation that likes to point fingers at others for what we've done to ourselves. The Minnesota legislation has removed responsibility for making choices from the consumer. Unlike other states that allow these lower documentation loans, Minnesota consumers now have less choice.

As of August 28th 2007, there were over 34K homes available for sale within the Twin Cities real estate market. Any legislation that removes a potential buyer from the market because they can no longer obtain financing due to state legislation is WRONG. In addition to changes in lower documentation loans, there has been changes in Subprime lending laws too. The real estate market is dependent on first time buyers starting the "domino" effect in the housing market. Many first time buyers have no credit, limited credit, or blemished credit. These first time buyers now have limited access to mortgage products because of the new legislation that affects subprime lending. Subprime is not predatory lending. Yet it is often assumed incorrectly that the two must go hand in hand. Predatory lending is wrong. It is illegal and always has been. Subprime fills the niche for borrowers who are unable to get a traditional "A Paper" loan because of their income, job, credit or all of the above. Some areas where the foreclosures have been the worst may not be attractive to the most credit worthy buyers. By removing mortgage products from the market that could have served borrowers more likely to purchase within those areas, you are actually making the foreclosure situation worse." The credit crunch is likely to continue through 2008, according to the board of Realtors. We need credit to continue the momentum within the housing industry. Without financing, houses won't be able to be sold. There are few buyers that have the ability to pay cash for a home.

What's the solution? Let the free markets work like free markets. Have fairness among mortgage laws that apply to ALL lenders. Did you know that federally chartered banks are EXEMPT from state mortgage laws? That means the laws don't apply to everyone producing loans within a state. Is the consumer benefiting from a two tier system? How can consumers benefit when they are now given less choice and less competition? Who really benefits from these new laws-might it be federally chartered banks? Who have you heard the least amount of criticism or complaints from? This current situation is wrong and the consumer is being bamboozled by the lack of depth into the coverage by the media.

The focus has been on the borrower and portraying them as a victim. The news does not cover the stories about the home borrower who was successful in becoming a home owner using the very same programs that have been recently eliminated. The news also neglects to state that most mortgage brokers are honest hard working individuals who work on behalf of their borrower. Lastly, the articles and new programs fail to focus on all the individuals who have recently lost their jobs and careers within the mortgage business. There have been over 120 lenders that have gone out of business since January 2007. Who wants to address the hardship these families are feeling? During the third week of August alone, 13K people lost their jobs in the mortgage industry.

One proposed solution to today's current problem has been to expand FHA financing. FHA is a government insured loan. FHA is being referred to as the replacement "subprime". FHA has no published credit score standards. Shifting the risk to the government, which in essence is all of us instead of allowing the risk to be maintained in the private capital markets will be the end result. It will be interesting to review what happens over the next year. If FHA becoming the financing source of choice for borrowers with bad credit, we may be setting ourselves and borrowers up to fail once again as the root of the problem is not addressed or resolved. The root issue is personal responsibility and consequences for choices made. Not everyone is entitled to homeownership. Homeownership is a reward that is earned through demonstration of responsible use of credit.

About Venture Development Inc
Venture Development is Minnesota's Premier Mortgage Broker http://www.ventureloanapp.com. They are based in Edina, Minnesota and provide a wide range of mortgage products for purchase, refinance, investment property, and commercial loans. They have been established since 1995.

John Mazzara is a broker associate with RE/MAX Associates Plus. John has been successfully selling homes since 1986. Minneapolis Real Estate can be searched at http://www.MinneapolisStPaulHomes.com He has achieved Platinum club and Hall of Fame status within RE/MAX. John was voted as a Twin Cities Super Agent by MplsStpaul Magazine. John Mazzara CFP CLU CHFC CEBS CMB MBA MS is an independent financial planner in the Twin Cities, MN

Landlord Insurance Broker

If you're looking for landlord insurance using a specialist broker to shop around for the best deal for you can make very good sense and produce surprisingly cost effective results. Rather than spending an age telephoning provider after provider, online brokers can do all the legwork for you, with quotations available online. Any landlord will agree that property is often a full time job, but a broker can help save time.

One online landlord insurance specialist calls upon a wealth of expert knowledge to find the best deals. While you may know something about effective policies, by trusting in the expertise of specialist brokers like this you can really make sure you're not sold a badly suited policy.

This company can deliver cover for all landlords, regardless of size or sector (residential and commercial). Whether you're a resourceful entrepreneur or national commercial property holder they can locate insurance to suit. They're sensitive to the various issues about which landlords are commonly concerned too. For example single person landlords often rely heavily on the rent they receive to make a living - in this situation this broker might especially recommend cover for loss of rent in a policy.

This specialist is one of the few online brokers which features an innovative online quotation system. Available on their website, this facility allows landlords to obtain a quotation, store it and return to it at a later date, proceed with cover, pay the premium and print your policy documents.

Perhaps you have a business partner with whom you want to discuss insurance requirements? With an online facility like this it isn't a problem; simply give them the login details too.

Finding insurance by yourself can lead to poor cover, especially if you have no time to research policies properly.

If you're looking for landlord insurance, it's worth taking a look at this website and remembering the convenience, extra time and reasonable deals that using a broker like this can bring.

Written by Jenny Pilley, Content Writer for Creare; specialists in Web Design and SEO.