Apparently not only am I a Genius but I’m also a Cicerone! Now before you get turned off by my shameless self promotion- let me explain. As many of my readers know I write for the national real estate magazine Agent Genius, one of the most recognized real estate opinion leaders of the blogosphere. Benn and Lani, the founders of the forum, are one of smartest real estate minds in the entire world, period. That is why it is no coincidence that the best and brightest real estate minds of the day write for AG. I am continually in awe of the quality of the material and learn something new every time I visit. I’m akin to the jester of the group, and feel glad they allow me to hang around.

Starting this week I will also be writing for the Mortgage Cicerone. This is a blog focused on delivering valuable insights to loan originators. Tony Gallegos, the founder of the forum says its a “place where mortgage originators become mortgage leaders.” There are some serious industry heavy weights who write thoughtful, hard hitting mortgage related articles for this blog. I’m the newest kid on the block.

I will admit, before I started reading the Mortgage Cicerone, I didn’t even know what the word “cicerone” meant and I still don’t know how to pronounce it. For those curious cicerone is “a guide for sightseers or person who is eloquent in sharing knowledge. ” Wow. Makes my head swell.

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Tags: agent genius, mortgage cicerone, mortgage guru
Categories: Bloggers, Blogging, Internet
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What do these three have in common: Viagra, Nigerian Money Transfers and Mortgage Refinance offers? Your e-mail inbox or junk mail folder is probably full of messages from their promoters. While mortgage spam has been on the decline for a while, according to CommTouch there has been a spike in mortgage spam since the Federal Reserve cut interest rates.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.–Spam about mortgage refinancing jumped to 10% of all spam in the past week in conjunction with the recent interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve, according to research by Commtouch (Nasdaq:CTCH). Further changes expected to be announced today may spur even more finance-related spam –always a favorite subject among spammers even when interest rates are high.

This article notes that in all of 2007 finance related spam was only 2% of total spam volume, read the full article from Businesswire.

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Tags: e mail, mortgage spam
Categories: Internet, Mortgages
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I’ve often joked with friends that I do mortgages on the side to support my blogging habit! Well I finally came across a tool that measures your blog addiction. Since it’s a Friday afternoon I figured I’d take the test. (I would have taken the test even if I had seen it on a Monday morning :-)) Here is how my addiction is rated:

78%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Online Dating

Don’t laugh. Take the test yourself. You may find you’re more addicted than me!

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Categories: Bloggers, Blogging, Internet
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Einstein once said “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” I never really quite understood this piece of wisdom, especially as a young Physics major back in college. I was trained to believe knowledge held the power to everything. As I have grown I’ve come to realize that imagination is truly the best thing going for anyone. If can imagine something and work towards it then you’ll certainly achieve what you’re seeking.

I bring this up because I am fascinated by globalization and Internet technology. I believe we have just touched the tip of the iceberg. The world will truly be transformed in the next few decades. I can feel it in my bones!

Now, where am I going with this you say? Readers of my blog will remember that I brought up the possibility of outsourcing Realtors to India. Many thought I was crazy and said it was outside the realm of possibility. I’m not saying this has been done yet but you’d be surprised to read about some of the services being outsourced these days. What would you say to the idea of having your child tutored by someone in India? How about buying your home with low interest money in a foreign country, your own carry-trade operation!

I just read WSJ articles on these topics. These articles talk about the different possibilities out there and how imaginative companies are making it happen – profitably!

Homeowners Abroad Take Currency Gamble in Loans (Subscription required)
Outsourcing Your Life  (Subscription required)

Read and enjoy. Let me know what you think too! I imagine you’ll have a few things to say.

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Categories: Internet
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I just saw this article on how a company is trying to outsource the local news. They are looking for a journalist in India to do the local stuff. This is a real story. I guess it was bound to happen. However, this made me think. Could they now outsource the functions of a Realtor? Or, mortgage broker? Given the technology we have today could the entire purchase transaction be outsourced? I mean how much of the job really entails physically having to be in the US? Could a US based transaction coordinator and India based Realtor/Lender be next?

Lets see how this could potentially work.  First they fill an online mortgage application, then talk with an out-sourced lender over the phone on loan programs and get thoroughly pre-qualified. The second step would then be to go to a site like Zillow and find a bunch of properties to explore. Then they drive around looking for a property and narrow down a few they want to make an offer on. They touch base with the US based transaction coordinator for hands on and real time information.

Once they have a property they want to make an offer on, they use a tool like Skype to do a video call with a Realtor in India, who then writes the offer. The other Realtor is in India anyways, so the two would do their negotiations through local means. The offer is accepted, the contract is signed via e-mailing back and forth.

Then the contract is sent back to an out-sourced lender in India, who has already pre-qualified and approved the borrower via an on-line application (earlier). After an accepted offer the lender submits the loan documents to processing and underwriting in India. The transaction coordinator would ensure the home inspection and walk through meet contract terms. The transaction closes with all parties satisfied.

As far as commissions and compenstion are concerned, the US transactio coordinator would make a flat fee $500 or so per file, the Indian Realtors would receive the standard fees but in Rupees. So, lets say 6% was due on a $200,000 house, the Indian Realtors would receve Rs. 12,000. This is equivalent to $291 (see currency converter). Remember an average Engineer with limited experience makes US $634/month in India.

I must add Citibank already has processing in India, so we’re almost two-thirds there in terms of lending functions, why couldn’t a bit of innovation outsource our functions to India? Also, if you’ve never used it, Skype is a wonderful tool for doing international video conferencing.

So are we there yet?

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Categories: Banker, Broker, Business Success, Economics, Internet, Mortgages
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Seems like the past few years there has been a tussle brewing between those working in Real Estate and the Internet. This season of “creative destruction” has been somewhat painful to watch quite honestly. A case in point is the Zillow “cease and desist” order The Phoenix Real Estate Guy talked about over the weekend.

Now CNN Money has reviews on the latest tools available on the Internet for home buyers and sellers. Of course all of these tools affects Realtors. Here is the link. Below is the summary:

1. Iggys House offers a valuable service for owners who want to sell their homes themselves: free access to the multiple listing service (MLS).
2. Zillow
3. StreetAdvisor.com enables user to both read and write reviews and comments about the street where they live.
4. Zaio is a new company that works with appraisal firms all over the country that employ physical inspections for all the properties they evaluate. This should produce accurate appraisals that will be regularly updated as home prices change. The appraisal will be available, for a fee, to consumers online.

With statistics showing that over 80% of consumers begin the real estate search process on-line (source: NAR), you can understand why the tussle over the Internet is so important.

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Categories: Internet, Realtors
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