The exterior of the Tuscan-inspired home features imported French limestone and Baja Redlands terra cotta tiles that, sited at the top of a lush hillside and surrounded by terraced vineyards and fruit orchards, truly transport visitors to Italy. Approaching via a long, gated driveway and large motor court provides a sense of calm and privacy.

Inside, the opulent great room—with an astonishing 32-foot high ceiling and an open connection to the airy gourmet kitchen—is an ideal setting for intimate get-togethers or lavish bashes. Arched windows wholly capture the light and sights of the surrounding valleys and ocean. Five fireplaces, tongue and groove and exposed beam ceilings, and custom features in marble, granite, walnut, copper, and Venetian plaster provide both architectural interest and touches of extravagance.

Out on the 5,000-square-foot Egyptian limestone deck—which surrounds an exquisite infinity pool, spa and loggia—the refined indoor setting is brought into the open air.

Expected to be completed in April 2010, the five-bedroom, five-bath house will include luxuries throughout, including a high-tech media room, observation deck to best capture the panorama, wine tasting room and barrel storage, and elevator to move easily between both levels. The property also includes additional pads for a guest house, a guard house and a possible helipad.

The estate was designed by respected Montecito-based architect Bob Easton, whose grand Mediterranean and Spanish-style homes can be found in the most desirable areas of California.

For more information, visit www.rockyoaksestate.com.

To submit your Featured Listing, send 300-500 words on the property, surrounding area, and how you’re marketing it to Paige@RISMedia.com. Don’t forget to submit photos and an accompanying URL!

To see last week’s Featured Listing, click here.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Matthew Stamer
Broker
EXIT Realty Central
Central Florida

Region served: Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties
Years in real estate: 16
Number of offices: 1
Number of agents: 95
Average sales price: $115,000
Average time on market: less than 30 days
Best idea for time management: Pick five things that can produce you the best results every day and spend 80% of the day on them.
Keep meetings productive by…Going into the meeting with a clear-cut agenda. Rather than addressing what has negatively occurred in the past, address the positive approach to the future.
Can’t live without tech tool: My smartphone

What strategies do you have in place to ensure you always get the right listing price?
All of our brokers and agents are very well trained in BPO (broker’s price opinion) preparation and we stay away from listing properties that are overpriced. The numbers on our BPOs are within the selling price of the home 98% of the time so our sellers are confident with the data we present them. Especially in today’s market, there is mounting evidence against inflated pricing of homes and sellers realize it is pointless to overprice their homes because they have seen overpriced homes in their marketplaces sit on the market.

What are your strategies for working in declining markets?
It is crucial to list a home at or below market price from the beginning. This way, you are beating everyone else to the final price because buyers will be looking at your homes since they are priced lower and more accurately than other companies.

What are two fundamentals that are essential to your company’s continued success?
The banking relationships we have developed in the foreclosure department as well as our consistent building and training of new talent in the sales arena have kept us successful over the years. Not only do we recruit agents into the company, but we provide them with ample opportunity to get involved with foreclosures as well as Web business.

How are you keeping consumers in your marketplace educated about the buying opportunities of today?
Our company is very active in the social networking arena. Not only do we have a Facebook page, but we also keep an ongoing blog of the current market situation (www.exitrealtyorlando.com/blog). Social networking allows us to stay in touch with customers long term who will buy or sell in the future.

How are you staying one step ahead of your competition?
We stay ahead of our competition by constantly building bank relationships, properly pricing our properties, and hiring and training new talent.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

For more real estate tips and topics on RISMedia.com, be sure to see:
Looking Toward the Future – How Should Home Equity Figure into Your Retirement Planning?
A Fix-Up Strategy Works in Long Run: If You Have Time on Your Side, Improve and Enjoy Your Home

Getting to MLS 5.0 will require no less commitment, focus and effort than we have engaged thus far. While cultural evolution in our industry’s leadership ranks will, as always, provide the vision, energy and fuel to take us to the next level, technology will be the primary enabler. Bear with me while I delve a bit into some technical aspects of MLS 5.0.

MLS 5.0 envisions technology solution providers and vendors developing valuable real estate applications without being required to source the data and develop complex aggregation and data interpretation algorithms. Through the use of Open APIs that provide access to listing data, support existing authentication, and facilitate authorization, applications that leverage existing data can be built very cost-effectively, leading to a richer ecosystem of features that will benefit real estate professionals.

All PC-based platforms will support any browser resolution and will be designed to be highly usable at any resolution above 1024 x 768. Point2 weblogs indicate that fewer than 10% of users/visitors have resolutions below 1024 x 768. See www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_display.asp for more detailed Web statistics and trends.

Specific add-on modules will only be used to enhance the product and will not be required. Add-on modules, such as Flash, ActiveX or Java, could be used to enhance the end-user experience for image uploading and searching, for example.

There are no specific client-side requirements beyond having a supported Web browser, an Internet connection and any CPU (central processing unit), memory or hard drive requirements recommended by the browser’s vendor.

Ultimately, to realize the MLS 5.0 vision, we will provide support for our Open APIs to enable other vendors to offer applications that leverage the listing information. Although the APIs are open, MLS 5.0 will remain in control of authorization and policy enforcement to protect access to sensitive features and data.

The APIs will be designed to fit the needs of MLS 5.0 and will likely consist of numerous REST-based and/or SOAP-based interfaces protected by SSL and other standards-based authentication and authorization mechanisms. In addition, client SDKs (software development kit) may be provided in multiple popular languages, such as PHP, Python, Java, .NET and Ruby.

It is envisioned that numerous MLS vendors will adapt their products to work directly with MLS 5.0 via these open APIs in order to provide Realtors with a full-featured and familiar front-end. Imagine being able to choose from a multitude of CMAs or create your own application specific to your business. All the data can be stored in one database and, based on permissions, accessed, so that solutions and applications can be developed.

What does all this mean? More distribution to more destinations.

In summary, the future will be a more open environment where brokers and agents can select their “software of choice” from numerous providers.

Tell us what you think or request the full article series to date at: thefutureofmls@point2.com.

Saul Klein is CEO of InternetCrusade and Point2 Technologies Inc.

For more information, visit www.point2agent.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Don’t miss these headlines on RISMedia.com:
Marketing Strategies: Are You Proactive Enough?
A Fix-Up Strategy Works in Long Run: If You Have Time on Your Side, Improve and Enjoy Your Home

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

A great way to deliver this is through audio podcasts. With podcasting, the sky is the limit. And most importantly, it can help position you as the authority on the market in your area. If you are thinking about starting your own podcast, you may want to think about a couple of different approaches. For example, your report could focus strictly on the “numbers” of what is happening in the market for the month or the quarter. Or you could talk about a timely issue, such as the homebuyers’ tax credit. Or you could create pieces that are relevant for a longer period, such as how to buy a home during the holidays.

Relaying the information through someone’s voice is much more personal than receiving a postcard or e-mail, so hosting a podcast can be effective in not just showing that you are a knowledgeable resource, but also for building relationships and trust with clients.

For example, at Evers & Co., we have been providing comprehensive market updates and tips on buying and selling in the current Washington, D.C., region market to our clients for years.

Recently, we have taken these market updates to a new level through audio posts or podcasts. These 2- to 3-minute audio files are easily uploaded to our firm’s website and distributed via e-mail to our contacts.

In addition, people interested in these market updates can subscribe to an RSS feed and receive the information as it is released, through a forum such as Google Reader. Tracking the number of subscribers is beneficial because it allows podcasters to see growth in their following, which helps justify the time commitment involved with planning, recording and promoting the podcasts.

Another group many real estate professionals may wish to connect with on a regular basis is the news media. Like agents, journalists’ schedules are becoming increasingly hectic as media outlets are reducing staff and vamping up reporters’ responsibilities to include blogging, conducting online chats and promoting their stories through social media platforms like Twitter.

When in need of a reliable source for an article, journalists value responsiveness so they can meet their often tight deadlines, as well as the “quotability” of the expert. This means that the source is able to express their ideas or opinions in a clear, succinct manner that is easily understood by a consumer audience with statements that can be seamlessly incorporated into the article as quotes.

Rather than scheduling an interview or waiting for a call back, journalists who receive an informative podcast often quote directly from the audio and save time without even having to connect with the source. Also, since the journalist can listen to the podcast multiple times, there is less of a chance that the source will be misquoted.

While podcasting is a great tool that may provide real estate professionals with an “edge,” agents should be mindful of the time commitment before jumping in. It’s also important to establish the frequency of podcast recordings and to keep up in order to convey reliability to potential clients and the media. To get started, podcasting equipment is available at electronics stores like Radio Shack, and editing software is available for purchase online. It’s certainly a valuable tactic to consider for your marketing toolbox.

Donna Evers, president and broker of Evers & Co. Real Estate (www.eversco.com) in Washington, D.C., has been communicating with media and the public through monthly audiocasts for about six months. She has more than 30 years of experience in residential real estate and is a frequent resource for print, radio and television journalists who cover housing market trends in the Mid-Atlantic region.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Don’t miss these headlines on RISMedia.com:
Percentage of Price-Reduced Homes Available for Sale Down from Last Year, but Still Substantial
Checklist for Natural Search Engine Rankings, Part II

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

The FHA, the federal agency that insures low-down-payment home loans for private lenders recently said it was relaxing its building underwriting guidelines as a way of helping the struggling sector ride out the downturn. The move could help boost sales in condos by making more FHA mortgages available to borrowers.

“The best way to bring back some level of security is to get new buyers into those vacant units. You can’t do that until new homeowners have access to financing,” said Meg Burns, director of the FHA’s single-family program development. The new rules—which are temporary—come after more than a year of more stringent standards from lenders, who, after suffering major losses on condos, began vetting and disqualifying condominium projects for purchase loans, regardless of whether home buyers qualified.

“This might be an entree for traditional and conventional lenders to return to the marketplace. Symbolically, it’s a pretty significant move,” said Peter Zalewski, a condo market analyst and broker with Condo Vultures in Bal Harbour, Fla.

The temporary rules are effective for most of the coming year and will help the marketplace transition into a new set of tougher guidelines that bring FHA into closer alignment with the project underwriting practices of Fannie Mae.

Earlier this year, Fannie implemented a slew of new regulations governing condo projects that some claim have strangled the market by stigmatizing condo loans in tough markets such as Florida.

Similar to Fannie regulations, the FHA is also now singling out those markets for special attention by approving projects itself, rather than lenders. Burns said lenders and investors were reluctant and even “scared” to lend money, prompting the agency to step in as a way of calming nerves. “We’re coming in and saying we’ll approve the projects and back them so you will feel confident and comfortable lending in this environment,” Burns said.

Securing the blessing of the FHA is important because it allows borrowers to get loans that require down payments of only 3.5% and qualify under less burdensome terms. Most conventional loans now require 20% down, keeping creditworthy borrowers on the sidelines. In some new projects, lenders have asked for down payments of as much as 40 to 50%.

Among the new, temporary rules is a measure extending a deadline allowing lenders to submit mortgage loans for spot approval in buildings that have not been approved for FHA lending. The administration had said the so-called spot loans would be eliminated by the end of the year but the new deadline is February 2010.

The new guidelines also:

-Increase from 30% to 50% the number of units in a project that can be financed with FHA loans. FHA, however, will make exceptions, even allowing up to 100%, when buildings meet an additional set of more stringent criteria.

-Require at least 50% of units in a complex to be owner-occupied or sold to owners who plan to live in the units. Bank-owned units may be disqualified from the percentage calculation.

-Reduce a presale requirement in new construction to 30%, compared to 70% for loans from conventional lenders.

“This temporary guidance represents incredible leniency in terms of financing standards and loan standards,” Burns said. It’s hard to say how many buildings may benefit from the new rules, but mortgage brokers and real estate observers applauded the reprieve. “This should really help some of the stalled projects if they can get their buildings approved,” said Grant Stern, a mortgage consultant in Bay Harbor Islands, Fla., who specializes in Fannie Mae and FHA guidelines. “A lot of these buildings looking to sell out the rest of their inventory should be able to get FHA approval to close out the projects.”

But there will be more hurdles to overcome beginning Dec. 7. That’s when a bevy of additional regulations take effect, including a provision that withholds approval from buildings where more than 15% of unit owners are past due on association fees.

(c) 2009, The Miami Herald.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Don’t miss these headlines on RISMedia.com:

• From ‘I Don’t Want to Get Big’ to No. 3 in Adjusted Gross Commission in California
• 3 Biggest Mistakes Agents Make When Marketing Online

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Southway’s is Lindberg’s homeage to Old World charm and elegance. The home and surrounding buildings have graceful proportions, created from the finest materials by the most skilled craftsman in the world. The property features seven structures including the main residence, a detached garage, a pool and tennis complex, smoking house, tea house and a caretaker’s cottage with greenhouse. With lavish gardens and sweeping lawns, Southways come complete with a plethora of beautiful, old trees.

The estate is ideally located in close proximity to fine restaurants, world-class yachting, sailing and golf courses. Sheldon Good & Company is offering Southways in its entirety or in five individual 2+ acre parcels. In 1992, the current owners commissioned New York City architect Beyer Blinder Belle (who restored Ellis Island and Grand Central Station), to preserve the original detail of the home, while adding modern amenities throughout.

For more information, visit http://www.sheldongood.com/southways.php.

To submit your Featured Listing, send 300-500 words on the property, surrounding area, and how you’re marketing it to Paige@RISMedia.com. Don’t forget to submit photos and an accompanying URL!

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

To see last week’s Featured Listing, click here.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Based on lead generation research we completed in this fall, this workbook and the accompanying spreadsheets are similar to the method a financial planner uses with their clients; start with where you’d like to end up and then put in place the actions you need to take to get there. This is not a long, three- to five-year plan – especially difficult in these uncertain times, but a goal-setting exercise designed to help you achieve your desired income now. 

This 4-step program will walk you through:
1. How much money do you want to make?
2. How many homes do you need to sell?
3. How many leads do you need to generate to sell that number of homes?
4. What marketing sources can you use to drive the right number of leads of the right quality to sell the number of homes to generate the income you want? 

The Real Estate Book will be making this presentation at the National Association of REALTORS convention in their booth (#2435) at the Exhibit Hall. 

The schedule is below: 

Friday, November 13
5:00 p.m. 

Saturday, November 14
10:00 a.m.
1:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m. 

Sunday, November 15
11:00 a.m.
1:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m. 

Monday, November 16
10:00 a.m. 

For more information, visit www.realestatebookmediakit.com/income or http://blog.realestatebook.com/2009/11/11/income-targeted-goals-set/ 

Don’t miss these headlines on RISMedia.com:
Treasury Says Millions More in Foreclosures are Coming; Are You Ready?
5-Point Checklist for Natural Search Engine Rankings

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

A “short sale” is a sale where the bank accepts as full value a price that’s less than what’s owed on the property. The debt is forgiven (although not always without some tax consequences), a foreclosure is avoided, a buyer gets a good deal on a property, the bank saves thousands of dollars in legal fees and the real estate agent makes a commission. Elegant. Practical. Simple. But as we’ll see, not really quite so simple. 

Short sales were never intended to be a mass market solution. Rather, they were relatively rare occurrences that took place when an unfortunate homeowner had a financial catastrophe—a job loss, a divorce, a medical problem—at precisely the same time his or her home lost significant value. When that happened, a loss mitigation manager at a bank would research the market, review the homeowner’s financial documents, carefully consider whether the borrower and loan in question met the criteria to justify a short sale and act accordingly. 

This approach worked well when there was one request a week or every few months. But with over 1.1 million homes in various stages of foreclosure in the RealtyTrac database, the workload for these loss mitigation managers has exploded from several a month to hundreds a week, with no drop-off in the amount of paperwork or research needed. So there are unavoidable delays in simply processing the volume of paperwork. 

But it gets worse. Each lending institution has slightly different versions of short sale forms. Property valuations, even—perhaps especially—appraisals, are in a state of flux, so loss mitigation managers are struggling to determine whether a short sale offer is reasonable or just plain silly. And there are some accounting issues: in many cases, lenders may opt to decline a good short sale offer today so that they can defer the loss (even though it may be a much greater loss) to a subsequent quarter—or even later. 

And there’s more. A second loan on a property makes it much more than twice as difficult to execute the sale. The second loan either needs to be negotiated away completely or satisfied with some nominal payment. In other cases, the holder of the primary mortgage may find it better financially to foreclose, wipe out the second lien, and simply use that amount as a discount to sell the property at a profit. Similarly, if there’s mortgage insurance on the note, the investor may decide it’s better to foreclose, collect the insurance, and let the insurer worry about getting value for the house. 

So why all the hype? Well, with the REO pipeline clogged and choking, and loan modification programs failing to make a dent in foreclosure numbers, short sales represent an opportunity to feed the demand for discounted properties while reducing the number of foreclosures. What can you do to help make this happen? What does the government have in mind? We’ll cover all that and more in next month’s column. 

Rick Sharga is senior vice president at RealtyTrac. 

For more information, visit www.realtytrac.com. 

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com. 

For more latest headlines on RISMedia.com, be sure to see:
Want a Cash Machine for Your Real Estate Business? Build a Buyers List
Marketing Strategies: 7 Tips to Creating Success from the Inside Out

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

This year’s faciliators and panelists not to be missed, include:

Facilitators
John Featherston, President & CEO, RISMedia; Chairman & Co-founder, RISMedia’s Top 5 in Real Estate Network
Allan Dalton, President & Co-founder, RISMedia’s Top 5 in Real Estate Network

Panelists
Gino Blefari, Founder, President & CEO, Intero Real Estate Services
Tami Bonnell, President, U.S. Organization, EXIT Realty Corp.
Jon Cook, President & CEO, Prudential California Realty
Jeff Davi, Real Estate Commissioner, State of California
Lawrence Lobpries, Marketing Director for Specialty Sales, Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
Rei Mesa, President & COO, Prudential Florida Real Estate Services
Spencer Rascoff, COO, Zillow
Rick Sharga, SVP, RealtyTrac
Mark Stark, Broker/Owner, Prudential Americana Group
Dennis Walsh, Founder, REbuildUSA™ Membership Network

All NAR full-conference and day-conference attendees are encouraged to attend this important discussion Friday, Nov. 13 from 12:30-2 p.m. at the San Diego Convention Center during the NAR conference.

Why should you attend? Each year, attendees walk away from the Power Broker Forum with tremendous insight into the best practices that have made our panelists the Power Brokers industry leaders they are today. In addition, you will have an opportunity to pose a question or two to these industry power players so make sure you’re prepared.

This year, the Forum will focus on how industry professionals can form strategies and excel in working with distressed properties, such as foreclosures, REOs and short sales.

RISMedia has an additional session on “Staying Up in a Down Market: Short Sales, Expireds & Price Reductions,” on Saturday, November 14 from 1:30-3 p.m. at the San Diego Convention Center during the NAR Conference. Once again, all NAR full-conference and day-conference attendees are encouraged to attend, however, the subject matter is geared toward agents.

This session will help Realtors clearly identify and explain short sales, expireds and price reductions to their clients, while also explaining their own understanding of the subject matter and how they will assist those clients. Realtors will also learn how they can use various marketing techniques to acquire more listings and how to implement a marketing strategy that benefits their own business, while also educating consumers on the nuances of today’s market.

Here is the breakdown of speakers at the Saturday session:

Facilitator
Allan Dalton, President & Co-founder, RISMedia’s Top 5 in Real Estate Network

Panelists
Becky Boomsma, Realtor, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Valerie Fitzgerald, Realtor, The Valerie Fitzgerald Group, Coldwell Banker Beverly Hills
Julie Vanderblue, President, The Higgins Group
Rosemary West, Team Leader, The Rosemary West Team, RE/MAX of Joliet

For more information contact Stephanie Andre at Stephanie@rismedia.com or 203-855-1234 ext. 141 or visit http://rismedia.com/events/power-broker-forum-annual/.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com. 

For more real estate related headlines on RISMedia.com, be sure to see:
Jumpstarting Job Creation…Let Housing Lead the Way
Creating Efficiencies Keeps Business Running Smoothly

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Special Session FAQs: 

What Is This Session About?
Staying Up in a Down Market–led by Top 5 in Real Estate President & Co-founder Allan Dalton–will delve into making the most and becoming the most successful in dealing with short sales, expireds and price reductions. 

Who Can Attend?
All NAR full-conference and day-conference attendees are encouraged to attend, however, the subject matter is geared toward agents. 

Why Should I Attend?
For these reasons:
1. This session will help Realtors clearly identify and explain short sales, expireds and price reductions to their clients, while also explaining their own understanding of the subject matter and how they will assist those clients.
2. Realtors will learn how they can use various marketing techniques to acquire more listings.
3. Attendees will learn how to implement a marketing strategy that benefits their own business, while also educating consumers on the nuances of today’s market. 

When/Where Is Staying Up in a Down Market?
This session will be held on Saturday, November 14 from 1:30-3 p.m. at the San Diego Convention Center during the NAR Conference. This session will be held in Room 29 A on the Upper Level. 

Who Is On the Panel?
Here is the breakdown of speakers: 

Facilitator–
Allan Dalton, President & Co-founder, RISMedia’s Top 5 in Real Estate Network 

Panelists–
Becky Boomsma, Realtor, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Valerie Fitzgerald, Realtor, The Valerie Fitzgerald Group, Coldwell Banker Beverly Hills
Julie Vanderblue, President, The Higgins Group
Rosemary West, Team Leader, The Rosemary West Team, RE/MAX of Joliet 

Do I Need to Register?
No, registration is not required. As long as you are an NAR day-conference or full-conference attendee, there is open seating and no additional information is needed. 

What If I Have More Questions?
Contact Stephanie Andre at stephanie@rismedia.com or 203-855-1234 x141. 

For more information on all RISMedia events during NAR, visit http://rismedia.com/events/power-broker-forum-annual/power-broker-forum-whats-it-all-about/

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com. 

For more real estate tips and topics on RISMedia.com, don’t miss:
Overcoming Fear of Foreclosure Critical for Many People to Keep Their Homes
Bad Economy Turns Renters into Roommates

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.