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What aspects of the real estate industry need more transparency?
December 14, 2009 07:16PM
December 18, 2009 at 10:40 am, Anonymous said:
need history of price of property for all to see, MLS for all, site for FSBOs
December 18, 2009 at 10:43 am, Anonymous said:
actual % under contract at new developments. I have been lied to by so many brokers about how many units are under contract.
December 18, 2009 at 10:49 am, sideliner said:
The decisions of co-op boards, at least with respect to approving sales, are about as transparent as mud. Also, I worry that some buyers are given false information about competing bids, and some sellers are not told about low offers, even though they might entertain these offers. Brokers might withold this information in the hopes of getting a higher commission, even though the seller needs to sell.
December 18, 2009 at 10:51 am, Anonymous said:
The days of having no skin in the game are over. All of those developers who had none of their own equity in the deal and are now raising money to try and buy back their mortgages from their lenders at a discount, I hope your investors have your home address.
December 18, 2009 at 10:52 am, Anonymous said:
a seller’s true price would be helpful
….just kidding.
What about rental history? There are no records of what landlords or owners get for a specific apartment.
December 18, 2009 at 10:53 am, Anonymous said:
The proper question is what part of the real estate industry doesn’t need more transparency?
December 18, 2009 at 11:01 am, Anonymous said:
there is no way for transparency to be accomplished in many cases
internet or anyhing else will not solve that
December 18, 2009 at 11:04 am, Anonymous said:
MLS -
Real square footage numbers –
Co-op board’s reasons for denial
Rental listings on CL that are accurate (I’d be happy if they were even 50% accurate)
True unsold numbers at new developments – if a building has 300 units and they’ve sold 30 units of the 60 they have released then the building is 10% sold – this crap that they’ve sold 50% of their units is asinine and it’s crap that the industry says that there are only 30 units of inventory added to the units available for sale data – the project should add 270 units to the total.
December 18, 2009 at 11:23 am, Anonymous said:
agreed with #8, either REBNY or the city/state should mandate a standard set of rules for measuring square footage and define what constitutes the square foot calculation
December 18, 2009 at 12:38 pm, Anonymous said:
Doesn’t anyone think this should be investigated and these kinds of business dealing made more transparent??????????????????
The following is excerpted from Mother Jones Magazine regarding Laurence Gluck and Riverton (Gluck is the guy who bought 16 Mitchell-Lama middle income complexes and has taken or is attempting to take them out of the Mitchell-Lama program, oust the long-term tenants, and charge everyone market rate) ………………………………………………………………. “It all sounds like a classic tale of the bust except that, unlike ordinary people caught up in foreclosure proceedings, Gluck and his partners have made a fortune off Riverton Houses. Just as homeowners often take out some extra cash when they refinance a property, team Gluck pulled out $67 million—the high-roller version of cash at closing. A homeowner would be on the hook for that extra cash, but Gluck’s group purchased Riverton through a limited liability shell company, which allows it to shelter its refinancing windfall in case of a default. Minus the down payment, the partners walk away with nearly $42 million. The Riverton deal exemplifies a strategy known as predatory equity.”
December 18, 2009 at 1:20 pm, Anonymous said:
Cubic feet not just square feet should be recorded with an independent architectural firm not just BS broker talk about…”in coops there dont measure it”.or condo (space includes walls and common space and added to your sf). Imagine buying a stock or a car and seller cant give you exact info. Only in real estate the lies and the half truths are so acceptable. No wonder why the industry is so loathed and the people who work for them so untrustworthy.
December 18, 2009 at 1:21 pm, Anonymous said:
Brokers lie or exaggerate about offers. Need to know real bids hi and lo No way you can tell if the truth is being told. Need to have transparency here desparately
December 18, 2009 at 2:08 pm, Anonymous said:
These comments are ridiculous, not surprising.
December 18, 2009 at 3:03 pm, Anonymous said:
In MLS by Realtors for condos, the transparency needs to match FHA lending and CIRA (common interest realty) accounting guidelines:
1. HOA/Condo annual financial statements in PDF form attached to listing.
2. State Reserves as drop box choices: W – waived, R3 – required roof, paint & paving, M3+ – more than R3, GoldStar – FHA required 12 mo reserve study, all items over $10,000, & audited financials.
3. Assessments in Receivership: show as percentage the Delinquency rate & efforts to remedy 30, 60, 90 past due and # lis pendens /foreclosures by association.
In the SEF MLS (Miami, Ft Laud, & Palm Bch) there are 15 types of waterfront in the drop box for that descriptor. Realtors & Buyers need the reserves & bad debt as sort fields to focus on the specific properties that interest them or more bluntly that qualify for FHA loans. The PDFs of financials are already delivered to condo owners and PDF attachments in the MLS are required by banks for short sale & REO instructions.
December 18, 2009 at 3:05 pm, Anonymous said:
These comments are ridiculous.
December 18, 2009 at 4:25 pm, Anonymous said:
jokers!
i think all the intelligent posters are vacationing this week.
December 25, 2009 at 4:25 pm, Anonymous said:
why are these comments ridiculous? frankly, there isn’t one aspect of real estate that shouldn’t be more transparent … from inventory, to size to contracts signed/closed, to offers on table …. EVERYthing!! the brokerage industry is a third world arena that hasn’t caught up with the standards of every other industry out there (and even those could improve)