1) Introducing… Electronic signatures! – Another convert to the wonderful world of @Docusign.

2) What’s my home’s value – If you are going to sell your house, you want to know what it is really worth. There are many tools out there, but honestly the best way to come up with your homes value is talk to a full-time real estate agent who is in the field selling houses every day and have them look at comparables.

3) Your real estate website is talking about your credibility – If you are not trying to get any real clients from your website should you still care about your website? You should, because buyers and sellers will “Google” you, and you want to control the message.

4) Subject: Need your help… Making Home Affordable Program – It is always great with Rhonda Porter tackles a complicated subject because she has a way of explaining it in John Q Public terms.

5) Greylock leads a $10 million investment in Redfin – Redfin recently announced they had become profitable, this backing could lead to more growth.

6) What will NAR’s political strength be in 5 years? – I was in politics both as an elected official and campaign consultant for over a decade. Trust me when I say Realtor’s has been and will continue to be a powerhouse in politics.

7) The #1 obstacle in real estate – What is the #1 obstacle to success in real estate? I saw this one coming a mile away… look in the mirror.

8 ) 13 ways to grow your audience – Looking to grow the audience to your blog, here are 13 ideas you should be working on.

9) Of the top 10 foreclosure markets nationwide, only 1 is getting worse – Foreclosure activity is actually slowing down in almost all states, with the exception being Illinois.

10) How long has your realtor been licensed? – Ian Watt as entertaining as always.

1) Why loan officers kill deals, cost you time and money and anger customers – This has been the story of my week.

2) Obama expands refinance program from 105% to 125% – The program has been expanded to include home owners who are up to 125% underwater. A good start, still not sure its enough though. 

3) New brokerage model – Part 1 and Part 2 – Great piece by Marc Davison on the future of brokerages and who may gain the edge and why.

4) APR vs mortgage interest rate – knowing the difference – Good discussion  to help clarify what each is and what you should be looking for.

5) WordPress 2.8 now I’d upgrade – Dave Smith is always on top of the late latest and greatest with technology and he says now WP 2.8 is ready for prime time.

1) Obama refinance, is 105% going to 125%? – Obama’s current refinance plan allows for the home owner to refinance their home up to 105% of the value. With most homeowners being much more underwater than that, few can take advantage. There is talk of that 105% going to 125%. Another post on 125% LTV refinance.

2) How much earnest money should I put down on a foreclosure – This is a common question for many buyers looking to put an offer in on a bank owned foreclosure.

3) Agency? What is agency? – It’s one of the classes we need to renew our license, so it’s something all agents should have down and all buyers should know going into a transaction.

4) Step 1 to understanding the short sale process – Dale explains the first thing you need to understand in short sales is logic, or there is none.

5) The BIGGEST announcement in history of the Zebra… – Congrats Daniel and Kari!  Guess you are going to need to cut back on those beers on ice for a while Daniel.

Top 5 real estate posts of the day for 6/9/20091) Mortgage rate shopping strategies for when mortgage rates are volatile – Mortgage rates have been all over the map the last couple of weeks, Dan Green discusses why and how a floatdown service may help.

2) 10 social media life skills for real estate professionals – NikNik usually has good advice on how to integrate social media into a real estate business. If you use things like Twitter and Facebook here are some guidelines you want to follow.

3) Seller beware: Is your agent protecting their best interest? – Every now and then you hear a story about a sleazy real estate agent, any of us who have been in the business just a couple months or more probably have one.  Here is one.

4) Rebirth of a brokerage – We should all take a lesson from GM’s mistakes and be ready to change, because things change. One of my favorite quotes is “If it’s not broken, break it and make it better”? Our consumers are changing, are we ready to change with them?

5) Making Homes Affordable Refinance: Freddie Mac changes rules – Is your loan owned by Freddie Mac? If so you now have a new opportunity to refinance your loan under the Making Homes Affordable program. Justin even tells you how to know if your loan is owned by Fannie or Freddie.

Is your house under water? If so there may be new help available for you. There are two parts to the new loan modification program released by the Treasury department yesterday. The first is a loan modification program for those why may be stuck in a higher interest rate or adjustable mortgage. To qualify for this program you must:

• Owe no more than 105% of your current home value
• Have a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loan
• Be current on your payments
• Be able to qualify with your current income

The biggest problem with this program in Arizona is those who may be stuck in the adjustable mortgages probably purchased their home in the last four years and are more than likely much more upside down than the 105%. If they purchased the home on a Freddie or Fannie loan, they unlikely put down more than 5% and combine that with the market trends over the last two years and it is unlikely many Arizona home owners will qualify.

The next group for the modification program is for those who:

• Payments exceed 31% of income
• Behind on payments
• Have sufficient income for a new loan rate
• Lender must agree to the modification

The government is offering $1,000 to the bank to work with you on renegotiating the loan. The question that will need to be answered here is that enough of an incentive for the banks to renegotiation the loan with the customer. Only time will tell and with the lenders having control on if they will do the renegotiating, we suggest you contact your lender.