WFG News
February 23, 2015

Alyssa Hellman: ‘I never operate as a business on social media’

Age: 28 Years in real estate: 4.5 Job title: Go Leader at BHGRE | Go Realty Location: Cary, North Carolina Hours per week spent on social media: I never really track this because I don’t time-block for social media. I use it throughout my day to keep in touch, network, and…
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WFG News
February 23, 2015

Balance liquidation programs are ‘godsend’ for distressed borrowers

When people face serious financial problems, getting out of a credit mess may ultimately involve going bankrupt or losing their home. A key part in turning the tide is eliminating as much credit card interest as possible and paying down the principal. If you’re carrying high credit balances or your…
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WFG News
February 23, 2015

ListHub stops syndication to Trulia and Zillow … so what?

Most Realtors would agree that maximum exposure to the marketplace results in maximum price. ListHub’s decision to pull the plug on the data it aggregates from 560 multiple listing services (MLSs) and syndicates to Trulia would seem to be a damaging decision to both agents and consumers — but is it really? If you were…
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WFG News
February 21, 2015

Study finds patent licensing rarely results in innovation

It may come as little surprise to players in online real estate who have been cajoled into such deals, but patent licensing rarely results in new products, technology transfer or other markers of innovation. That’s according to an academic study that provides some ammunition for critics of “patent trolls,” who…
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WFG News
February 21, 2015

MLSs expand their reach through data-sharing

Two large Michigan multiple listing services are taking a first step in what could become a broader data-sharing partnership: sharing passwords to each other’s systems. Currently, Realcomp, Michigan’s largest Realtor-owned MLS, has various data-sharing arrangements with seven MLSs, allowing Realcomp’s more than 12,000 members access to MLS data for 34…
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WFG News
February 20, 2015

Why the FTC let Zillow buy Trulia

Federal antitrust regulators say they decided to allow the nation’s most popular real estate search portal to acquire its closest rival because real estate agents have “numerous” ways to market their services, and that there was “insufficient evidence” that the deal would result in higher advertising costs or hurt innovation.…
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WFG News
February 20, 2015

Greek Band-Aid intercepts interest rate drop

Long-term Treasurys are sliding down in yield again, holding low-fee mortgages in the high-threes. This improvement has been caused by several things, all reinforcing each other, and is likely to continue. However, in the background lies an enormous contradiction that is clearly troubling long-term markets. First things first. Way back…
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WFG News
February 20, 2015

9 vital home repairs to complete before negotiating a sale

There’s something that I see generated in almost every transaction — a list of repair items found during due diligence inspections that buyers would like completed before closing. This can cause heartaches for sellers, who have negotiated their best deal and then feel “put upon” because they’re being asked to make repairs…
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WFG News
February 20, 2015

News Corp. delivers one-two punch to Zillow Group

With Zillow finally swallowing Trulia, the head-to-head portal bout is officially on. News Corp. — owner of realtor.com operator Move Inc. — has thrown the first punches. In a press release on Tuesday emblazoned with an all-caps headline, Move jabbed that “Zillow’s year of the merge will be realtor.com’s year…
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WFG News
February 20, 2015

Zillow Group seeks restraining order to keep listings flowing to Trulia

Zillow Group filed for a temporary restraining order today in a bid to keep listings flowing to Trulia from listing syndicator ListHub. ListHub — which is owned by realtor.com operator Move Inc., a News Corp. subsidiary — announced yesterday that it had terminated its syndication agreement with Trulia, the nation’s…
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