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The Latest News from WFG National Title Company
ryantate
156
WFG News
February 3, 2015

Agent hiring is broken, so here’s what top brokerages are doing about it

Hiring a new agent isn’t necessarily the easiest — or most enjoyable — thing to do. It can be costly, inefficient, require a lot of time … and, in the end, your decision could amount to nothing more than an educated guess. It’s OK to admit it: Hiring can suck! Well, it…
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ryantate
117
WFG News
February 3, 2015

Look what you can do with Google Earth Pro — for free

Google Earth Pro used to be $399 a year. Now it’s free. So what, you say? Check out how CityRealty recently used Google Earth and 3-D mockups of yet-to-be-built skyscrapers to show condo buyers what their views will be like when they peer out their brand-new, sky-high windows. TechCrunch’s Greg…
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ryantate
119
WFG News
February 3, 2015

Broker in court seeking identity of Yelp reviewer

ABC affiliate WFAA reports on a defamation lawsuit filed by a Texas agent and his brokerage against an anonymous Yelp reviewer.  If a reviewer slammed one of your agents on Yelp, would you defend yourself on the site or sue? A family-owned brokerage in North Texas that’s mostly racked up…
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ryantate
119
WFG News
February 2, 2015

MLS-powered websites a bigger deal than you might think

More than half of prospective buyers in Northern Colorado are getting information on listings from MLS-powered websites, according to a multiple listing service that’s deployed a free monitoring tool offered by ListTrac. Information and Real Estate Services LLC (IRES), which has more than 5,000 members, is using ListTrac to measure…
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ryantate
134
WFG News
February 2, 2015

11 mortgage FAQs from returning buyers (and how to answer them)

As a buyer’s agent, I think knowing the answers to buyer questions and concerns that emerge is essential to conveying our experience and knowledge of the process. Amy Buynoski, vice president and mortgage banker at Fidelity Bank, has 12 years of experience in getting loan successfully to the closing table.…
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ryantate
119
WFG News
February 2, 2015

Coldwell Banker expands in Mediterranean

Coldwell Banker Real Estate has opened shop in the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus under a new master franchise agreement it signed with the owner of the brand’s Turkey master franchise region, Gokhan Tas. As CEO of Coldwell Banker Turkey, Tas has grown the brand to 395 agents…
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ryantate
153
WFG News
February 2, 2015

7 things millennial homebuyers won’t tell you

The millennial generation is a social bunch. They love social media, they love texting, and they love connecting with their peers. Millennials share almost every detail of their lives, which is different from earlier generations. Yet there are things that millennials won’t tell you during the home buying process. To…
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ryantate
119
WFG News
February 2, 2015

Real estate search tools to add search by subdivision, HOA

Watch for a slew of online real estate search tools to add yet another layer of precision to their search capabilities. Maponics, the leading provider of neighborhood boundaries to real estate search websites, has or is in the process of rolling out data products that will make it possible to sort listings…
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ryantate
146
WFG News
February 2, 2015

Declining oil prices: boon or bane for real estate?

Most Americans are thrilled by the 50 percent reduction in prices at the gas pump. The strong U.S. dollar also helps our purchasing power for products manufactured outside the U.S. The real question is to what extent these shifts will positively or negatively affect the real estate industry. No matter…
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ryantate
134
WFG News
February 2, 2015

Real estate is missing an opportunity to reach qualified buyers

After decades of operating on the day-to-day transactional side of this industry as an agent and lender, I now enjoy a unique vantage point where the housing industry intersects — real estate, mortgage lending, quasi-governmental housing agencies, policymakers and non-profit organizations, and, of course, the homebuyer. My observations over the…
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