If you are considering a career in real estate, PropertyShark has learned of an exciting opportunity for you at Continuing Education at Hunter College – an Introduction to real estate package for just $300! The package allows students to take any 40 hours (or any 10 of the 20 evening sessions) from the Salesperson License Pre-qualifying curriculum. Classes are scheduled to begin Tuesday evening, January 12. This is a chance for developers and investors to gain new insights, or begin working toward a salesperson license. This package is also an excellent option for college students, homeowners (and soon-to-be homeowners), and people considering an new career to obtain an overview of the real estate industry and an introduction to real estate.

For more information on this class, just click here.

To take advantage of this offer, go online to the Hunter College website , choose the “Spring 2010″ semester, then click on “Certificates” from the options on the left side of the screen, choose “Real Estate Program” from the drop down menu, and click on INTREES/1, Introduction to Real Estate to register (If the link does not yet appear, use the Remedial link for registration for the Introduction to Real Estate option until a separate link is posted). Once registered you can take any 40 hours or 10 evening sessions from the RESAL/1, REAL ESTATE SALESPERSON syllabus scheduled to begin on Tuesday evening, January 12.

Classes are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, 5:40 PM to 9:40 PM, at 71 East 94th Street, New York, NY 10128 (between Park and Madison Avenues).

You may e-mail the instructor, Bill Schwartz , with your questions, discuss which classes would be best for you, or to obtain a full course offering syllabus. Choose only the 40 hours of classes you want in the Introduction to Real Estate, or register for the full 78-hour Salesperson, 32-hour Remedial, or 45-hour Broker curriculum.

According to Brian O’Connell at BankingMyWay.com the U.S. Treasury Department is ratcheting up efforts to take financially swamped homeowners into “short sale” programs if they can’t get a loan modification deal. The trick is to throw some government cash onto the table to get lenders to go long on short deals.

The Treasury Dept. is revamping its short sales policy through its Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA). On Nov. 30, the Treasury issued new HAFA guidelines that would provide incentives with a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure to help avoid rampant foreclosures across the U.S.

By and large, a short sale is the sale of a home where the proceeds fall short of what the owner still owes on the mortgage. Short sales are more common when the homeowner is facing foreclosure. Mortgage lenders may agree to accept the proceeds of a short sale and release the homeowner of the remaining debt on the mortgage. By green-lighting a short sale, the bank or other lender can avoid an arduous foreclosure process, while the owner can pay off the loan for less than what is owed.

There are more of those kinds of homeowners than you might think. RealtyTrac reports that there were 306,627 U.S. properties in foreclosure in November 2009 — that’s up 18% from November 2008.

The HAFA program operates independently from the two major underwriters of mortgage loans in the U.S., Freddie Mac (Stock Quote: FRE) and Fannie Mae (Stock Quote: FNM). Both agencies, however, are expected to deliver changes to their short sales policies before the end of the year, the Treasury Department reports.

So what kind of change is the government talking about?

The new HAFA revisions feature a new wrinkle designed to make short sale purchases go faster — specfically, the pre-approval of sales terms before listing the property.

That should help U.S. families facing foreclosure. A quicker short sale timeline will help beleaguered U.S. homeowners get out from under the weight of foreclosure by essentially releasing the homeowner from his or her mortgage debt. Under terms of the HAFA statutes, lenders must respond to short sale requests within 10 business days of the receipt of the offer to purchase.

In addition, the homeowner also gets a “relocation incentive” of $1,500 deducted from the sales price at the closing.

Naturally, lenders get a piece of the pie, too. They get $1,000 in “administrative” fees to cover any costs associated with a short sale. Lien holders also cash in. Under the new HAFA rules, the short sale buyer may be paid a maximum of $1,000 for allowing lien holders to be paid from the proceeds of a short sale.

The new rules trigger next April, and are set to end in December 2011.

By any measure, any new rules that make it easier for a lender to provide homeowners with a short sale option instead of a foreclosure is a step in the right direction. Homeowners should approve, as likely will lenders and lien holders.

That’s the long and short of it. Now, if a loan modification doesn’t work, the new HAFA regulations make short sales a good “Plan B.”

View original article here: http://www.bankingmyway.com/real-estate/foreclosures/treasury-changes-rules-short-sales

With an ever-increasing population, our farming resources will eventually become constricted and farms will need to produce larger quantities of food, and do it using less land. One solution to this problem that is gaining momentum right here in New York City is sustainable urban agriculture. Home grown companies like Gotham Greens and BK Farmyards are proponents of urban agriculture, which take advantage of the cultivation potential in backyards, rooftops and vacant lots. These smaller, localized growing plots reduce fossil fuels by cutting the distance that fresh produce has to travel to reach the city, and eliminate many of the barriers associated with farming, like multiple acres of land and expensive farming equipment.

A growing concern in this industry, though, is capital, which is where Janine Yorio of NewSeed Advisors comes in. An investment banker with a background in real estate, Yorio sought to extend her savvy to urban farmers seeking land for small-scale farms. She founded NewSeed Advisors in 2009 to bring needed capital to companies furthering sustainable agriculture efforts. The fund works closely with government small-business start-up programs and regional business development groups to put investments together.

This an exciting opportunity for real estate professionals because, as these organizations and companies continue to grow, they will need to find land and/or properties with which to work. Gotham Greens is currently working on its first project, a rooftop farm in Jamaica Queens. The food they grow will be sold to Whole Foods markets across the city, and a portion is also set aside for sale within the community. And starting in 2010, the organization will begin development of another rooftop farm in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Meanwhile, over at BK Farmyards, they are looking to expand their venture beyond backyard farms to larger lots, both public and private. They even have a map on their site detailing locations of interest.

If you’re interested in the possibilities of the urban agriculture movement here in NYC, on January 13th, NewSeed Advisors will be hosting a Agriculture 2.0 Happy Hour, a gathering of professionals working to create more sustainable agriculture and food systems. Attendees hail from investment and consulting firms, farms and green markets, universities, food-related non-profits, food manufacturers, retailers, and restaurants. This could be a great networking opportunity for any real estate professional looking to establish contacts in an expending niche industry.

*Source: Forbes.com

Limited time Offer! During this special offer period, anyone who purchases a seat in a PropertyShark University class will get one month of access to the services on PropertyShark.com (excluding ListBuilder) in New York State. Just purchase a seat in any PSU class, then email PSU@PropertyShark.com that you are interested in the free access to PropertyShark.com. Please include your name, email address, and phone number in the email. We will update your existing account with one free month of all the services available on PropertyShark.com. If you do not have an pre-established account with PropertyShark, we will create one for you, and send an email confirmation. PropertyShark is the edge you need to succeed in real estate. PropertyShark University is the education you need to succeed in real estate!

One month of access permitted, regardless of the number of classes purchased.

If you are considering a career in real estate, PropertyShark has learned of an exciting opportunity for you at Continuing Education at Hunter College! With the Introduction to Real Estate package, for just $300, students are able to take any 10 of the 16 evening sessions currently being offered as part of the Hunter College real estate salesperson licensing curriculum! This is a chance for developers and investors to gain new insights, or begin to work towards a salesperson’s license. This package is also an excellent option for college students, people considering a new career, as well as homeowners (and soon-to-be homeowners) looking to learn more about the real estate industry. Register for the REAL ESTATE LICENSE 32-HOUR REMEDIAL/REAL32 and you can start taking classes immediately!
Classes are held Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday evenings, 5:40 PM to 9:40 PM, at 71 East 94th Street, New York, NY 10128 (between Park and Madison Avenues). Begin this evening, Wednesday, September 23. Once you are registered, please email the Instructor, Bill Schwartz, (myclass@verizon.net) for a full course offering syllabus and to discuss which classes would be best for you. Choose only the classes you want to attend.
To take advantage of this offer go online to the Hunter College website and choose the “Fall 2009″ semester (if not already pre-selected). Then click on “Certificates” from the options on the left side of the screen. Choose “Real Estate Program” from the drop down menu, and click on REAL ESTATE LICENSE 32-HOUR REMEDIAL /REAL32 to register.

Several bits of news have popped up in the past week, reminding us just how significant real estate web sites have become in today’s market and in today’s online culture.  Last Friday, Time Magazine released a list ranking the 50 Best Web Sites of 2009.  Several real estate-related sites made the cut.  This, coupled with recent findings published by the Nielsen Company that shows traffic to the top U.S. real estate web sites is up, points to a growing interest in real estate on the web.

According to The Nielsen Company, which specializes in marketing and media information, real estate web traffic climbed 11% between June and July 2009, (from 20.7 million to 23.1 million visitors). A growth of 18% from the same time period in 2008 was also noted.  Buyers between the ages of 25 and 34 are 29% more likely to be surfing real estate web sites, The Nielsen Company reports. And buyers without children are 32% more likely to visit those same sites, according to the July data.

Two of the real estate sites that made Time’s best-of list are PropertyShark.com and Redfin.com – both of which put an incredible amount of property knowledge into the hands of would-be buyers. The sites provide such information as price history, local demographics, property taxes, photos, comparables, and owner names.  This paints a picture of a highly educated first-time home buyer, whose savvy search skills may be either lucrative or challenging to a real estate pro.

Real estate web sites are gaining such speed that The Webby Awards –sponsored by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences– has a category honoring the “Best of Real Estate on the Internet.”

“The Internet is becoming an even more integral part of the real estate industry, and we are thrilled to honor the innovators that are leading the way,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards.

-Content originally posted on the Speaking of Real Estate blog