Friday Facts November 5, 2010

FRIDAY FACTS
November 5, 2010

Something different. Inman News reports that on September 25th, the “Race for the Home Event”, planned and executed by gaming platform SCVNGR converted 50 open homes into a virtual game board. Competitors downloaded challenges at each location. After 3 hours, nearly 500 contestants gathered to see who won runner-up prizes such as tee shirts and sports tickets and who won the grand prize, a $20,000 down payment.

NAR statistics show that nationally, pendings rose 4.3% in August, but that was 20% below the pace in August 2009. Regionally, pendings were up 7% in the South, 6% in the West, 2% in the Midwest, but down 3% in the East. NAR anticipates a 6.4% drop in existing home sales in 2010 compared with 2009 to $4.82 million.

Inman News reports that GMAC Mortgage, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America have halted foreclosure filings in 23 states because:
1. Documents were signed by employees who have not verified information
2. There was questionable legal notarization of documents
3. Different signatures of a single officials name appear leading to questions of forgery
4. Multiple banks claim the right to foreclose on the same property
Lawyers representing homeowners in foreclosure proceedings have challenged lenders on such grounds before and have mostly succeeded in delaying, not stopping foreclosure proceedings. Ultimately, most lenders have been able to prove they are the note holder. However, it could raise fears among homebuyers that if they buy a foreclosed home they could find themselves in a legal challenge by a former owner.

An article in Inman News explains that Poig is an online social network tool used to increase and expand the strength of your social network. The social object of Poig tends to be a small-scale get-together. Let’s say you’re going to grab a cup of coffee and wouldn’t mind having someone from your network show up. Here’s how it works:
1. Complete a profile
2. Select your event type
3. Enter in some details about the event
4. Publish your invitation to Facebook and/or Twitter.

Wells Fargo has put a stop on all short sale extensions.