In this video, hear John Sable, Active Web, Boulder CO, discuss the web 2.0 environment and the way it affects how transferees search for properties. Hear how google has become even more important to the way people search.

Watch John Gadeken, Active Web, add his comments on how the web has changed the way we search for real estate. He discusses keywords, the digital footprint and its relationship to searching real estate – how google “opens the door.”

Our Rubloff intern, Ross Nemzin (rnemzin@rubloff.com) recently sat down with the President of Relocation Management Resources (“RMR”), Bob Carbonell, to learn more about his company.  Simply put, RMR acts as  a custom management outsource for  household goods moving services.   These services are  utilized by several categories of client:

• Homeowners
• “Lump Sum” corporate transferees 
• Affinity program members
• Real Estate Company partners
•  Full service relocation management companies 
• Corporations

Whether the client is a corporate transferee or an individual wanting a luxury real estate focus  toward their move , RMR can provide the expertise needed to make a seamless transition from one home to another.  RMR has a network of many of the finest specialized  domestic and international moving agents to ensure their  clients receive the highest quality moving services.

Several key points were revealed in the discussion that differentiate RMR’s moving service from that received when working directly with movers and other management groups:

•             RMR completely separates the move management from the mover.  The company inserts itself between the client and the moving company  as an expert management resource and advocate – taking over all forms of communication and move orchestration—neither the individual moving or, when applicable, the employer, realtor or management company ever speaks to the moving company. 
•             For individual transferees, RMR  provides custom service constraints and performance parameters such as those experienced by a corporate executive under a company umbrella .  On their own, individuals do not have as much clout as corporations do to influence the system in order to receive the most cost effective moving plan with the highest level of quality.  If they use RMR, however, they now have the built-in luxury of a corporate-level managed service.
•             The sole focus of RMR’s business is to satisfy the client’s needs at the best possible cost.  RMR presents its clients with multiple moving plans in an easily understood manner which allows the client to clearly see all of their options.
•             A written documentation of all steps of the move is kept and then processed through a very complex audit to ensure that the client is billed correctly.
•             RMR assures that clients will receive top quality moving, accurate billing, and fantastic customer service at a market competitive price.

This unique service that RMR provides is something that no other move management company in the country does and distinguishes RMR from its competition.  Whether your need is Chicago Relocation or worldwide relocation, for more information, visit RMR.

James Waller, shared some comments on HOEPA– Home Ownership Equity Protection Act.  James is currently pursuing a real estate degree at DePaul University in Chicago IL.  He can be reached at jwaller@rubloff.com .  As always, it’s best to stay informed by using a strong, secure mortgage lender.

On July 14, 2008 the Board of Governors for the Federal Reserve released new rules under the Truth in Lending Act (T.I.L.A.) Regulation-Z. This law helps to protect consumers from deceptive practices made by lenders towards mortgages and home equity loans. If the lender does not supply the obligatory disclosures or terminates the loan in less than three days, then the borrower has the right to take legal action and may be able to receive compensation for damages, legal fees and get the loan reinstated. H.O.E.P.A. is applied to all lenders and not just federally –regulated banks. 

 
The guidelines illustrate how we are shielded by creating a new category of “higher-priced mortgage loans.” It is defined as closed-end consumer credit transactions secured by the consumer’s principal dwelling. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on the loan will exceed the rate on a Treasury security with a comparable maturity by 3%. This shall include purchase loans, refinancing of loans, and home equity loans. Yet, this will exclude loans for vacation properties, open-end home-equity plans, reverse mortgages, or construction-only loans.

 
 Furthermore, this legislation implements early consumer disclosures for closed end mortgages secured by a principal dwelling. Certain prohibitions include acts or practices for subprime mortgage loans and loans that meet HOEPA’s cost triggers. Additional acts or practices for closed-end credit transactions attained by a consumer’s principal residence. Also, misleading advertising practices in relation to closed-end mortgages.

I was amazed at how many fellow bloggers and readers of The Relocation Blog I met last week at the fantastic Inman Real Estate Tech conference in gorgeous San Francisco CA.  So I was shocked to wake up this morning to a message from a very prominent Linked In group which I syndicate to, who is asking all bloggers to stop sharing their posts with group members!  I will of course acquiesce, but I think it is shortsighted.  My statistics show that the majority of readers come from Linked In, Facebook and Twitter.  You can’t hold back the tide!  Well, I guess you can, on a certain level.  So I ENCOURAGE everyone to sign up to receive email updates of posts, especially if usually rely on Social Networking Syndication.  There’s a lot of cool stuff going on in Chicago Relocation and real estate.  The button is there on the left!

“You can’t ignore these trends,” according John Gadeken, Active Web, discusses Social Networking and Real Estate. Hear him discuss social networking sites and their possible emergence as real estate portals.

When one of the smartest men in the real estate/relocation/tech industry, Eric Bryn (inventor of the  blogging platform propopoly / guide me home (www.guidemehome2chicagoluxury.com ),  discusses boosting your bottom line, people in the world of Chicago relocation, and relocation in general, need to listen! 

A social media guru, Bryn heads up strategic initiatives for the former RELO network - 

 

Read the entire article here