In today's business, if you want to differentiate yourself from your competition and grow, you have to market your business daily. We've made it even easier for you with XSellerate, which has just been released this week.   Read more...

Although slightly fewer than one-third of mortgage shoppers use a broker to help them find their current mortgage, those customers who do tend to be very satisfied with the lending experience, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Home Mortgage Study just released.   Read more...

Our new digital signature capability was well received last week when we were invited to discuss the ever-popular topic of electronic real estate transactions at the E-Records and E-Signatures: Emerging Technology and Business Applications in Financial Services conference held Nov. 8-9 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Washington D.C. The conference, sponsored by the Electronic Financial Services Council and Glasser LegalWorks, focused on the latest developments in electronic signatures and records.   Read more...

"Yes, you can make changes any time you want." "Yes, you pay one yearly fee for your site, no monthly fee, no hidden charges."   Read more...

It looks as though the federal government will be weighing in soon on the issue of who is the rightful owner of property data. Last week, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael G. Oxley (OH) released a letter requesting a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on the restrictions placed on Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) and their impact on home buyers.   Read more...

Standard & Poor's, the ratings agency which regularly tests the viability of Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) as a substitute for full appraisals "at the time of origination" as part of its ratings of Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS) for investors, recently had this (and only this) to say under the heading of "The Future of AVMs":   Read more...

Based largely on appraiser input, Fannie Mae has revised its series of proposed new test forms. The new Test 1004 provides additional narrative and comment space, restoration of standard format for cost and income approaches, an expanded sales comparison grid, and more, including appending what had been the test 1004b, Definitions, Statement of Limiting Conditions, and Appraiser's Certification, as pages 4-6.   Read more...

ORLANDO, FLA -- From the floor of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Conference here, a la mode, a leading developer of desktop, mobile, and Web tools for real estate professionals, and iHomeFinder, a leading developer of Web-based tools to enhance productivity and increase sales for real estate agents, announced that users of a la mode's Agent XSites will be able to implement iHomeFinder's customized solution for displaying MLS active listings on their personal websites.   Read more...

In our last now biweekly edition we told you how and why we were providing Mercury Desktop users with free upgrades to XSite Order Manager, and additionally, Standard XSites (functional primarily for branding and order management) to the more than 6,000 Mercury Desktop users who did not have an XSite. We alluded to an overall effort to phase out the Mercury brand in favor of the more individualized, personally branded XSites Network.   Read more...

Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) Executive Director Ben Henson told a panel discussion at the Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials (AARO) last month that prior to 2003, the ASC had warned six states about their appraiser licensing and certification programs, but in the past 18 months alone, 10 jurisdictions have been warned about some aspect of their regulatory program being out of compliance with a potential to affect ASC recognition.   Read more...