Earlier articles in this series described how certified lender networks will assure borrowers of competitive pricing on mortgage loans and required accessory services, and provide the decision supports that help borrowers make sound judgments. But an effective network cannot be based on the assumption that one size fits all.

Borrowers range very widely in their general intelligence, financial knowledge, computer skills and self-confidence. Having fielded approximately 40,000 letters from borrowers over the last 12 years, I am perhaps uniquely positioned to appreciate just how wide the disparities are from one borrower to another. [Read the full article]

Many real estate closings come with a certain amount of tension, but novice real estate agent Erin Toll Glover has come to expect more than the usual amount of anxiety emanating from across the closing table."People are always aware of my past," she said, laughing. "The biggest hurdle has been to get people to see that I don't hang upside-down in a bat cave and sleep in a coffin."That's because Glover -- when she was known professionally as Erin Toll -- comes to the closing table with no small reputation.Until June, she was the director of the Colorado Division of Real Estate, where she was known as an aggressive enforcer of the rules. Before that, working in the state's Division of Insurance, she uncovered a wide-ranging kickback scandal in the title insurance industry.All rights reserved. [Read the full article]

Real estate buyers today often turn down a listing because they think it's priced too high relative to the livable square feet it has to offer. In some neighborhoods, like planned unit developments, price per square foot might be a fairly reliable value indicator because there is little variability in the housing stock. It's of limited use in neighborhoods with great variability in home style, size, age and condition.Regardless of what the sellers report as the livable square footage, the buyers usually want to know what the public record on the home says. For example, if the sellers say their house has 3,000 square feet of living space, but the public record reports only 2,300 square feet, the buyers expect an explanation for the discrepancy.It's not only prospective buyers who are concerned when the public record differs from what is reported in the multiple listing service. [Read the full article]

Research In Motion (RIM), the company that designs and manufactures BlackBerry smart phones, has purchased Seattle-based contact management firm Gist, both companies announced today."We're excited that the Gist team is joining RIM and bringing their expertise in providing customers with a contextualized, streamlined, and consolidated view of information about their contacts to the BlackBerry platform," said Alan Brenner, senior vice president of the BlackBerry platform, in a blog post.All rights reserved. This content may not be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, in part or in whole, without written permission of Inman News.Use of this content without permission is a violation of federal copyright law.Research In Motion (RIM), the company that designs and manufactures BlackBerry smart phones, has purchased Seattle-based contact management firm Gist, both companies announced today. [Read the full article]