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RISMEDIA, July 30, 2010—A wide array of organizations including the American Land Title Association, the National Association of Realtors, AFSCME, Vote Vets, the Center for Responsible Lending, the Property Rights Alliance and the Institute for Liberty recently launched The Coalition to Stop Wall Street Home Resale Fees with an appeal to United States Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner to ban dangerous Wall Street Home Resale Fees (also known as “private transfer fee covenants”), which have already been restricted in 17 states because of their adverse impact on homeowners and home buyers.

Members of the Coalition delivered a letter to Secretary Geithner and representatives at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Farm Credit Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Federal Reserve Board, Deferral Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration and Office of Thrift Supervision, declaring their opposition to Wall Street Home Resale Fees and calling on the Obama Administration to ban their use.

“This dangerous new fee is a prime example of Wall Street investors trying to profit from unsuspecting homeowners,” said Kurt Pfotenhauer, President of the American Land Title Association. “We’re asking Secretary Geithner to stand up for Main Street homeowners and buyers and stop the use of Wall Street Home Resale Fees today.”

Manhattan-based Freehold Capitol Partners is leading the push to add these fees to home purchase contracts. The fees require that a percentage of the final sale price of a home be paid to a private third party every time the property is sold, typically for 99 years. Freehold is attempting to then sell the right to collect these fees on Wall Street.

“As the leading advocate for homeownership and housing issues, the National Association of Realtors strongly opposes home resale fees, or private transfer fees,” said Lucien Salvant, Managing Director for Public Affairs at the National Association of Realtors. “They add an unnecessary and unfair burden to the real estate transaction for either buyer or seller.”

The Coalition to Stop Wall Street Home Resale Fees has already been active, raising awareness about the issue and taking action to stop these dangerous fees.

To date, 17 state legislatures in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Utah have recognized the dangers of Wall Street Home Resale Fees and have restricted their use.

An official with the U.S. Federal Housing Administration confirmed that the government will not insure mortgages for properties with Wall Street Home Resale Fees and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development confirmed these fees violate HUD’s regulations.

“At a time when state and local governments are cutting services to the bone, it makes no sense to force them to use tax-payer dollars to dole out unearned profits to Wall Street,” said AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee. “This financial scheme is a pipedream for Wall Street and a nightmare for everyone else.”

“Owning a home has always been part of the American dream—for veterans and non-vets alike,” said Jon Soltz, Co-Founder and Chair of Vote Vets. “We fought to preserve the American dream for all, but these greedy Wall Street Home Resale Fees mislead homeowners and make that dream more difficult to attain.”

“This country has seen enough abusive financial practices to last a lifetime,” said Uriah King, Vice President of State Policy at the Center for Responsible Lending. “Now, yet again, homeownership and family wealth are at risk because of Wall Street’s unscrupulous practices.”

“One had thought that the concept of serfdom had been abolished centuries ago, but Wall Street is trying to re-introduce the concept through these near-perpetual fees,” said Andrew Langer, President of the Institute for Liberty. “When I own my home “free and clear” it means that I have the right to keep any profits through its sale. This practice forces a landowner into a third-party’s fiefdom, watering down individual rights in the process.”

The Coalition to Stop Wall Street Home Resale Fees has organized to fight the dangerous financial scheme of transfer fee covenants and to protect homeowners across the country.

For more information, visit http://www.stophomeresalefees.org.

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RISMEDIA, July 29, 2010—Reflective of the real estate buyers’ market conditions in many regions in the U.S., satisfaction with real estate companies among home buyers has improved from 2009, while satisfaction among home sellers has declined, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Home Buyer/Seller Study.

The study, now in its third year, measures customer satisfaction of home buyers and sellers with the largest national real estate companies. Overall satisfaction is determined by examining three factors for the home-buying experience: agent/salesperson; office; and variety of additional services. Four factors are examined for the home-selling experience: agent/salesperson; marketing; office; and variety of additional services.

Overall satisfaction among home buyers averages 803 on a 1,000-point scale in 2010—increasing by 12 points from 2009. This improvement is primarily driven by increased satisfaction with agents and salespersons. In contrast, overall satisfaction among home sellers has declined by 40 points from 2009 and averages 742 in 2010. Among home sellers, satisfaction has decreased in all four factors, with the largest declines observed in marketing of the home and the variety of additional services offered.

“Among both home buyers and home sellers, the importance of agents and salespersons has increased substantially in 2010, compared with 2009,” said Jim Howland, senior director of the real estate and construction practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “Buyers are increasingly relying upon negotiating skills of agents and seem to be satisfied with the purchase prices they are obtaining. Despite the fact that selling agents appear to be doing a good job of negotiating and marketing on behalf of home sellers, the tough economic conditions are negatively impacting their overall satisfaction with real estate companies.”

In the home-buyer segment, Keller Williams ranks highest for a third consecutive year, with a score of 817 on a 1,000-point scale. Keller Williams performs particularly well in the agent and office factors. Following in the rankings are Prudential (811) and Coldwell Banker (805). Prudential performs well in the additional services category.

Among home sellers, Prudential ranks highest with a score of 760 and performs particularly well in the marketing and agent factors. Prudential is the only company to improve in home-seller satisfaction in 2010, compared with 2009. Following Prudential in the rankings are Keller Williams (751) and RE/MAX (744). Keller Williams performs particularly well in the office factor.

The study finds that fewer than one-half of home buyers and sellers indicate their agent asked them to provide a referral or recommendation to a friend or family member.

“Positive recommendations are a critically important driver of new business for agents, and there is ample opportunity for improvement in this area,” said Howland. “Particularly during tough times in the real estate market, asking for referrals and recommendations should be considered an essential part of doing business.”

J.D. Power and Associates offers the following tips to consumers who are buying or selling a home:

- Finding the right agent to suit your specific needs is critical. J.D. Power research has consistently demonstrated that having the right agent is critical to a satisfying home-buying or -selling experience. Due to the unique nature of real estate transactions, clients often form bonds with their agents, as a single buying or selling transaction can take several months or more to complete. For customers who have previously bought or sold a home, the right agent might be someone they’ve worked with successfully in the past. For first-time buyers, seeking recommendations from friends, relatives and colleagues is critical. Increasingly, agents and brokers are advertising their services on the Internet, so this can be a good starting point for research, particularly for someone moving far away from their current location.

- In addition to a buying or selling agent, consider the additional services you may require. Buying and selling a home is a complex undertaking with many “moving parts” to consider. In addition to the real estate agent you work with, you may also need to work with a loan officer, a financial institution, title/escrow company, inspectors, appraisers, home warranty agents, movers, storage services, contractors, etc. One of the advantages of using a full-service real estate company is that they can assist with finding and coordinating some of these necessary additional services.

- For sellers, marketing one’s home should be a primary focus. In addition to finding the right agent, home sellers should pay special attention to tools used to market the home. When selecting an agent, find out their approach to open houses and online marketing, in particular. J.D. Power research finds that home buyers often search for homes online long before they engage a buying agent, or even attend an open house. Ask about which websites will contain the home listing, the number of home photos that can be included and if any special features will accompany the listing, such as virtual tours or mortgage calculators. Tools that assist prospective home buyers may help attract attention to the listing.

- For buyers, it’s important to understand the full cost of the home prior to making a purchase. It’s prudent for home buyers to establish a housing budget and to expect agents to show homes in the appropriate price range. Particularly for first-time buyers, it’s important to understand all the associated fees and expenses that go along with purchasing a particular home. These can include one-time expenses, such as ‘points’ that lower mortgage rates, title fees and appraisals, as well as ongoing expenses such as homeowners association fees, property taxes, or other specialized local taxes that can impact your monthly payments.

For more information, visit www.jdpower.com.