As August winds down, I took a quick look at the number of foreclosure deeds and orders of notice recorded here at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds in Lowell. The official statewide foreclosure statistics for August usually aren't released until mid to late September, so our stats provide an early glimpse into what's in store for the rest of the Commonwealth. The foreclosure situation is not getting any better. Last August, we recorded 22 foreclosure deeds and 51 orders of notice here in Lowell. This August, we recorded 54 foreclosure deeds and 84 orders of notice.

MLS Property Information Network is the company that runs my multiple listing service. There is an ever-changing set of rules for using this database, which reflect changes in the marketplace.

The Network wrote to its agent-members:

SHORT SALES: While there is no prohibition from entering "short sales" into MLS Property Information Network, I must caution you that doing so without the list price being approved by the lending institution may leave you open to charges of misrepresentation by prospective buyers who feel they've been mislead. Understand, as well, as with any listing in the MLS, you are making an offer of compensation and may also be held to honoring that offer of compensation. In addition, if the lending institution requires pre-approval of the buyer before accepting offers, that needs to be disclosed as well. Cooperating agents need to know the requirements of the lending institution before working to produce the buyer!

Allow me to translate into English from broker-speak: Brokers may list foreclosing properties in the MLS. However, if the lender/seller rejects a full priced offer and asks for more, the buyer could sue you. If you offer a commission to a co-broker, then the lender/seller won't pay it, you may have to. If there are special rules regarding paperwork, you need to disclose them.

I've been seeing short sales since early this spring (this time, I saw many in the early 90s). They are tricky and often aggravating. My buyers have had their price raised after their offer was accepted (they could reject the counter-offer, but didn't), I have been asked to cut my commission (I didn't), I have not yet seen (this time) lenders who required that my buyers borrow from them, but that was common in the 90s.

Bravo, MLS-PIN, for policing your database so that it accurately reflects what is for sale, how much it will cost, and what the rules are for buying it.

Late summer is a jumpy time for Americans. Many are still on vacation, some have returned, some never went, some spent their summer vacation driving their children to colleges. Workplaces run with smaller staff, substitute staff, or just do less work. Children's camp is over; now, children remember their summer reading assignments. And... all the therapists are on the Cape and Islands!

In the financial world, the credit markets have tightened. Interest rates are up, especially on larger loan amounts -- or are they about to go down again? The stock market...let's not try to make sense of the stock market this August!

MassBuyerAgents.com has a chat group for members. Here's the August field report: Business increased or no change. No one reported an unusual slump. Several reported an increase in "short sales" and bank-owned (foreclosed) properties up for sale, but the prices were not low enough to entice a smart buyer.

My last two clients made offers in competition, according to the listing agents. I have a normal level of inquiry, not reduced by economic instability or the season.

Home prices are down a little and the interest rates are up a little. Times are confusing but, there is no need to panic. My colleagues and I are enjoying a steady business because informed buyers want to work with agents whose focus is helping buyers, not sellers. We are popular in insecure times.

Alas, I'd rather be on the Cape with the therapists. However, duty calls.

The widely-publicized credit crunch is making it harder for many buyers to get a mortgage at a good rate, or at all. Knowing and improving your credit score is all-important if you're in the market for real estate. Thanks to valuable tips from our first-time homebuyer's class, I was able to raise mine significantly before we applied for a mortgage.

In the class I learned three important things:

[1] Get your FICO score for all three credit reporting agencies, because that's what mortgage lenders use. It costs a maddening $45 and is not provided in your annual free credit report;

[2] Credit card balances should be as low as possible -- the less debt of any kind, the better;

[3] Challenge any negative information, even if you think it may be true. The credit card company may not bother to dispute your challenge, letting you win by default.

Armed with this information, last February I swallowed my ire at the credit reporting cartel, plunked down the money for my FICO score, paid down my credit cards, and challenged a couple of late payment reports.

Both challenges went in my favor, and at the closing table last week I learned that my credit score had jumped 75 points. Combined with my partner's already stellar rating, the improvement probably helped us in our mortgage application: we were approved, and got a very good rate.

When chatting with the attorneys who come here to record documents, two themes have emerged this month.

The first involves the availability of mortgages, particularly for home purchases. If you have stellar credit and you're looking for $300,000 or less, you have a good shot at getting your loan approved. If you're seeking a larger loan (and who isn't, with the still-high prices of real estate?), your odds of locking in a loan are greatly diminished.

The second observation is that current homeowners who are in adjustable rate mortgages are growing increasingly concerned that the next upward adjustment will be devastating to their home finances, placing many into unsustainable positions. Because of much tighter credit (see point one above) and because the value of the home in many cases has slid below the outstanding balance of the mortgage, these folks must try to ride out the increase by tightening the family financial belt in other areas.

Single-family house prices in the Boston metropolitan area have dropped 3.7 percent over the past year, according to the S&P/ Case-Shiller home price index, released earlier this week, which measures price changes in 20 large metropolitan areas.

Boston falls somewhere in the middle. Detroit's prices have plunged 11 percent and Tampa's nearly 8 percent. Countering the general trend, Atlanta house prices are up 1.6 percent and Seattle's up almost 8 percent.

Most interesting is that Boston's index indicates an improvement. That isn't surprising given that the metropolitan area housing market went into the downturn in April 2006, earlier than other cities.

"Boston has shown improvement since the beginning of the year, where its annual growth rate measured minus 5.5 percent," Standard & Poor's said in its press release. Translation: the local market is still in decline but the size of that decline has tapered off.

More data will be required before declaring that an upturn is under way. And the mortgage crisis is a wild card.

The mortgage crisis, which has made it extremely difficult to refinance delinquent mortgages or sell a home to exit a bad mortgage, won't help the worrisome foreclosure trend.

The number of foreclosure auctions advertised in Massachusetts newspapers in July exceeded 1,000 for a fifth month in a row, according to The Warren Group's report today on foreclosure activity in the state.

"July held more of the same for Massachusetts homeowners," Timothy Warren, Warren Group's chief executive, said.

"More people who get into trouble are having a hard time getting out. They are finding it more difficult to refinance or to sell, so more foreclosures are making it to the auction process," he said.

There were 1,128 scheduled auctions in July -- up 130 percent from last year. That is below April's peak of 1,647. During that time, state regulators began assisting some delinquent borrowers in renegotiating their mortgages or halting foreclosures to give the homeowners a reprieve.

But it seems too early to gauge whether foreclosure auctions are truly in decline.

That's because lenders who initial filed notices of potential foreclosure in Massachusetts Land Court continued to increase: 2,185 in July, up 66 percent from a year ago. July marked the 10th month in a row in which filings exceeded 2,000 statewide.

Here's some welcome news about the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors said today in its July sales report that while nationwide home sales fell 0.2 percent, sales in the Northeast increased 1 percent to 1.02 million.

US existing home sales were at an annual pace of 5.75 million units in July, well below the 6 million annual pace during the boom earlier in the decade.

Sales in the West were also up, by 1.8 percent. Sales declined only in the Midwest -- down 2.2 percent. Sales in the South were flat.

The realtor group's sales figures chart changes between June and July in the seasonally adjusted figures.

Readers frequently complain about the bad-news stories that I've written over the past year about the Massachusetts' housing market as it has fallen from its all-time highs.

They're right to some extent. The market is down, but the reality is more complex than a single sales or price figure.

For one thing, the monthly reports from The Warren Group and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors for the entire state obscure variations among various counties and in the Boston metropolitan area. For example, the median price in Middlesex County dropped just 1.5 percent in July, while Worcester County's price was off 7.4 percent.

And condominiums saw price gains in downtown Boston during the second quarter, according to Listing Information Network, which tracks only the core downtown neighborhoods in a separate report.

The downtown rebound amid a national downturn is something of a mystery but certainly can be partly explained by the growing popularity of downtown living among the well-to-do. Developers have rushed in to fill that need with luxury condos.

Also, as I've noted in several articles, Massachusetts' housing decline started earlier, and some of the dire reports on the US housing market may not apply. If you're a Massachusetts homeowner or trying to sell, a 4.6 percent price drop is hardly good news. But it's a lot worse in other housing markets. The limited supply of housing in the Boston area tends to put a floor on prices, analysts say.

Finally, readers and agents complain that critical coverage causes the market's decline. While journalists report what has already happened -- July sales aren't written about until August -- we no doubt have some impact.

Economists would respond that information is the grease that keeps the markets humming efficiently.

With all the casualties in the mortgage industry, I hear through the grapevine that home sales are falling through, being delayed, or have to be renegotiated when a buyer has to line up a new mortgage lender when the lender changes its terms.

If you're having trouble getting or keeping a purchase or refinance mortgage because of the mortgage turmoil, please call me at The Boston Globe or email me at blanton@globe.com.

Sam Garcia, the publisher of MortgageDaily.com, a mortgage industry newsletter for subscribers, today declared this "one of the worst weeks" in the industry.

He makes a good case.

Nothing this week topped continuing revelations that Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's biggest home lender, is struggling. Bank of America Corp., the nation's biggest commercial banking company, injected $2 billion into Countrywide, a move analysts said would buy Countrywide time.

But there was other news, not as high profile, as Garcia noted in his group email today. Capital One Financial Corp. closed its mortgage subsidiary, GreenPoint Mortgage. Lehman Brothers closed BNC Mortgage LLC. Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. closed its retail loan operation, and HSBC Mortgage Corp. plans to close an Indiana mortgage operation next year.

In every case, Garcia noted, hundreds of mortgage-industry professionals are losing their jobs.
So much for the summer doldrums.

There may be some help for laid-off mortgage professionals on Sept. 9 at the New England Mortgage Bankers Conference in Providence, R.I. The conference is hosting a job fair.

This summer, the second most-popular spectator sport in Somerville is MBTA-Watching. Somervillians have heard promises of a Green Line stop (or two) and an Orange Line stop, on-and-off for years and years and years.

August was a bad month for MBTA-Watchers: they suffered more delays in the Green line and in the Orange line projects.

Somerville needs mass transit! It is a dense city, just 2.5 miles from Boston, yet it takes about a half hour to get from Union Square to Boston by bus and train. A quarter of its households do not have a car. Eight train lines pass through Somerville, yet it has only one T stop. Somerville took on tons of air pollution and hours of traffic delays while the Big Dig was dug. Yet Somerville waits for promises made to be fulfilled.

Some MBTA-Watchers grin and bear it and say "wait until next year!" They have been tireless fighting for their MBTA stops. They come to all the hearings, even the one called during the playoff again against "them" in 2004.

At least the other spectator sport is bringing Somervillians some pleasure. The Sox are doing great as we round the end of August. Go Sox!

Oh, Kim! You say it is tough times for real estate agents? I am not crying for the people who walked into my business thinking it is an easy buck, and are now crying that they had to work too hard for their pay. Let them quit in droves.

It is tough times for lots of people in real estate: It is a hard time to buy if you have trouble borrowing; it is a hard time to sell if you need to get an especially high price to cover your debts; it is a hard time to sell newly developed condos; it is an awful time if you work for a lender.

The newspapers and blogs are full of confusing and sometimes contradictory information about what is going on in the economy of real estate. Prediction is futile, unless you want to be wrong. The only breath of fresh air in all this is that the agents who don't know how to make a living are leaving the business, the people who were over-borrowing have been shut out, and the speculators are thinking twice. I see all these as good things. Bring it on!

Whenever a house sells in my neighborhood, my neighbors ask me, "how much?" Then one will say something like this: "If he got $325,000 then my house is worth $390,000..."Invariably, my neighbor has inflated his home's value by $20-30,000.

Why is this? According to Daniel Gilbert in Stumbling on Happiness we agree with information that reinforces what we already believe. Therefore, the single fact of one house sale allows my neighbor to feel confident about his (wrong) price.

So when the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and the Warren Group do their monthly review of the real estate market, I take it with a grain of salt. They are going to see what they expect to see in this tiny snapshot of market data. I believe that we cannot see the forest for the trees when we look at such a large sample of housing (all of Massachusetts) over such a small time frame (one month.)

If you are a buyer and you can't predict the market, what should you do? Buy when your need to buy is real. Buy what you can afford, not more. Buy for the long term; this is a bad time for short-term "starter houses."

Buyers and sellers, I can predict this: The fall market will be interesting!

Disclosures:

1. I am a buyer's broker. I never list a property for sale. I work frequently and happily with "For Sale By Owner" sellers.

2. One of my best friends in real estate, Pat, runs an MLS entry business. She's great!

3. I agree with the Consumer Federation of America that "the desire of traditional brokers to 'double dip' -- where one broker collects all of the commission -- lies behind all of their anticompetitive actions." I have seen broker greed in action. Some traditional real estate agents fought tooth and nail to keep me from collecting a commission when I represented buyers in the early 90s, when buyer agency was new. (Now, almost every firm has buyer's agents, so that discrimination ended.)

All that said, I want to remark on In a tough market, you might do better selling your home yourself. Now is a hard time to go it on your own to sell your home, unless you have a lot of time and a lot of patience. A few years back, we had a seller's market: demand was high and selling was easy. That was the time to call my friend, Pat.

Because of the lending crisis, the demand for homes is very likely to go down in the next few months as things get sorted out. You are going to need as much help as possible to get qualified buyers into your home to see it, like it, and make an offer on it.

If you still want to try your luck, go ahead! You may save some money. But at what cost to your time, energy and mental health?

The different July home sales tallies reported today -- and every month -- by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and The Warren Group reveal a vexing issue.

But it's all in the data.

As I often explain in articles, their databases are different, which accounts for different results. The realtor group relies on the number of closings reported only by agents who are members of three multiple listing services in Massachusetts, for Cape Cod, the Berkshires and the largest one, MLS Property Information Network. The Massachusetts Association said that's roughly 80 percent of all agents in the state.

Warren Group goes to the courts and looks up closing documents statewide, totals them up, and reports those.

Warren Group's data base is much bigger, as can be seen in its tally of July's single-family sales in Massachusetts: 5,229 single-family sales in July, compared with MAR's report of 4,363 sales.

No database is perfect. Warren includes sales by owners, which could be as much as 10 percent of the market -- the real estate agents, for obvious reasons, do not.

Also, Warren's data in recent months has been more bearish than MAR's.

One reason may be because Warren includes what are known as " non-arms length" sales. In English, that means dad sells his daughter his condominium, valued at $500,000, for just $200,000. That may tend to pull down the prices.

During the five-year housing boom, many realtors were flying high and making good money. Buyers were a dime a dozen and house prices -- the basis for their 5 percent commissions -- were going up.

Today, contractions in the US mortgage and housing industries are taking a toll on the realtor ranks.

There were 22,499 agents in Massachusetts at the end of July, down from 24,788 last December, according to Eric Berman, spokesman for the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. California and Florida -- two of the largest states and among the nation's hottest housing markets -- had bigger reductions.

When the market is booming, agents tell me new people rush into the industry from all walks of life. But when there's a contraction, those who are inexperienced or haven't built a large client base often suffer first.

Massachusetts housing sales rose in July after four straight months of declines, and the median selling price of a single-family home increased 1.3 percent in July to $365,775, according to a new report.

Today's report is from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, which said the July sales volume of single-family sold in the Bay State was 4,363, up 6 percent from July 2006.

"It is encouraging to see sales go up in July after four straight months of year-over-year declines," Doug Azarian, the association's president, said in a statement.

Massachusetts condominium sales fell 0.1 percent to 1,933 units as the median selling price rose 6.3 percent from a year ago to $293,500, the association said.

July is hardly the busiest month for the housing market in Massachusetts, where activity often peaks in the spring.

A Globe story last month characterized the spring real estate market in Massachusetts as a "washout."

Meanwhile, the housing market has Wall Street fretting about problems in the subprime mortgage market triggering a domino effect for the larger economy.

Those subprime problems have some mortgage lenders tightening credit standards, and there are concerns that such moves could be a drag on the housing market in the coming months by thinning out the number of potential buyers.

Azarian addressed some of those concerns in his statement.

"While the tighter lending standards may have taken some buyers out of the market, it appears that those who have good credit and some equity are getting the financing they need and are buying again," he said.

Another potential bright spot for sellers: The statewide inventory of single-family homes and condos on the market as of July 31 was 53,966, down 17 percent from the same day in 2006, the association said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

The foreclosure auction was this morning. A third party was the high bidder. What happens next?

In a typical transaction, the buyer gets 30 days to finalize the deal. At that closing, the lender delivers a foreclosure deed to the buyer who then becomes the owner of the property.

Through all this time and beyond, the original homeowner-borrower is able to remain in the house. Technically, it takes an eviction order from a court to force the holdover owner out of the property.

Besides finding a new residence, the old homeowner is also likely to become a defendant in a deficiency lawsuit. In this proceeding, the lender seeks to recover the difference between the total owed on the mortgage and the amount realized at the auction. For example, if the balance owed on the mortgage was $350,000 but the winning bid at the auction was only $300,000, the borrower would still owe the lender $50,000. In some cases, these deficiencies might be written off immediately, but more likely, the lender will use the appropriate judicial process to scrutinize the borrower’s remaining assets and ability to pay on the judgment into the future.

If I were house-hunting right now, I would be scared about getting my loan. The lending rules are changing daily – sometimes a couple of times a day – in reaction to the credit crisis. I can’t really blame those giving out the money; these are hard times for mortgage lenders.

I am self-employed, so I don’t fit into the “standard” categories for great borrowers. If the rules change in regard to how my self-employment income is counted, I might fail to qualify. My options for getting a loan based on my stated (but undocumented) income have all-but disappeared. If I need a second mortgage to avoid PMI, I may be out of luck. The pre-approval I got last month may no longer be accurate. I am a good borrower, but not a great one.

What makes a great borrower?

1. Good credit score.

2. Steady employment (on payroll is better than self-employment – that’s my weak spot.)

3. Good income to debt ratios: One measures how much you will owe for the house compared to your income. The second measures how much you owe on all your debt compared to your income.

What can you do if you are not a great borrower?

The obvious thing is to check with your lender. Also, check again before you make an offer to purchase. If the lending rules continue to shift like sand under your feet, you may need to borrow less, or improve you credit score, employment or ratios before you can buy.

From where I sit, as a buyer’s broker, the recent credit crunch may be good news. Please don’t think me simple-minded because I am not reacting to it with trepidation. I know all about the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market and last week's stock market gyrations. Those things just don't upset my day-to-day business.

Real estate is the ultimate long-term investment. If you invest in it with that attitude, you win! Your stocks have no use except to grow your money. Homes have the added bonus of being useful while they appreciate (and depreciate). You live in them; if you don’t want to live in them, you can rent them. Can’t rent your stock, not even on Craigslist!

I work in all market conditions like I work in all weather. Current conditions are bad for speculators and people who have been over-borrowing. But they are good for my clientele; I work with well-informed, qualified buyers. The weather is pretty fine for buyers with good credit, steady jobs, and down payment. It may even be getting better.

My lender friends are going nuts with all the changes in investor’s rules. The rules are changing daily, sometimes more than once daily. Some good -- but not great -- borrowers are getting caught in this investor reaction to the credit crisis. But it is still sunny times ahead for buyers who are solidly qualified to borrow.

I have been hoping for, but not quite seeing a true “buyer’s market.” Dropping prices and higher inventory are sunshine to my day. I remain hopeful, but still bring my metaphorical umbrella to work everyday.

The Federal Reserve Bank and other US lending regulators today issued a proposed disclosure form that would better explain to borrowers of adjustable-rate subprime mortgages the terms and conditions of these loans.

Coming amidst a enormous increase in the number of foreclosures of subprime mortgages, the regulators hope the new disclosure form will prompt potential borrowers to have a more realistic, clear-eyed understanding of the debt they're about to shoulder.

Let's see, if I moved next to Mayor Menino, I would ...

Today's Globe story about the Hyde Park house next door to Hizzoner coming up for sale drew a few truly comic responses from readers on the boston.com message boards.

Does the overall market downturn represent a buyer’s market, as I recently suggested? Not to one reader. "Pardon me while I scoff in your general direction," wrote in political blogger Greg Decker.

What's remarkable about the results of the Federal Reserve Bank's new survey of lenders is not that some indeed are tightening standards for residential real estate loans; it's how many report they are not!

The Fed survey found 14 percent of respondents tightening lending standards on prime loans, those to customers with good credit. Around 40 percent said they tightened standards for non-traditional loans, and 56 percent for subprime loans. That leaves a healthy percentage of lenders who did not change lending practices in July despite the extreme blowups in the mortgage and credit markets.

Events of the past few weeks confirm that our real estate woes are not limited to the subprime market. The latest casualty seems to be mortgages in excess of $417,000, the so-called “jumbo mortgages.” I say “so-called” because with the high price of housing, a loan of $400,000 doesn’t exactly buy a mansion in most communities in the northeast. Loans of this size either are not being made or they are being offered with extremely high interest rates. The consequences are widespread. Buyers cannot get funding to consummate purchases. Sellers are left hanging when deals fall through because of no financing, and existing homeowners with soon to reset adjustable rate mortgages are trapped in their existing loans. While the current credit crunch has implications beyond the housing market, it is still the housing market that suffers the most.

I had buyers close on a two-family home last week. They had a long and hard search because there were so few nice options. I am glad to have them join the dwindling ranks of two-family homes owners.

The mass conversion of two-family homes into two-condo associations has reduced the supply. The steep increase in sale prices without a proportionate rental increase made the economic benefit of owning a two-family less appealing.

For me, buying a two-family house was the best decision I ever made. (Actually, the second best – you haven’t met my husband!) When we bought in 1996, two-family ownership was still a stepping-stone into home ownership for working class people. Collecting rent made the mortgage manageable. The house size is flexible, which is good for growing and shrinking families. Some owners stayed for a lifetime, some saved money then moved on to single family homes. In either case, it was good for real estate business and good for the community.

Now, there are large numbers of condos where two-family homes used to be. Condos are great housing for people at the beginning and end of their adult life. They are not the ideal place for young families with children. Because of this, cities like Somerville are experiencing a decline in school-aged children. In addition, there are fewer options for people trying to buy their first home. Both of these things are bad for real estate business and bad for the community.

I think taxes are a good thing. Taxes pay for schools, police, fire safety, and infrastructure -- all these things make a community a good place to live. And, Lord knows, we need infrastructure! On August 8th, U.S. Rep. John Dingell revealed a plan to cut global warming by ending the mortgage tax deduction on homes larger than 3,000 square feet.

I say, “Bring it on!”

President Bush today said a tad more about his position on the current turmoil in the housing and credit markets, reiterating his position that he does not support a government-financed "bail-out" of homeowners facing foreclosure.

I've heard more than once from readers who work hard and pay their bills on time. They feel that homeowners going under with subprime mortgages have too much debt and were irresponsible in purchasing their properties in the first place.

The public doesn't agree -- just barely

Every mortgage broker I interviewed for today's article had the same message: Frustration.

This is the worst credit market they've seen in 20 years -- or ever.

Michigan Democratic Congressman John Dingell is best known for his positions on the home-town auto industry, but his lastest suggestion to curb global warming and conserve energy is likely to roil the housing industry.

Dingell said he will proposed ending the mortgage interest tax deduction, an enormous bounty for homeowners, for properties larger than 3,000 square feet.

Our home search has been longer and more arduous than we imagined. And I think a big reason is the buyer's market we've been in.

Huh? Lots of inventory, falling prices, houses selling for huge sums under asking price...what’s not to love? I'll tell you what: the very market conditions making it so tough for sellers also create a hidden problem for us.

One of my favorite home inspectors says to buyers at the beginning of their home inspection:

Close your eyes. Imagine the Grand Canyon. You see it? Deep, huge...OK. Water made that. Throughout your inspection, I will be looking for water where it doesn’t belong.

More and more deeds being recorded at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds in Lowell have major lenders as the seller as they unload properties that they bought back at recent foreclosure sales. July 31 provides a good case study. Of the 76 deeds recorded here that day, national lenders were the sellers on seven of them.

The average indebtedness that led to the foreclosure was $319,900 while the average amount realized on the subsequent (post-foreclosure) sale was only $248,600, a loss of 22%.

The mortgage mess is a now a presidential campaign issue. Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton today in New Hampshire sketched a plan to crack down on unscrupulous lending and offer assistance to troubled homeowners facing foreclosure.

In the rising market of the past few years, buying a home with little or no money down became the norm. With today’s declining home values and the overall tightening of credit, however, lenders are again looking for an equity cushion in home purchases.

They now want buyers to contribute cash towards the purchase price, cash that few potential buyers have.

On a recent hour tour: My client smelled it as soon as we walked in...It was a dog bed in the basement. Turned off. House rejected.

My clients make up nicknames for houses they have seen. Usually, it will be the street name or something like the blue kitchen or the porch. Last year, there was a house called sweat sock.

In the heat of the summer and the most closed-in part of the winter, houses smell. Sellers, don't think that using perfumed candles, or sprays, or baking cookies helps. You only add a new smell to the mix. It is sort of like using deodorant when you haven't showered since last week.

Some smells are part of the house, and some are part of the family. Most family smells leave with the family. Family smells include: dirty laundry, dog beds, cat boxes, "science projects" in the refrigerator, smoking, diaper pails, trash bins...House smells include: damp basements, leaking waste pipes, leaking oil tanks or fittings, mold, mildew, urine outside of toilet or cat box...

Buyers, investigate a smell. Make sure it is a "family" smell that will leave. Sellers, clean up your act before you invite the public into your home.

My nose and I thank you.

The Phoenix took at look at real estate agents and their creative lifestyle. My first reaction was, yeah right...rock star, that’s me.

But then I thought about it. My office is full of people who are not your mother’s brokers.

Neglect. That’s a nasty word. Our national lesson this week is that when we neglect our infrastructure, disaster follows. I see neglected homes every week. If homeowners neglect their homes, they still get to sell it to some ambitious buyer.

So buyers, thinking about a fixer-upper? Be ready to experience some variation on the “rule of fives.”

The federal Office of Thrift Supervision is soliciting public comment on what would constitute unfair and deceptive practices in lending and other activities. Though the words "subprime mortgage" are not mentioned in the OTS release, it's probably not an unfair inference to draw that the blowup in that end of the lending market is weighing on regulators.

Subprime mortgages, are you sick of hearing about them yet? They are bad news, yes? Does everyone know what a subprime mortgage is and why they cost you so much more?

Let me explain:

Prime Lending Rate is set nationally. It is the base rate of all loans. Residential mortgages rates are higher than that prime lending rate. The subprime residential mortgage rate will be even higher than conforming residential mortgage rate.

The opposite of “subprime mortgage” is not “prime mortgage”; it’s a “conforming” mortgage. To get a conforming (or conventional) loan, borrowers must conform to rigid standards developed by mortgage lenders. These standards are not exact; there is some judgment involved. An applicant is judged on these factors: income to support the requested mortgage plus all other debt the borrowers has outstanding, credit history, job stability, and assets. So, someone with an unsteady job may still get a loan if he/she has a good credit history, a good income, and a hefty down payment. Likewise, someone with no down payment may get a prime mortgage if his or her job is stable and credit is excellent. Someone with a lot of debt, but good credit and income could get one.

Subprime mortgages have higher interest rates. They are frequently Adjustable Rate Mortgages that will go up in 2 or 3 years. They often have high up-front costs added into the debt. They are a significantly more expensive way to borrow money.

If you do not qualify for a conforming loan, it should be a warning sign. If the lender’s actuaries think you are a risky borrower, you may be. Check with another lender. If multiple lenders are tell you that you should not borrowing money, maybe you shouldn’t.

The trouble began when subprime lenders made it possible for almost anyone could borrow anything, for a price. It is a good thing that those days are over.

The ballroom at 5 Commonwealth Avenue is a jewelbox.

That's what William Young, the city's architectural guru at the Back Bay Historical Commission, calls it.

It's an odd term for a ballroom that is bigger than many city condominiums. But he's right. The curved soffits, the gilt-trimmed walls, columns and ceiling -- in the style of French King Louix XVI --are a tight, seamless box that seems almost cozy, despite its size.

Real estate agents, once slow to move their business on line, are catching on.

MLS Property Information Network Inc., the primary database for brokers who list properties for sale in Massachusetts, will now post its listings on the national real estate website, Trulia.com. MLSPin said a Trulia survey revealed 60 percent of its customers are not yet working with an agent.