The San Diego Union Tribune - "Lender imposes rules on brokers" (10-7-07)

"Washington Mutual Inc., the nation's sixth-largest home-mortgage lender in terms of volume, is asking mortgage brokers it works with to provide more information to borrowers. Washington Mutual, of Seattle, said starting Tuesday, brokers who do business with the company must show evidence that they explained to borrowers key terms of the loans they are recommending – such as the amount, whether the interest rate or the payments may change, and if the loan has a fee for prepayments."

The San Diego Union Tribune - "Brokers, builders take notice of San Diego condo auction" (10-7-07)

"It took him three tries, but Shukdev Tantod finally emerged as a winning bidder at the recent auction held in San Diego of new iniums and townhomes built by D.R. Horton Inc. A general manager at Teledyne KW Microwave in Poway, Tantod was outbid twice before coming away with a two-bedroom unit at the La Boheme development in North Park. The 1,472-square-foot condo cost him his entire $365,000 budget."

Los Angeles Times - "The pressure's on" (10-7-07)

"As property prices stall and homes become harder to sell, buyers and sellers are looking more closely at the performance of their agents and holding them accountable for what they do -- or fail to do. Even during the market's dizziest days, some agents may have been missing the mark, as measured by the number of grievances filed with California's Department of Real Estate. Now, at a time when sales skills matter more than ever, industry observers believe brokers and agents -- particularly the inexperienced -- are in for a rough ride as buyers and sellers become tougher to please and perhaps eager to find someone to blame."