just a question related to your being a realtor in san francisco. your plans to become forward to the board of appeals on issues on variances, permits that they might want to seek or overturn. do you see any conflict of interest? >> i had initial conversations with the city attorney's office. i believe that transparency is the best bet. anything that i am working on will be given to the board of appeals office. that way we can avoid any potential conflict of interest. >> you see that those conflict of interest could arise from time to time? >> in the 30 years of business, my ethical compasses been straightforward. if there is a conflict i will be definitely the first person to come forth and to set aside and not hear that case. >> thank you. this is a question for mr. -- our deputy city attorney for the board of supervisors. has there ever been any kind of -- has there ever been a real tor serving on the board of appeals in the past? >> deputy city attorney john gibner. there is no position on a realtor serving. in response to questions you are aski

it's a day that never seems to come say these realtors. >> there are a number of realtors we have talkedwho say you have taken advantage of them over the years. >> never. >> have you ever bought and sold a home using a realtor. >> don't come in my building. >> reporter: what about police? can they do something to stop her? turns out no. they say all of these complaints amount to a civil issue, not a criminal one. >> nothing's been done ever. >> reporter: they suggest taking her to court and sue is no stranger to small claims court. we found seven judgments against her. most from former tenants who say she refused to return their rent and deposit. a judge ordered her to pay back nearly $5,000 to man who never even moved in. for the realtor it's not just the dollar about, it's also the time and trust they've lost. >> it erodes your trust in other people. she's been doing this for years. >> reporter: something they hope to change now. >> never. i want this to stop. >> reporter: by putting a spotlight on sue. >> i feel we're coming together to put an end to this thing. >> they say you're a c

>> find a good realtor or become one yourself.your finger on the pulse of your local real-estate market. there is opportunity everywhere, the stick to your own backyard. if you're going to spend profit on gas or flights commuting to me you're wasting money. gerri: that smart. anything special about the marketplace right now that people need to know about? >> i think it is always there. the opportunity is there. now bat houses. look for a really good house under the scrutiny of inspection so that you know what ou are buying. one of the steps going to be? what is the budget really going to be? gerri: well, if i did do that probably would. >> it has to be five because there are sudden tears. gerri: appreciate your time. well, back with a vengeance, but the best places to do this? the answer is tonight's top five. number five, omaha, nebraska. house slippers made more than $71,000 in profits last year. the volume more than doubled. number four, washington d.c. demand for houses is rising leading to nearly two dozen towns flipped in 21

. >> you are referring to realtors and attorneys as well? >> i was. he was originated because -- routinely appeared before commission. >> are you expressing the view that realtors should not be serving? >> yes. >> attorneys as well? >> absolutely. >> did you oppose rafael - ? he was a very good member of the board of appeals. >> did they have any candidates in san francisco? he was in oakland. you are not allowed to practice in san francisco. >> it is inaccurate to say that land use attorney said not been on the board of appeals. >> i was not aware of it if he was practicing san francisco; i would've raise the same objection. >> good afternoon supervisors, my name is dick allen and i had no idea i would be here today yesterday. it was a chance e-mail that i got, that got my attention to the item in the rod & gun club. my curiosity got the best of me and i went through your agenda today. there it was. number one. daryl honda. he is a neighbor of mine. i have known him for at least eight or nine years. i think daryl honda brings a unique skill set that

>> one is the exciting actions the association of realtors has been taking, to be the first and the california to provide space in their database for industry standard, recognized green measures. aside from cork flooring or other surface treatments, which are a consideration, a buyer could have summary information about if the home has been measured for energy performance, and has some independent organization confirmed that you have actually installed -- that there is a reason to call it green. that has only been out there few months. another metric of the fact that could have on the market when that becomes a little more populated in the database would be looking at whether that affects the days on the market, which i would expect to be more likely a factor of change, because if you are filtering your search on that criteria, you have more buyers looking at those particular homes. >> i think it is a very good measure. as the measures become standardized, you are right. it will be something that people will look for. they will say other things about the property. they could say, this property

you might want to get an opinion from a realtor, even though they may just be interested in selling it. that may be true or may not be true. a 50 minute opinion might be worth it and help round out your decision from your next professional, who might be the architect, as warren suggested, especially now, because architects are out looking for work. they are happy to spend a little time with you. they could give you ideas about potential problems are complexities with the ideas you have, or come up with new ideas. >> on the exterior, there are many talented painters in the city that not only paint -- the have a good eye. >> there are designers who are also stagers. it is not limited to the interior. it is the whole house. there are also landscape architects if you are thinking of the outside. there are stagers and designers that can do that. >> most of those professional people, architects and engineers, will sell their services by the hour. you do not have to buy the whole program. you do not have to hire them to do the whole building. you can say, "i would like to consult with you for

you might want to get an opinion from a realtor, even though they may just be interested in selling it. that may be true or may not be true. a 50 minute opinion might be worth it and help round out your decision from your next professional, who might be the architect, as warren suggested, especially now, because architects are out looking for work. they are happy to spend a little time with you. they could give

grit if you need to invest money, do it. >> if you can't help a good real -- find a good realtor to help you, do it yourself. >> there is opportunity everywhere. i always say stick to your own backyard. >> pecker said to look for a good house that is eventually going to be under the scrutiny of an inspection when you go to sell it. make sure you know what you're buying. that home and the costs belong to you. >> count on people to get their opinion who are familiar with houses in this really bad condition if you're buying a foreclosure, what are the steps going to be, what is your budget going to take to make the house shine and get you top dollar when you put it on the market. >>> going to the weekend? >> i got tricked into going to morgantown tomorrow night. >> great football there. >> and it's going to be 32 degrees. >> and this is going to be a warmer game. >> and that is good ton. i am sure you will so fantastic football. >> and you need the hand warmer things. >> it's chilly. you know what, i think the weather will cooperate. i mentioned before that we made a couple of changes. it h

another thing, as realtors we are challenge with integrity issues everyday. it happens and open houses, in offers, from colleagues. working with him i can say 100 percent that i trust them with both my life, my real estate dealings, and ultimately with all my clients. i fully endorse my colleague, darryl honda really doesn't answer an e-mail let me know and i will get on them. >> supervisor kim: public comment is now closed. (gavel) we have an appointment before us. we have to make a motion to amend before we follow this to the board, either a motion to approve or reject. supervisor weiner. >> i would like to make a motion to approve, to amend. approving the appointment and forwarding the board with recommendation. and i will say, i pointed this out in a question to ms. hester, the idea that it is somehow appropriate for somehow who is in the plan use world to serve in the land use commission, if someone wants to take that up they can but it is not accurate to suggest this is an anomaly. i did bring up an example of the board of appeals, if one looks at, ther

these are realtors defending their subsidy. [laughter] reforming fannie mae just is not a huge priority in the topic came up only because of a budget dispute. critics complain the federal budget did not reflect all of the obligations of the federal government. so-called vj appointed a commission to try to settle this debate and in 1967, the commission decided the deaths of agencies such as fannie mae should be included in the federal budget. .. >> no one seems to opera much about whether there was a contradiction here between having a public policy role, but being owned by private shareholders wanting maximum profits. officially, the government would not guarantee the deaths. in fact, they guarantee would deny it had any responsibility for fannie mae's adapts. but fannie mae would still be borrowing lots of money and the bond market on wall street and the buyers of those bonds would assume that when he came right down to in a crisis, uncle sam would have to make good on those debts. this became known as the implied guarantee. c

these are realtors defending their subsidy. [laughter] reforming fannie mae just was not a huge priority. and the topic came up only because of it budget dispute. critics of president johnson complained that the federal budget did not really reflect all of the obligations of the federal government so lbj appointed a commission to try to settle this debate and in 1967, the commission decided that agencies such as fannie mae should be included in the federal budget. in the case of fannie mae that would have added something like $2.5 billion. well, we couldn't really admit that they -- we were spending all that money subsidizing home mortgages so what lbj dusted off the idea. they provided for the sale of fannie mae to private shareholders. here is johnson's signing the bill. fannie mae would still have a charter from the government and it would still have a role in public housing policy so it was still going to look and feel a lot like a government agency. no one seems to have thought very much about whether there was a contradic

think they transferred me to a new realtor. when i asked for market analysis.on due to survival clauses. what can i do? my dad is a realtor and always tries to say not give inflated numbers to people and get their hopes up? >> your dad knows his business because that's a problem. at this point in time, for them to charge a commission, unless they brought a new person in to buy this home, they're going to have a difficult time under the contract. one of the things i suggest is two things. one, really get a lawyer to look at the contract. and make sure that they have a good position legally to say look, you're not entitled to commission. you didn't do the market analysis, you overstated the price. therefore, there is no reason that you've earned any commission. second thing is reluctantly, if they're not willing to back off, there are boards, real estate divisions, where you could file a complaint against the realtor for this kind of issue. hopefully the realtor will back you have if it did not bring a prospective buyer to the deal. >> good advice this. barbara f

i recommend that my client or anyone talk to realtors before they start. it is a good idea to get an idea of that neighborhood, that house, and how it can be done. >> page 22 of the handout, spend an hour with the pro. talk about what the value means and how it will add value to your home, or if it will be over spending on something that maybe you can do without. >> exactly. >> it is very important to know why you are doing it. are you doing it to add value? will you live there for 20 years and you want a nicer kitchen? it cost $20,000, but only as $15,000 in value. it is different than if you want to sell it in three or four years. >> i had a lady who bought a couple of units and wanted my opinion years ago. she had an old victorian with an old brick foundation. she was absolutely convinced that the foundation had to be concrete and had to be concrete tomorrow. it was the first thing she did. she had different people, and look at the way she could do it. someone convinced her she should really be fit up and do it to the degree that she could add another u

across the street was the national association of realtors. i live with a realtor. she is not doing that anymore. she was a good lobbyist. she was tremendous. they just chuckled. home mortgage interest deduction? you guys are stupid. you will get rid of us. we do not get rid of it. take it from $1 million to $500,000. give everyone else a 12% non refundable tax credit. helps the little guy that everybody talks about. everything we did is set this, get rid of that, just remember these tax expenditures that 20% of the american people use 80% of. guess who is using them. a guy who got the best lobbyist? the best deal? they went in and cut the deal. only 27% of the american people itemize. three-fourths of the american people never heard of these things. they take $1 trillion, $100 billion a year, and suck it out of the economy. we need a stimulus. what the hell do you think a $1 trillion deficit is? once people wake up as to what is really coming, they will savage us and the commission. do not think these interest groups are not whoring it out right now. >> we came fro

it's a great place to invest money. >> reporter: if you can't find a good realtor, become one yourself get the finger on the pulse of your local real estate market. >> there's opportunity everywhere, but stick to your own backyard. >> reporter: becker says to look for a good house that will eventually be under the scrutiny of an inspection when you sell it. make sure you know what you're buying because that home and its costs belong to you. >> count on people to get their opinion who are familiar with houses in this really bad condition if you're buying a foreclosure. what are the steps going to be? what's your budget really going to take to make that house shine and get you top dollar? >> reporter:

before you race the roof, a realtor has a warning about washington, dc, that could floor you.rina, what are they doing? >>guest: well, they are actually looking at potentially cutting the mortgage deduction. now, if my opinion this is another example of president obama and congress trying to take money away from people's pockets in order to fund government spending when if reality the revenue that would be brought in by cutting away the mortgage deduction wouldn't make a dent in reducing the national deficit. in fact, the approximate savings for cutting the mortgage deduction would be about $83 billion and that would only help run the government for 8.3 days and would have reduced the national deficit not one bit. >>neil: if you, a lot of people buy a home or second home with the idea they have the write off to enjoy, the mortgage deduction, there is a $1 million cap on underlying mortgage for principle interest but if they go after that, what do you see happening? >>guest: well, as the real estate market is going to do well and warren buffett said it is spark the economy and

according to the realtor, mcafee stood out. he said he is paranoid.onder if you have seen evidence of that? >> certainly. any of us who live here on the island know whnotice when heap moving about town, he is not alone. he has security person fell with him >> reporter: they were armed with shot guns. but it could be this photo, snapped for a feature about john mcafee in "wired" which tells the story of a genius whose paranoia may be eating away at his sanity. >> i hid for almost 18 hours. i have buried myself in sand. i have slept on roofs the i will do whatever it takes. >> reporter: during the recession, mcafee lost nearly $100 million. but enough was left to buy this compound. mcafee,000 tells wired he believes the country of belize is out to get him. >> that they don't like him. that they either want him to leave the country or want him dead. >> reporter: mcafee told "wired" police poisoned his dog and they killed his neighbor insisting he had nothing to do with fall's death. >> he's dead, yeah, they killed him. so it, it spooked me out. i thought

the community offers that place; you have a background as a realtor, that it is owner; it is hard to quantify or qualify the ability to listen. i think that is something our neighbors want to see as we come up with issues that are emotional. is also great to have another san francisco native on the board of appeals as well. i'm happy to support the motion. we do have a motion to amend. we can do that without opposition. (gavel). we have a motion to move the item forward to the full board. it won't be heard until the first tuesday in december; i urge you to reach out to the board of supervisors as well. it will be helpful to sit down with the city attorney about any other kind of potential conflicts that may arise and you can think about this in advance. we have a motion that we can do that without opposition. thank you. (gavel) call item number two. >> (reading) >> supervisor kim: this appointee is nominated but our supervisor in district 8, tim doherty, this is a reappointment. supervisor wiener? >> i think earlier this year i nominated tim dougherty to the bicycle committee and he

tick up 4.6% next year, while vacancy levels drop to 3.9% according to the national association of realtors. anything below 5% is a landlord's market. the cities with the lowest vacancy are portland, new york, and minneapolis. your fingerprint may soon make a bigger impression than your signature when paying with a credit card. discover financial services is testing "paying by fingerprint" among its own employees. staffers who want to participate sign up for the service and can then use touch pads to pay for items in the company cafeteria or convenience store. discover is hoping to develop both a safer and more convenient way to complete a purchase. down, but reportedly not out: according to the wall street journal, there's "a flood" of interested buyers looking to acquire hostess's iconic brands. georgia-based flowers foods is reportedly in an especally strong position to acquire hostess assets, even though the company has made no specific statements about hostess. meanwhile, 18,500 hostess workers are in the process of being terminated. the company said it plans to retain about 3,200 empl

the realtors' number is so high because they use a median price comparison.hat means half the homes sold for more and half for less. when all the action in the market is on the low end, i.e. investors buying foreclosures, the median price skews lower. what's happening now is that investors can't find enough distressed homes to buy because of all the bank delays and loan modifications. the numb berp er of homes in th foreclosure process hasn't moved. investors are suddenly a smaller share of the market. in fact, down to 23% from 30% last year. the median price skews higher. >>> if you followed all that, you want to know is your home gaining value. right now as we speak, probably. but it depends more than ever now where you live and if investors are heavy into your neighborhood. guys? >> all right, diana. thank you very much. >>> well, californians say yes to more taxes. residents of the golden state approve a tax hike on families making more than $250,000 a year but a sales tax hike will also impact everyone in that state. given that the top 1% of residents al

existing home sales and home prices both edged up in october according to the national association of realtors. sales of previously owned homes rose 2.1%, exceeding economists' expectations. the median price of those homes climbed 11.1% to $178,600. additionally, the number of homes on the market decreased 1.4% to 2.14 million, the fewest since december 2002. the gains are said to have a positive effect on consumer confidence and spending. 26 billion dollars - that's the amount big banks say has been given to help struggling homeowners. foreclosure abuse practices following the housing crisis led banks to reach a settlement with the federal government to help fund a relief program. bank of america, jp morgan chase, wells fargo, citigroup and ally financial all contributed. the average homeowner was given $84,000. reports say 300,000 people benefitted from the settlement. the federal reserve bank of new york came out as a winner against the former ceo of aig. the courts are dismissing a $25 billion lawsuit. it accuses the fed of unlawfully bailing out out the insurance company during the 2008 f

he was named among the country's top agents by realtor magazine. good for you. and you're also an agent with americorps realty. > > that's correct, yeah. > > so tell us, are you optimistic? you sure sound like you're full of energy and forward-looking optimism. > > i think the market is coming back. overall, the housing inventory is down about 17%, which is showing that people are out there buying and there's not as much on the market as there was before. the average market time is now about 97 days, which is down 11% from prior. and the median price overall is $189,900. which has flat-lined - it's about the same as it was this time last year - but the good thing is that we're not stepping backwards, as we have been in past years. we're actually kind of leveling off. > > but it shows you how far we have to go. $189,900? what was it five years ago, something like $250,000? > > about $249,900 yes. > > so we do have a long way to go. but you're looking at trends, and so you are somewhat optimistic, because things, while the prices have flat- lined to some degree, e

. >> reporter: chicago area realtor debbie scully shutters at the idea that the mortgage interest deduction may be on the carving table. >> what would it do to your business? >> it certainly wouldn't be good. now there's a glimmer of hope that thing are stabilizing. why would they do anything that could hurt that? >> reporter: scully helped stacey sell her home. >> always thought that that's one of the incentives to buying. >> builders like it because it helps support the market for bigger homes. the larger the mortgage the greater the deduction. it will cost the treasury $100 billion next year. now the talk in washington is about lowering the cap for the maximum mortgage amount you can claim interest on down from $1 million. >> if you keep the deduction for the bulk of americans and limit for the oversized home you still get the american dream. >> reporter: affluent owners end expensive areas especially on the coast would see the biggest change. >> if you have the money and want to spend it feel free to do it. i would much rather see lower tax rates or deductibility for investment in our f

according to the national association of realtors the median price of an existing home $178,600. home prices have risen for eight consecutive months now. >>> an eleventh hour twist in the hostess liquidation drama. a judge pushing hostess and its striking union into a mediation session today to possibly avoid liquidating the company and cutting more than 18,000 jobs. if today's session is not successful, hostess goes back to court tomorrow. investors who own this company want to close the factories, they want to sell the brand, they want to liquidate the whole thing. brands like ho hoes, ding dongs, twinkies, they may be iconic. the company says they're not making any money. >> how can they not make money? >> because you've got a striking bakers union, and idle factories. some of these factories, the technology is pretty old. when was the last time you bought a hostess ho-ho or a twinkie? >> like recently. >> i love twinkies but i can't remember the last time i went in a store and bought one. >> i think they're iconic and i think the pr value you could really, you know, what othe

monday the nation's realtors will release the number of existing homes sold last month.y the housing starts number. residential units that began construction last month federal reserve chairman will speak to the economic club of new york on tuesday. thursday is thanksgiving. happy turkey day, everybody. all markets are closed for the holiday. on friday, it's here. can you believe it? the kickoff to the holiday shopping season will begin the day after thanksgiving. in some cases on thanksgiving night. that will do it for us for today. thank you for being with me. next week, instead of leftover turkey, how about joining me for an italian feast with new york's first family of fine dining. they keep business in the family. we will take you there. keep it here where wall street meets main street. have a great week, everybody. i will see you next weekend. >> the twilight crew together for one last

on monday, the national association of realtors said sales of previously occupied homes was up 2.1% in. and with more homes going off the market, prices are being pushed higher. >>> the shelf life of hostess and its array of treats is getting extended. the company and its unionized bakers will go through private mediation in hopes of avoiding liquidation. that means hostess will not go out of business just yet. last week it looked like the maker of twinkies was closing up for good. >>> and rock bands are giving this news a thumbs up. or maybe the devil horns. yes, i had to do it. ac dc is hitting the itunes music store. they were one of the few acts that had not released its music digitally. 16 of their studio albums, along with four live albums are now available. and the band's latest live album is released today. that ac dc will shake you all night long. you know how to do it, too, huh? you're so cool. >> ashley, thank you so much. >>> coming up, your tuesday morning weather. and in sports, do we have a quarterback controversy in san fran? after the niners backup turns in a strong pe

building owners managers and association e san francisco apartment association, the association of realtors, plan c, the chinese american democratic club, the alice lgbt democratic club and the coalition for responsible growth to name but a few. i am originally from norxv and new orleans and i have an mba. i was one of nine children. when i was in new orleans i started two businesses. a band booking agency and management marketing consulting firm. i also taught high school math to under privileged children and i later taught at loyola university in their business department. i was very active in the civil rights movement in new orleans. i moved to san francisco in 1980 with my wife cheryl and our son scott because i bought a seat on the pacific stock exchange in order to trade options for my own account. i did that successfully until 1980 at which time i became an arbitrator for finish ra, the financial industry regulatory authority. i'm still an arbitrator for finra. i also taught as an adjunct professor at usf. i taught real estate in their finance department. when i stopped trading i bec

we're hearing from realtors is that they think that sales are actually depressed a little bit because of this lack of inventory. that buyers are getting frustrated that they are not finding enough homes in the market so we actually think it could be depressing sales a little bit testimony should be helping prices. and hopefully that will bring more inventory on to the market over time. but we're in a little friction in the market. we're not seeing folks bring their homes into the market because we're at the bottom. >> would you describe this as a buyers market for residential real estate or sellers? >> it depends a little bit on the region but overall it is definitely turning into a sellers market at this point. >> tom: more pricing power. what about for new homes. we saw today also that builders sentiment continues to increase. those home builders are an optimistic bunch to begin with you, you have to when you are putting shovels in the ground. up 7 months in a row, this chart going back better than six years, we're at a six year high. what about this builder sentiment and are we at

. >> reporter: chicago area realtor debbie scully shudders at the idea that the tax deduction on mortgage interest may be on the congressional carving table. what would that do to your business? >> well, it certainly wouldn't be good. now there's a glimmer of hope that looks like things are stabilizing. why would they do anything that could hurt that? >> reporter: scully helped stacy litow sell her home. >> i always thought that that's one of the incentives to buying. >> reporter: builders love the tax break, too, because it helps support the market for big homes. the larger the mortgage, the greater the deduction. but it will cost the treasury nearly $100 billion next year. so now the talk in washington is about lowering the cap for the maximum mortgage amount you can claim interest on down from one million dollars. economist diane swonk. >> if you keep the deduction for the bulk of americans but eliminate it for the oversized homes you still get the american dream. >> reporter: affluent owners in expensive areas-- especially on the coasts-- would see the biggest change. >> if you have t