Morning Briefing: Try before you buy as realtor.com teams with Airbnb

Try before you buy as realtor.com teams with Airbnb… San Francisco study reveals issue for rentals…Stark (naked) warning to mortgage professionals… Van Damme lists Calif. home for $9.9 million…

Try before you buy as realtor.com teams with Airbnb
Short-term home rental firm Airbnb and online real estate service realtor.com have joined forces to allow homebuyers the chance to test drive a neighborhood. The collaboration means that buyers searching for homes on the realty firm’s website will be shown a map of Airbnb homes in that neighborhood where they can stay while checking out local amenities.
 
San Francisco study reveals issue for rentals
Rent-controlled apartments in San Francisco are disappearing faster than new affordable units are being built. The SFGate reports that the newly published Housing Balance Report shows that there were 6,559 affordable homes added to the inventory between 2004 and 2014 but in the same period 5,470 apartments were removed from protected status due to legal no fault evictions. The city’s planning department is now moving towards a 6-month freeze on new permits for certain development in the Mission District to allow it more time to draw up plans for better housing affordability in the city.
 
Stark (naked) warning to mortgage professionals
Here’s a warning to mortgage brokers; people are less happy to share their financial information than naked pictures of themselves! To be fair, the poll from MasterCard was specifically about personal data being leaked online rather than shared with a mortgage professional but it does show the importance of ensuring that you are keeping your clients’ data safe. The survey, carried out by Braun Research found that 55 per cent would rather naked pictures were leaked online than their financial data; for younger respondents it was 62 per cent. The data shows how concerned consumers are about identity fraud and compromised finances. Ninety-two per cent take steps to protect financial information online, although 39 per cent use public Wi-Fi networks to check their finances and 44 per cent use the same password across multiple accounts.
 
Van Damme lists Calif. home for $9.9 million
Action star Jean-Claude Van Damme has listed his 6 bedroom home in Marina del Ray, Calif. for $9.9 million according to Curbed. The actor bought the 7,574 square foot home in 2012. It includes a wine cellar, home theater, elevator and roof-top deck with fireplace and built-in TV.