Some of the new technological developments are being designed initially for the real estate broker or agent, but the sponsors realize that the information can readily be repackaged for consumer use. RIN, available on the internet, claims to have the largest selection of realty property ads in the world. The system provides much of the information about houses for sale available from multiple listing services, including which real estate agent has the listing. In addition, the computer information includes pictures of the homes. One-Stop Shopping Many of the largest real estate companies in the country are now offering mortgage loans through their own mortgage company subsidiary or affiliate or through joint ventures and partnershipswith mortgage lending firms.
Some consumers seem to like the convenience of related services offered under one roof.
It saves time and hassle. Those systems allow consumers to shop extensively for price, convenience, and preferred providers' routes and thenselect the mix that best meets their needs. In the home loan area, the benefits of CLOs should beeven greater in terms of consumer choice. For example, HUD has proposed rules that would essentially design how some of the new one-stop shopping business arrangements and jointventures should be organized and how the various parties to the transaction should be paid. Infact, HUD's proposal would even dictate the number of mortgage companies that can be displaye on the computerized loan origination systems.