Man admits plans to kidnap real estate mogul's son

An investment banker with drug and money problems admitted to his plans to kidnap real estate magnate Jim Weichert's son. Weichert Sr. is the founder and president of Morris Plains, N.J.-based Weichert, Realtors, a residential real estate brokerage company.

Robert Harrison told a New Jersey judge on Thursday he was planning to hold 21-year-old James Weichert Jr. for $1 million ransom, according to a Newsday.com article. He said he obtained a BB gun and duct tape and wrote a ransom note making it seem like multiple kidnappers were involved.  more...

Lead disclosure settlement to affect 10,000-plus apartments

In one of the largest enforcement actions of its kind, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency today announced a Boston-based real estate company has agreed to remove lead paint hazards from approximately 10,400 apartments in seven states and the District of Columbia, and to pay a monetary penalty.

HUD and EPA claim the company failed to notify its tenants that their homes may contain potentially dangerous amounts of lead.  more...

ForSaleByOwner.com scores lawsuit victory

A federal judge in Sacramento last week ruled in favor of Web publisher ForSaleByOwner.com and the Institute for Justice in a First Amendment lawsuit challenging California's demand that Web sites obtain a real estate broker's license to publish real estate advertising and information.  more...

Aerial photos personalize real estate magazine

ENeighborhoods, a compiler of home and neighborhood information, has added aerial and satellite photographs as a new feature of its Internet real estate marketing services.

To promote the new service, eNeighborhoods personalized every cover of National Real Estate and Relocation Magazine with aerial photography of the home or office of each individual recipient.

The development of the cover was a mix of data, satellite imagery and variable data printing technologies.  more...

Ohio Attorney General sues Fannie Mae

Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has filed a securities fraud, class-action lawsuit against Fannie Mae, alleging the mortgage buyer manipulated its earnings to artificially inflate the price of its common stock.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio on behalf of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation and all other purchasers of Fannie Mae common stock from Oct. 11, 2000, through Sept.  more...

HUD settles fair-housing charges against real estate developers

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Friday said it has settled a Secretary-initiated investigation into the City of Falls Church, Va., Waterford Development LLC, Waterford Development-Falls Church LLC, and Nova-Habitat Inc., for alleged discrimination against families with children, a violation of the Fair Housing Act.

Based on information received in January 2004, HUD began an investigation into the development of The Broadway, a high-rise building with 80 luxury condominiums in Falls Church.  more...

ABN AMRO's real estate loan fundings sink

ABN AMRO Mortgage Group today reported that its total residential mortgage production for October totaled $3.3 billion, with more than 22,500 loans funded.

That total is down 54 percent from the $7.2 billion the company funded in October 2003.

The company's year-to-date production through the end of October totaled $49.3 billion, a 59 percent drop from the $120 billion it funded during the same time last year.  more...

Overnight real estate rates post mixed results

Long-term mortgage interest rates were mixed Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.2 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average remained at 5.32 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate dipped to 4.74 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 3.42 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 4.88 percent.

Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  more...