Home

Advice for the Rookie Realtor

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

Re: 'Rookie Realtor's first deal collapses' (June 7)

Dear Rookie:

Maybe they want out because you were just too good at closing them. Now, they stand to lose $5,000 because they have second thoughts. I think it is interesting that you would try to save them the title company legitimate charges (they probably got a preliminary title report and paid someone to do it) but have some other idea on the deposit.  more...

Lighting co. buys industrial space

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

Grubb & Ellis represented 26 South Hanford LLC, a company composed of a Lehman Brothers subsidiary and Argent Ventures, in the sale of 26 South Hanford, a 115,000-square-foot industrial building in Seattle, Wash.

The purchase price was $6.5 million.

Tualatin-Lake Oswego LLC, a subsidiary of Seattle Lighting Fixture Co., was the buyer. Seattle Lighting Fixture plans to operate the facility as a distribution center.

Gordon Fouts of Puget Sound Properties represented the buyer in this transaction.  more...

Maryland office/flex properties sold

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

Berwind Property Group purchased two 131,819-square-foot office/flex buildings in Owings Mills Commerce Centre located in Owings Mills, Md.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

The buildings were constructed in 1989 and 1990, and are part of a 1.4-million-square-foot business park, which contains predominantly single-story and flex product. Owings Mills is located in the West/Northwest suburban Baltimore submarket.

The property was 100 percent leased at the time of sale, with a significant portion of these leases expiring in the next 18 months.   more...

Tenants-in-common bag retail center

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

SCI Real Estate Investments, along with 11 other tenant-in-common investors who are completing 1031 exchanges, acquired the 146,278-square-foot Tri County Crossing retail power center property in Springdale, Ohio.

The value of the transaction was $19 million.

The 14.6-acre property was built in 1995 and is located approximately 12 miles north of downtown Cincinnati.

The property has three tenants: Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) and Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS).  more...

Real estate firm chases global housing boom Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

Diagonal Mar is a 431-unit high-rise residential project in Barcelona, Spain. Pokrovsky Hills is a 39-acre residential development in Moscow, Russia, which features 207 townhomes. And Garibaldi Repubblica is a 56.8-acre mixed-use project in Milan, Italy, which includes residential, office, fashion exhibition, retail and hotel space. Welcome to the world of Hines.

The booming housing market in the United States is not confined by oceans. Europe, too, is enjoying a similarly robust market.  more...

Mortgage fraud up over time

By Samantha Peterson, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

SALT LAKE CITY–The request seemed simple enough: Look around the room and see whether anyone present had been in jail for mortgage fraud.

About 80 people glanced around, fairly confident they didn't recognize anyone who would have done such a thing.  more...

People, money, issues drive housing's political agenda Premium Content

By Marcie Geffner, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

Editor's note: Since the Homestead Act more than 150 years ago, politics, policy and real estate have gone hand in hand. Today, politics and policy are even more central to a vibrant and functioning real estate market. In this special four-part series of stories during an election year, Inman News looks at the relationship between politics and real estate.  more...

Meet 'gadget freak' Andy Beal

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

Andy Beal, VP of Search Marketing, Websourced Inc.'s KeywordRanking.com division, will speak at Real Estate Connect, presented in San Francisco July 28-30.

Panel at Connect: SPECIAL – The Online Lead Marketplace

1. Which daily newspaper do you read and which section of the newspaper do you read first?

The Raleigh News & Observer and The Wall Street Journal.  more...

Rates jump on adjustable-rate mortgages

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

Adjustable-rate mortgages increased considerably this week on speculation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by the end of the month, according to surveys conducted by mortgage buyer Freddie Mac and Bankrate. Long-term mortgage rates remained stable.

In Freddie Mac's weekly survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.3 percent for the week ended today, up slightly from last week when it averaged 6.28 percent.

The average for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage this week is 5.67 percent, up a little from last week when it averaged 5.63 percent.  more...

California Realtors push legislative agenda

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

A group of about 2,000 California Realtors descended on the state capital in Sacramento this week to meet with legislators and promote the agenda of the state association of Realtors. The California Association of Realtors sponsored eight bills this year and six in 2003. Protecting private property rights and increasing the supply of homes in the state are at the top of the legislative agenda.  more...

Real estate sales climb in Nashville

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

Home sales in the Greater Nashville, Tenn., housing market gained 13 percent in May from the same month a year ago, according to data released by the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors.

There were 3,311 home closings reported in May, compared to the 2,921 closings reported for May 2003.

Year-to-date closings are 13,794. That total is up 19 percent from the 11,585 closings reported through the same period last year.

"This is confirmation that the Greater Nashville real estate market remains vigorous," said Jay Lowenthal, president of GNAR.  more...

New real estate designation offered

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

Overnight mortgage rates remain flat

By Inman News, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were mostly unchanged Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield jumped to 4.81 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average inched up to 5.98 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate held at 5.35 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up slightly at 3.49 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 5.48 percent.

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

Is fourplex eligible for home-sale tax break?

By Robert Bruss, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

DEAR BOB: My wife and I own and live in one apartment in our fourplex building. If we decide to sell, can we claim that $500,000 tax exemption you often discuss? – Robert T.

DEAR ROBERT: If you occupy one apartment of the four-unit building you own, your capital gain on the sale of that apartment qualifies for the Internal Revenue Code 121 exemption up to $250,000 (up to $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly). To qualify, you must have owned and occupied your apartment at least 24 of the 60 months before the property sale.  more...

Neglected pool incites health scare

By Robert Griswold, Wednesday, June 9, 2004.

Question: We have a pool in the center of the courtyard at my apartment community. It is cleaned only on Fridays and since the filtering system is never run, there is always algae growing in the pool by Tuesday. I am concerned that it is unhealthy to even be near the pool, nonetheless actually wade through the thick layer of green slime to get in. I am wondering what kind of recourse tenants have to get the pool cleaned on a more regular basis, especially in the summer? Should the health department be notified?  more...