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Downturn strikes economy

By Lou Barnes, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

Financial Frances made landfall in New York at 8:30 this morning.

Right, wrong, or subsequently to be revised, high winds from the Labor Department brought word of new jobs added to payrolls. Not a lot of them – 144,000 in August, and another 59,000 found washed up on the beach from June and July – but enough to lift interest rates.  more...

Packing up and leaving home Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, September 2, 2004.

Beverly Peck, whose mom has been asked to evacuate her home in Bokeelia, Fla., said that Hurricane Charley "was overwhelming" for her mother, and (Hurricane) Frances is a shock to her system as well. "My mom was in a daze for four days after (Charley) and now is in denial about having to leave her home. It needs major repairs. She has known for a week and a half that she has to move but all she can do is cry.  more...

CarrAmerica buys historic D.C. building

By Inman News, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

CarrAmerica Realty Corp. purchased The Commercial National Bank Building in Washington, D.C.

CarrAmerica paid $84 million for the 11-story, 205,869-square-foot property.  more...

Student-housing properties purchased for $249 million

By Inman News, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

GMH Communities LP, through various wholly owned subsidiaries, purchase 15 garden-style student-housing communities in 13 states, totaling 2,571 units.

The total value of the transactions was $249 million.

College Park Management LLC, a subsidiary of GMH Communities, will manage the portfolio, which comprises 8,845 beds.  more...

Joint venture buys Seattle-area apartments

By Inman News, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

Bascom Northwest Ventures, in a joint venture with developer William Wilson III, acquired the 240-unit Bellevue Pointe Apartments in Bellevue, Wash.

The property was purchased for $20.7 million.  more...

Fill 'er up: A good time to refill the pool?

By Julie Brosterman, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

The summer-long project of gently remodeling (and saving) the pool at our new house is finally almost over. My husband and I were in Italy in July, when we received a call from our contractor telling us that we had a 1-in-20 chance that the pool that has been there since 1963 might collapse when the old water and surrounding cement are taken out.

"One in 20 – that sounds horrible," I moan to my husband.

It's 3 a.m. on the little island of Panerea, off the coast of Sicily where we are holidaying and now I'm wide awake.  more...

Web marketing fails real estate newbie Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

Once again, the Rookie Realtor is running down a rabbit hole. Are you making the same mistake?  more...

Real estate: The week ahead

By Inman News, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

Real estate discounter continues expansion

By Inman News, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

SellSmart Real Estate, a flat-fee real estate discount company based in San Diego, Calif., continues its growth with the addition of three offices in the Sacramento, Calif., area. SellSmart, which offers discounted commissions as low as $2,950 for listing services that include negotiations, disclosures, contract-signing and management of the sale process through closing, now has more than 30 locations.  more...

Mortgage tech firm closes fully paperless loan

By Inman News, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

Document Processing Systems announced this week that it had closed what it calls the nation's first successful implementation of a fully paperless, all-electronic mortgage.

The mortgage was closed using DPS eMortgage Studio, which was used by all parties, including lender, document provider, title company, settlement agent, notary and borrower to electronically create, execute, register and store all documents for the settlement.  more...

Overnight mortgage rates unchanged

By Inman News, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

Long-term mortgage interest rates held steady Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield remained at 4.12 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average remained at 5.37 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate held at 4.78 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up slightly at 3.2 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield jumped to 5 percent.

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

From mansions to mud: American housing evolves

By Arrol Gellner, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

A few days ago I got a serendipitous lesson in the extremes of American housing. Just for fun, I'd been leafing through the plans for a new mansion–there's no other word to describe it–being built in one of San Francisco's toniest suburbs. The work of a very fine neotraditional architect, the design included every lavish detail and contrivance known to man. Moreover, it managed to do so within the confines of an impeccably traditional idiom. I counted 153 sheets of drawings in the building plans, each of them brimming with extravagance worthy of the Vanderbilts.  more...

Pros and cons of flipping property for fast profits

By Robert Bruss, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

So far in 2004 there have been at least three excellent new real estate books about "flipping real estate" for fast profits. They are "Fix It and Flip It" by Katie and Gene Hamilton (McGraw-Hill, New York); "The Complete Guide to Flipping Properties" by Steve Berges (John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, N.J.); and "How to Be a Quick Turn Real Estate Millionaire" by Ron LeGrand (Dearborn-Kaplan, Chicago). All are available in stock or by special order at local bookstores, public libraries and www.amazon.com.

Maybe you are not familiar with the real estate terms "flipper" and "keeper."  more...

Portable home cooling

By Paul Bianchina, Thursday, September 2, 2004.

As the days warm up, you may be looking for some effective ways of cooling you and your house back down. So if central air conditioning is too expensive, and soaking your socks in water and tossing them in the freezer is a little to messy, it may be time to consider one of the many affordable and practical portable air conditioners now on the market.

Portable air conditioners actually take two basic forms – air coolers, and actual air conditioners. Each have some advantages and disadvantages, and it pays to consider both carefully before heading out on a shopping spree.  more...