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E-Trade inks major lease agreement

By Inman News, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

Mack-Cali Realty Corp. today announced that E-Trade Financial Corp. has signed a new lease agreement for 106,573 square feet at Harborside Financial Center in Jersey City, N.J.

The lease carries a term of 15 years and seven months.

E-Trade Financial Corp., a financial services provider, agreed to occupy the space at Harborside Plaza 2, a 761,200 square-foot class A office building. The tenant had been subleasing 37,970 square feet at the building.

Mark Ravesloot, Robert Stillman, Douglas Lehman and Scott Sloves of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant.  more...

Northern California office property acquired

By Inman News, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

Behringer Harvard, a Dallas-based commercial real estate company, announced today the acquisition of 4440 El Camino Real, a three-story Class A office building located approximately three miles southeast of Stanford University.

This is Behringer Harvard's eighth acquisition in the state and the first in the San Francisco area by a Behringer Harvard real estate investment program.

El Camino Real has 96,562 square feet of rentable space.  more...

Texas retail center sells for $31 million

By Inman News, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

Commercial real estate broker Lee & Associates has completed the sale of three-building retail center in Irving, Texas, a Dallas suburb.

The transaction was valued at $31.3 million.

The 135,000-square-foot retail center, called Las Colinas Plaza, features 25 stores. The property was 95 percent occupied at the time of sale.  more...

Patent lawsuit defense gets more backing from NAR Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, November 16, 2006.

The National Association of Realtors has upped its financial stake in a mapping-patent lawsuit filed against a Realtor in Pennsylvania. The association said if the lawsuit is successful, more agents and MLSs could be targeted with similar complaints.

Already, the Realtor trade group has contributed about $500,000 to support the defense of its member, Diane Sarkisian, from claims that she violated a patent held by Real Estate Alliance Ltd.  more...

Couple dubbed 'Bonnie and Clyde' of real estate fraud

By Inman News, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

A woman who was accused of participating in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme in at least five southern states was sentenced Wednesday to five years and 10 months in federal prison, and ordered to pay restitution of $1.2 million.

Rebecca Marie Hauck, 34, was convicted on charges of mortgage fraud conspiracy and bank fraud following a 42-count indictment in September 2005.  more...

Weekly mortgage rates retreat on waning inflation threat

By Inman News, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

Mortgage rates declined this week on waning inflation threats and worries of more Federal Reserve rate hikes on the backburner, according to surveys from mortgage buyer Freddie Mac and Bankrate.

Rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.24 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from last week's average of 6.33 percent, Freddie Mac reported.  more...

Seven states to adopt new guidelines for nontraditional mortgages

By Inman News, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

Regulators in at least seven states are moving to adopt guidelines for nontraditional mortgages modeled after those issued by federal bank regulators in September.  more...

Defendants face long prison sentences in mortgage fraud scheme

By Inman News, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

Three people convicted by a jury in a Mississippi mortgage fraud case Wednesday, including an appraiser, face the possibility of long prison sentences when they are sentenced in February.

Richard Lucas, the alleged ringleader of the scheme, and Kimberly Castle were each found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, nine counts of wire fraud and money laundering.  more...

Technology gains ground in home transactions Premium Content

By Inman News, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

Technology is dominating many aspects of the real estate transaction process, but the most important factors are purely human, according to an industry survey of home buyers and sellers.

Most sellers prefer full-service brokerage, where brokers handle all aspects of the transaction process from listing to closing, according the survey, which found that 83 percent of sellers use full-service brokerage, 9 percent use limited services and 8 percent use minimal service, such as simply listing a property on a MLS.  more...

Overnight real estate rates inch up

By Inman News, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates inched up Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 4.62 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average increased slightly to 5.74 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate edged up to 5.49 percent. The 1-year adjustable was unchanged at 5.34 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.7 percent.

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

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.  more...

New Orleans: A tale of two cities Premium Content

By Jessica Swesey, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans locals say the city has two faces: downtown has been nearly restored after Hurricane Katrina put the whole city under water in August 2005. Streets welcome visitors with shops, restaurants and attractions in the famous nearby French Quarter.  more...

FICO score gains clout in rental market

By Helene Lesel, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

Q: I recently moved here from abroad and was turned down for a rental because I have no FICO score. What is a FICO score, and how do I improve it?

A: The FICO score was developed by Fair Isaac Corp. in 1989, and rates the credit worthiness of the applicant. Generally, a FICO score falls between 300 and 850. A score below 600 indicates a bad credit risk, while a score above 700 is considered good credit.

Until recently, FICO scores didn't even appear on most rental credit reports.  more...

Neighbors squabble over lot boundaries

By Robert Bruss, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

DEAR BOB: Our neighbor complained that some of our trees and a fence post are on his property. We had a survey done to confirm the boundaries. It differs from the "improvement location certificate" (ILC) our home builder provided to us at the closing. Is it unusual for an actual survey and the builder's certificate to differ? We hired the same surveyor who did the ILC to mark the boundaries and he said this not unusual --Sue B.

DEAR SUE: It sounds like the licensed surveyor goofed when he surveyed the boundaries for the home builder.  more...