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Las Vegas business park goes for $32M

By Inman News, Monday, November 27, 2006.

Lee & Associates negotiated the sale of a 273,575-square-foot office and industrial complex in Las Vegas for $32.1 million.

Mammoth Airport Business Park, located at 6325-6375 S. Pecos Blvd., includes four two-story office buildings and four industrial buildings situated on 14.6 acres.

RMI Investment Services LLC purchased the property from Mammoth Equities Capital Group LLC. The complex was built in three phases from 1999 to 2002. Office suites range from 945 square feet to 7,857 square feet, while warehouses range from 1,110 square feet to 3,300 square feet.  more...

Developer buys historic Philly landmark

By Inman News, Monday, November 27, 2006.

J. Grasso Properties purchased The Public Ledger Building, an historic 12-story structure in downtown Philadelphia.

The value of the transaction was $43 million.

Santa Ana, Calif.-based Triple Net Properties sold the property, located at Sixth and Chestnut streets, which features 471,271 square feet of space. Named for Philadelphia's first penny journal, The Public Ledger Building, like The Curtis Center, located next-door and also owned by J. Grasso, was developed for Curtis Publishing Co. in 1928.  more...

Office space bagged near Chicago's O'Hare Airport

By Inman News, Monday, November 27, 2006.

Transwestern Investment Co.'s equity fund, Aslan Realty Partners III LLC, acquired a 239,000-square-foot office building in Rosemont, Ill., for an undisclosed price.

The nine-story property, Columbia Centre III, is located just off of I-190, and was sold by an unidentified entity. Aslan III also owns the adjacent office building, Columbia Centre II.

" ... This acquisition is a continuation of our strategy of buying well-located, high-quality assets at a significant discount to replacement cost," said Stephen Quazzo, CEO of Transwestern Investment Co.  more...

Neighboroo puts neighborhood statistics on the map Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, November 27, 2006.

Neighboroo.com digs far deeper than "red state" or "blue state" in mapping statistics for a given area.

The Web site presents vast volumes of U.S. public data in color-coded interactive maps that are powered by the Google Maps platform. Users can search in a specific area for information about home prices, apartment rental prices, cost of living, commute time, and other demographic data.  more...

California real estate affordability drops

By Inman News, Monday, November 27, 2006.

Housing affordability in California dropped 4 percentage points in the third quarter compared to the same quarter last year, the California Association of Realtors trade group reported today.

The percentage of first-time buyers in California who can afford a median-priced home fell to 24 percent in the third quarter, according to the association's First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index.

First-time buyers needed a minimum household income of $98,890 to buy a home priced at $478,710 in the third quarter,  more...

Future home buyers determine real estate trends Premium Content

By Inman News, Monday, November 27, 2006.

The most significant factors impacting housing over the coming years are whether aging baby boomers decide to grow old where they are and where young immigrants decide to settle, according to a new study released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The study, "America's Regional Demographics in the '00s Decade: The Role of Seniors, Boomers and New Minorities," conducted by William H. Frey of the Brookings Institution and sponsored by the MBA's Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA), analyzes two components driving the changes that will transform the U.S.  more...

High court to rule on states' authority over mortgage lending subsidiaries

By Inman News, Monday, November 27, 2006.

The Supreme Court this week will hear arguments in a case that could limit the power of states to impose their own stricter standards on the mortgage lending subsidiaries of federally chartered banks.

The case, Watters v. Wachovia Bank, began as a dispute between Michigan regulators and Wachovia Bank. Wachovia argued that its state-chartered Wachovia Mortgage subsidiary was subject to regulation only by the federal government, through the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC).  more...

RealEstate.com launches beta home-search site

By Inman News, Monday, November 27, 2006.

RealEstate.com has launched a new online property search site for the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. Now in beta form, the site will be expanded nationwide next year, the company announced.

RealEstate.com, owned and operated by LendingTree LLC, has real estate brokerage operations in several states, including Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington.  more...

Austin real estate posts best October ever

By Inman News, Monday, November 27, 2006.

The Austin, Texas, housing market posted an October record for both single-family home sales and prices, as homes sold at the fastest pace ever for the month, the Austin Board of Realtors reported.

According to the latest Multiple Listing Service report, some 2,073 single-family homes were sold last month, up 8 percent from the approximately 1,920 sales in October 2005.  more...

Mortgage lead generator taps into credit scores Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, November 27, 2006.

The biggest Internet lead generator in the home lending industry says it's enhancing the quality of its leads by tapping into credit scores generated by its parent company, Experian.

LowerMyBills.com says its "premier quality" leads enable lenders to target borrowers with lower credit scores and sell them more profitable, higher-cost loans.   more...

Beware of new homes selling at bargain prices

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, November 27, 2006.

"I have been offered a tremendous deal -- a house that appraises at $364,000 that I can buy for $294,000, with 100 percent financing, and the builder will pay all my closing costs ... I can afford the payment for only six months, and it will take all my savings, but the broker says that I will be able to do a cash-out refinance in six months based on the appraisal and net about $60,000, which will cover the payment for another two years. ..."

You need a reality check. If the builder could sell the unit for $364,000, he would not be offering it to you for $294,000.  more...

Numerous ways that home sales fall apart

By Dian Hymer, Monday, November 27, 2006.

Recently, a Los Angeles home seller thought his sale was a sure thing. Mere days later, his house was back on the market. What went wrong? The buyer didn't qualify for financing.

In most cases, this sort of fallout can be avoided. One positive byproduct of the recent fast seller's market is that lenders are prepared to preapprove buyers for financing in a day or two.  more...

Renter's insurance advised for scatterbrained cooks

By Robert Bruss, Monday, November 27, 2006.

DEAR BOB: I rent an apartment in a large complex. About six months ago, I accidentally let my dinner cooking on the stove get overheated. It caused a fire that resulted in about $15,000 damage to my apartment. Fortunately, nobody was injured. The landlord's insurance company paid to have my apartment restored. Now the insurer is suing me for the $15,000. I don't have renter's insurance. Do I have to pay? --Sarah T.

DEAR SARAH: It sounds like you were negligent in allowing your cooking to overheat, causing a fire, which resulted in the $15,000 damage.  more...

Relocation costs during renovation upset renters

By Robert Griswold, Monday, November 27, 2006.

Question: The management has been renovating all the apartments where we live. They force tenants to move to other apartments while their apartment is renovated. All the temporary moves are at the tenant's expense. If the tenant chooses to come back to the renovated apartment, he/she has to pay higher rent. Should the landlord management company pay the moving expenses? What are the tenant's rights in this case?

Tenants' attorney Kellman replies:

The landlord has a right to make routine repairs and maintenance on the unit.  more...