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Open-air mall sells in Orlando suburb

By Inman News, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

GVA Advantis negotiated the sale of Town Center Shoppes, a 64,587-square-foot, open-air retail center in Oviedo, Fla.

The value of the transaction was $16.7 million.

RAM LAF Oviedo LLC, a Winter Park, Fla.-based limited liability company, sold the property to Gemini Town Center H and S LLC, a foreign limited liability company out of Charlotte, N.C., and New York.  more...

Kentucky developer gains 166,000 square feet

By Inman News, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

Binswanger represented a California investor in the sale of a one-story, 166,600-square-foot industrial building in Eminence, Ky.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Eminence Real Estate Holdings Inc. sold the 40-acre property to PH Real Estate Holdings, a local real estate development and investment firm that plans to lease the property.

The property features ceiling heights to 16 feet, modern office space, one 10-by-14-foot drive-in door and six dock-high doors.  more...

Tango Condominium Homes change hands

By Inman News, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

Two Grubb & Ellis brokerage offices negotiated the sale of the Tango Condominium Homes in Las Vegas, for $17.3 million.

Tango Condominium Apartments Las Vegas LLC sold the property, located at 6570 W. Flamingo Drive, to an unidentified buyer.

The 136-unit, 117,584-square-foot complex was originally built as condominiums and has a condominium map in place, allowing the buyer the option to sell the units as condominiums in the future.  more...

Housing industry: National disaster policy needed right away

By Inman News, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

Representatives of the housing and insurance industries, along with members of Congress and key congressional staff, are urging Congress to act quickly to enact comprehensive federal national natural disaster legislation.

The National Association of Realtors hosted the Federal Natural Disaster Policy Symposium Monday to help identify appropriate federal policies for dealing with a potential crisis.

About 100 people from a variety of associations, nongovernmental organizations, congressional offices and federal agencies attended, NAR said.  more...

State Farm drops insurance for coastal Texas homes

By Inman News, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

State Farm Insurance has said it won't renew coverage for 6,000 personal and commercial policyholders in coastal areas of Texas next year, according to media reports.

The insurance company has said it won't renew policies for properties that are within 2,500 feet of coastal waters or bays, on barriers islands or peninsulas, the Associated Press reported.

The AP reported that other companies are cutting back or dropping windstorm coverage along the coast.

State Farm said it will continue coverage for homes located more than one mile inland, but those homeowners will ne  more...

Lenders shun areas covered by anti-predatory-lending law

By Matt Carter, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

A new law that requires some Chicago residents in 10 ZIP codes to get counseling before obtaining a mortgage loan is scaring lenders away from those areas, critics claim.

A spokesman for one of the law's sponsors, Illinois Speaker of the House Mike Madigan, said the allegations are part of a continuing campaign against the new regulations by "predatory lenders and their allies."

The Predatory Lending Database Pilot Program -- commonly referred to after the legislation that created it, Ho  more...

HUD offers $39 million to clean up lead-paint hazards

By Inman News, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is making available $39 million in funding to clean up dangerous lead-based-paint hazards in cities with the highest incidence of lead poisoning and the greatest amount of older rental housing.

HUD's Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program aims to assist local urban areas to identify and control lead-based-paint hazards in eligible privately owned housing.

"This funding will find its way into communities with the greatest risks to our children," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson.  more...

MyNewPlace gets $12 million from investors

By Inman News, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

MyNewPlace, an online apartment marketplace, has raised $12 million in a second round of investment, the company reported today.  more...

Overnight real estate rates stand pat

By Inman News, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were mostly unchanged Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield remained at 4.79 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average remained at 5.94 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate rose to 5.65 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.32 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.91 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...

Agents battle slow market with online ads Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Sunday, September 17, 2006.

Editor's note: In this four-part series, Inman News examines the effect of the housing slowdown on everyday real estate business. We've asked brokers and agents what they are doing differently with marketing now that listing times are longer, how they are keeping an edge, and how a slowdown may or may not be impacting commission rates.  more...

Correspondent lenders: Another choice for home financing

By Jack Guttentag, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

"Please explain the difference between a mortgage lender, mortgage broker and correspondent lender."

Lenders and brokers both perform a variety of loan origination tasks, which include finding, counseling and qualifying borrowers, taking applications, checking credit, and verifying employment and assets. But the lender is the one who must approve the deal and disburse the money to the borrower. Mortgage brokers usually are not authorized to provide final loan approval, nor do they disburse money.

But let's muddy this up a little.  more...

The importance of housing permits

By Dian Hymer, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

How would you feel if you bought a house that was advertised as a having four bedrooms, three baths with a large recreation room and later discovered that technically it had only three legitimate bedrooms, two bathrooms and a basement?

This scenario is not far fetched. In neighborhoods with older homes, it's common for properties to undergo several improvements over the years – and sometimes without the blessing of the local building department.

It's easy to understand why a homeowner would decide to bypass the permit process.  more...

Home seller scared into bad listing agreement

By Robert Bruss, Sunday, September 17, 2006.

DEAR BOB: My mother signed a listing contract to sell her Lauderhill, Fla., condominium. She said the listing agent told her a 6 percent sales commission and a six-month listing period were mandatory and there is a fee imposed if the property is sold by a different real estate agent within 30 days of the contract expiration. Are these statements true for Florida real estate? She had only two showings of her condo during the first two weeks of the listing and none since then. Her listing expires in October. What should she do?  more...