Archive - 2006 | Real Estate and Technology News for Agents, Brokers and Investors

Date

Closing mistakes cost lenders repeat business

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 19, 2006.

Nearly one in three borrowers taking out a new mortgage in 2006 experienced problems during the origination process, including errors in closing documents, miscommunication of loan terms, or an unresponsive or unavailable loan consultant or mortgage broker

That's according to a new survey of 4,115 borrowers who originated loans in the first nine months of the year by J.D. more...

Colorado probes newspaper mortgage ads

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 19, 2006.

Colorado officials are apparently investigating whether advertisements in Denver-based newspapers offering low interest rates on mortgage loans were a bait-and-switch tactic.

The Colorado attorney general's office subpoenaed the Denver Newspaper Agency, publisher of the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post, for records on Dec. 15, the News reported today. more...

Investors sink money into Phoenix office park

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 19, 2006.

A joint venture between Janez Group and Pacific Coast Capital Partners has acquired Broadway Business Center, a 136,990-square-foot office park in Phoenix.

The value of the transaction was approximately $16.2 million.

Located on a 10.7-acre site, the Broadway Business Center was built in 1974 and renovated in 1999. Tenants at the fully leased flex-office park include the City of Phoenix and corporate headquarters for Leslie's Poolmart Inc. more...

Nokia's regional headquarters sold

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 19, 2006.

Behringer Harvard REIT I Inc. announced it paid an undisclosed price for 5 & 15 Wayside, two interconnected four- and five-story office buildings in Burlington, Mass.

Constructed in 1999 and 2001 respectively, 5 & 15 Wayside were built-to-suit for the original and current single tenant, Nokia. Serving as Nokia's Northeast regional headquarters, the buildings provide approximately 270,000 square feet of fully leased space.

Five & 15 Wayside is situated alongside Route 128/I-95 approximately 12 miles northwest of Boston. more...

Zodax expands at 'The Plant'

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 19, 2006.

Zodax, a designer and distributor of home decorative accessories, will expand and consolidate its activities at "The Plant" in Panorama City, Calif., following the acquisition of a newly completed 200,000 build-to-suit facility at that site by company principals, announces Delphi Business Properties Inc.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

David Hoffberg, senior vice president of Delphi, reports that Zodax schedules a year-end occupancy of its new building, located on 8.5 acres of land at 14200 Arminta St. more...

'Drive by' appraisal shortchanges homeowner by $157,000

By Robert Bruss, Monday, December 18, 2006.

DEAR BOB: I recently refinanced my condominium with Countrywide Mortgage, a major nationwide lender. But I was shocked when Countrywide's appraiser valued my condo at only $468,000, which was less than my purchase price and less than identical units in the complex sold for in recent months. I brought this to Countrywide's attention and demanded another appraisal (with an appraiser of my choosing). As I suspected, the second appraisal came in much higher at $625,000. But the Countrywide underwriter refused to use the second appraisal and instead used the median of the two appraisals. more...

Should buyers stretch finances to buy in today's market?

By Dian Hymer, Monday, December 18, 2006.

There are pros and cons to stretching financially to buy a home. An advantage of pushing the limit of what you can afford to pay is that you may save in the long run if this means that you move less often in the future. The fees involved with buying and selling homes can add up to tens of thousands of dollars, or more. Also, moving takes time and energy. Less moving means less disruption.

On the other hand, if you make a big leap monetarily, lose your job and can't afford to make the monthly mortgage payments, you could lose the house and jeopardize your good credit. more...

Borrowers pay more when using 100% financing

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, December 18, 2006.

"We are purchasing a $400,000 home that we want to finance with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. While we can more than afford the cost of a 20 percent down payment, I would prefer to keep my money in my investments instead. I was thinking of financing 100 percent (using an 80/20 to get out of paying PMI) but was unsure whether this type of loan structure would result in a higher interest rate on the first mortgage?" more...

2006 real estate forecaster report card

By Matt Carter, Monday, December 18, 2006.

Each year, Inman News reports on what the major trade group economists are forecasting for real estate the coming year. Now, we look back at what they told us last year to see how their original predictions played out.

Here's a look at what the trade groups thought was in store for 2006, and what each group now projects as the actual results for the year. more...

Real estate rates down overnight

By Inman News, Monday, December 18, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were lower Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield slipped to 4.59 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dipped to 5.64 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate sank to 5.4 percent. The 1-year adjustable held at 5.3 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.71 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...

Maryland real estate slowdown deepens

By Inman News, Monday, December 18, 2006.

Maryland home sales cooled for the 14th straight month in November amid a gigantic supply of listings, as annual price growth gained slightly, according to statistics provided by the Maryland Association of Realtors.

There were 5,278 sales of new and existing single-family homes and condos last month, down 19.4 percent from a year earlier when 7,107 units were sold. more...

Realogy announces acquisition agreement with equity firm

By Inman News, Monday, December 18, 2006.

An affiliate of private equity firm Apollo Management L.P. has entered into an agreement to acquire real estate brokerage giant Realogy -- formerly the real estate arm of Cendant Corp. more...

The Cendant/Realogy real estate adventure

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, December 18, 2006.

Editor's note: An affiliate of private equity firm Apollo Management L.P. has entered into an agreement to acquire real estate brokerage giant Realogy -- formerly the real estate arm of Cendant Corp. -- in a deal valued at about $9 billion. This article, published earlier this year, describes the Cendant/Realogy adventure in real estate. more...

Dallas housing slowdown drags single-family market

By Inman News, Monday, December 18, 2006.

Realogy roots run deep with prospective buyer

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, December 18, 2006.

The private equity firm that plans to acquire real estate giant Realogy Corp. also played an integral role in building up its business.

NRT Inc., a subsidiary of Realogy Corp. that oversees company-owned brokerage operations, was formed in 1997 through a $232 million venture by a group affiliated with Apollo Management L.P. and by HFS Inc., a predecessor to Realogy's former parent company. HFS reportedly invested $157 million of the initial financing for NRT while Apollo invested $75 million. Realogy this year was spun off from former parent Cendant Corp. more...