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Jan

11
2008

Countrywide sails into the sunset

By Matt Carter, Friday, January 11, 2008.
With Captain Ken Lewis at the helm. Does the world need more on BofA's Countrywide acquisition? With ship analogies? Probably not. But if you care to discuss whether Bank of America is back in the wholesale and correspondent lending business,...  more...

McMorgan acquires Parsippany space

By Inman News, Friday, January 11, 2008.

McMorgan & Co. has acquired 10 Waterview Blvd., a three-story office building in Parsippany, N.J., in a joint venture with an unidentified party.

The 208,600-square-foot, class A asset, sold by TIAA-CREF, is situated on 18.6 acres in the Waterview Corporate Center business park. The property, which features newly renovated common areas, was 58 percent leased to four tenants at the time of sale and offers available suites ranging in size from 2,484 square feet to 45,032 square feet.  more...

Industry reacts to Countrywide, BofA deal Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Friday, January 11, 2008.

Bank of America Corp.'s plan to acquire troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. was welcomed by mortgage industry professionals Friday, who said a merger is preferable to other alternatives including a government bailout of Countrywide or bankruptcy.

Some also wonder whether Bank of America is making the right move, assuming it can close the deal, which must be approved by regulators.  more...

Dramatic Fed cut would hike mortgage rates

By Lou Barnes, Friday, January 11, 2008.

Long-term rates are unchanged this week, about the only things in finance that are. The 10-year T-note is still in the 3.80s, mortgages 6 percent, 5.875 percent, 6 percent. …

Two big speeches (Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke) and the demise of Countrywide overshadowed news of a steadily weakening economy and credit trouble spreading outward from mortgages.  more...

More loan servicers join HOPE NOW program

By Inman News, Friday, January 11, 2008.

Six mortgage loan servicers have joined the Bush administration's HOPE NOW alliance since the group was formed in October to contact borrowers in danger of defaulting on their loans and help some refinance or modify the terms of their loans to avoid foreclosure.  more...

What I learned at Connect NYC Premium Content

By Alison Rogers, Friday, January 11, 2008.

Sales volumes are down, prices are down, and it's time to get creative. That's been the message so far at Connect '08. Although I'm lucky enough to be partly insulated by being in Manhattan ("those of you from New York and the Hamptons can just check your BlackBerries and ignore the following part of my speech," Brad Inman joked during the welcome), I did learn a lot from dropping in and out of panels. With apologies to those of you I didn't get to, a sampling:

1. There's a place for virtual tours and video.  more...

Fed chief raises expectations of more rate cuts

By Inman News, Friday, January 11, 2008.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke raised expectations of further cuts in short-term interest rates in a speech delivered Thursday, capping a week in which investors temporarily lost faith in publicly traded giants of the mortgage lending industry including Countrywide Financial Corp., IndyMac Bancorp Inc. and Freddie Mac.

Countrywide, which has scrambled to obtain funding to make mortgage loans since the secondary market for mortgages and corporate debt was disrupted last summer, was plagued by rumors that it was preparing to file for bankruptcy.  more...

Nightly real estate rates inch up

By Inman News, Friday, January 11, 2008.

Long-term mortgage interest rates ticked higher Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 3.89 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average gained to 5.54 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate rose to 5.05 percent. The 1-year adjustable rate was up at 5.35 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.45 percent.

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

Foreclosure fix: 'The Last Chance Mortgage'

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Friday, January 11, 2008.

NEW YORK -- The U.S. housing market is in bad shape, but John H. Vogel Jr. is a man with a plan.

Vogel, a permanent adjunct professor for the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College who spoke during the Real Estate Connect NYC conference Thursday, shared his proposal for saving millions of homeowners from foreclosure through a "Last Chance Mortgage" program.  more...

Get rich in a niche Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Friday, January 11, 2008.

(This is Part 1 of a three-part series. Read Part 2, "Marketing to younger, first-time buyers can pay off," and Part 3, "Consumer secrets Realtors can't afford to ignore.")

There are currently 1.3 million Realtors and approximately another 1.3 million people who aren't Realtors but hold real estate licenses, according to the National Association of Realtors. Competition, especially in a declining market, is tough.  more...

Asthma gets worse in manufactured home

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, January 11, 2008.

Q: I live in an 11-year-old "Good Sense" manufactured home, and I have a worsening case of asthma, which I suspect is allergy-related. The old siding was deteriorating, and we had the rotting panels removed and replaced with vinyl, which was installed over OSB sheeting and a foil-backed foam. There is no evidence of mold in the house, except for the usual in the bathroom that I try to keep under control.  more...

JV lands Illinois retail center

By Inman News, Friday, January 11, 2008.

A pension fund advisor recently sold a grocery-anchored shopping center in Glen Ellyn, Ill., to a joint venture for an undisclosed price.

Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust purchased Market Plaza, an asset comprising 162,705 square feet, in a joint venture with an unidentified entity.

Market Plaza is situated on a 12.7-acre site at 525 Roosevelt Road approximately 20 miles west of downtown Chicago.  more...

Houston apartments sold, home sites planned

By Inman News, Friday, January 11, 2008.

Lee & Associates today announced it represented a limited liability company in the purchase of a Houston, Texas, apartment community, which the LLC plans to redevelop into custom home sites.

Willowick Place at River Oaks LLC paid an undisclosed amount to the seller, Willowick Inc., for 171 townhouse apartments located at 3237 Las Palmas St. The property comprises 10.2 acres and 297,715 square feet of living space.  more...