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Jan

29
2008

Do you think this person lost equity on their home purchase?

By Jessica Swesey, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.
We ran across this newly created blog today, http://rottenlyingsleazyrealtors.com/, courtesy of a link thrown in at the end of an AdAge story chastizing the National Association of Realtors over its latest buy-a-house-now ad campaign. (Read the AdAge story here.) It's...  more...

Developer sells $148M student-housing portfolio

By Inman News, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.

Marcus & Millichap recently negotiated the sale of four class A student-housing assets spread across multiple states for $148.5 million.

The approximately 1.3 million-square-foot portfolio comprises 1,212 units and 3,409 beds located in Gainesville, Fla.; San Marcos, Texas; Columbia, Mo.; and Athens, Ga.

Excelsior LaSalle Property Fund purchased the properties from St. Augustine, Fla.-based FortGroup Development Corp. The assets were complete between 2001 and 2007, with unit prices for the portfolio averaging $122,525 per unit and $114.59 per square foot.  more...

Pacific Coast, Bascom announce purchase

By Inman News, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.

An equity joint venture between Pacific Coast Capital Partners LLC and The Bascom Group LLC today announced it has completed the final purchase in a five-property apartment portfolio in Texas.

The partnership most recently acquired Astoria Apartments, a 169-unit community in Dallas, for an undisclosed price.

The assets, which comprise a total investment of approximately $20 million, include class B and C apartment complexes throughout Texas totaling 1,887 units.  more...

Berry Plastics expands, adds manufacturing space

By Inman News, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.

Packaging giant Berry Plastics Corp. has extended and expanded its lease in Aurora, Ill., to 233,000 square feet with the addition of a manufacturing component.

The company, which up until recently leased 147,000 square feet of warehouse space at 999 Bilter Road, has added 86,000 square feet in the newest lease agreement.

The building, owned by Liberty Trust, features a 30-foot clear ceiling height.  more...

BofA says Countrywide deal on track

By Inman News, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.

Bank of America Corp. says it's moving forward with its $4 billion acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp. even as the troubled lender reported a $422 million fourth-quarter loss.

Countrywide's losses for the year totaled $704 million, thanks to an even more tumultuous third quarter, when the seizure of credit markets in August contributed to a $1.2 billion loss for the Calabasas, Calif.-based lender.  more...

Risk of delinquencies expected to rise for 18 months

By Inman News, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.

An index that tracks the risk of mortgage delinquencies based on housing prices, local economic conditions and fraud increased in the first quarter of 2008 by 23 percent from the previous quarter and 9 percent from a year ago, and is expected to continue rising during the next 18 months.  more...

Record home-price declines continued in November

By Inman News, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.

Record declines in prices for existing single-family homes continued in November, as the nation continued to experience a significant slowdown in home sales activity.

November marked the 11th consecutive month of negative annual returns and two full years of decelerating returns, according to the indices released today from S&P/Case-Shiller.

A monthly 10-city composite index showed an annual decline of 8.4 percent, a new record low, while a monthly 20-city composite index recorded an annual decline of 7.7 percent.  more...

Outlook gloomier for jobs, economy

By Inman News, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.

Consumer confidence declined in January on expectations that business conditions and employment will worsen in the coming months, The Conference Board reported today.

The Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved moderately in December after four straight months of weakening, gave back the gain this month and now stands at 87.9, down from 90.6 in December.  more...

Real estate rates lower overnight

By Inman News, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.

Long-term mortgage interest rates dipped Monday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield inched up to 3.58 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average sank to 5.45 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate slipped to 4.94 percent. The 1-year adjustable rate, however, gained to 5.12 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was up at 4.28 percent.

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

Homes in foreclosure up 79% in '07 Premium Content

By Inman News, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.

The number of households in foreclosure increased 79 percent in 2007, with about one of every 100 U.S.  more...

Inspector wrong about ceiling stain

By Barry Stone, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.

Dear Barry,

We bought our home one year ago. When we had our home inspection, we asked the inspector about a small water stain on the ceiling. He pointed some kind of sensor at it and said it was not an active leak. Recently, the ceiling stain became wet again, and that portion of the drywall fell down. It turned out that the water came from the old air conditioner in the attic. But according to the inspection report, the A/C was "new and in good working order." Do we have any recourse against the inspector? --Deanna

Dear Deanna,  more...

Cast-iron pipes shouldn't be oozing tar

By Paul Bianchina, Tuesday, January 29, 2008.

Q: My house was constructed in 1955, and in the basement laundry area I have cast-iron drain pipes that are oozing tar from the joints. What products/procedures would I use to repair them? --U. W.  more...