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2008

Commentary: Too many Realtors? Say it isn't so

By Jessica Swesey, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

In case you missed it, there was a "what did he say?" moment in a recent commentary at Realtor.org in which National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun wrote, "NAR membership figures have finally begun to fall.  Whew!!!"

NAR membership grew 83 percent in seven years to 1.37 million Realtors, and is now turning sharply lower, according to Yun.  more...

Commercial, multifamily mortgage debt hits $3.3 trillion Premium Content

By Inman News, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

The level of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding grew by 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter, exceeding $3.3 trillion, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) analysis of the Federal Reserve Board Flow of Funds data.  more...

Home Depot store sold in Georgia

By Inman News, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors LLC this week announced the acquisition of a Home Depot property in Austell, Ga., on behalf of a private investor.

Sold by The Sembler Co. for an undisclosed price, single-tenant property has nearly 131,000 leasable square feet located on approximately 15 acres of land. It is located at the intersection of Floyd Road and the East-West connector.

The buyer is a high-net-worth individual purchasing through Grubb & Ellis' Wealth Management Program.

At the time of sale, the property was 100 percent leased to Home Depot.  more...

Phillips Edison buys in Pennsylvania

By Inman News, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

Phillips Edison & Co., a retail real estate owner, manager and developer, this week announced the purchase of Orchard Plaza in Altoona, Pa.

Orchard Plaza is an 83,438-square-foot center anchored by Big Lots.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.  more...

Dazed and confused

By Matt Carter, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

The line from the Led Zeppelin song is: "Don't know where you're going, only know just where you've been."

Economists have the opposite problem: they don't really know where we stand now but that's not stopping them from predicting where we're going.

Some 71 percent of economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal think the U.S. is in a recession and they predict that on average, home prices will fall 5.3 percent this year and 1.3 percent in 2009.  more...

Fitch cuts Countrywide's debt rating to near junk

By Inman News, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

Add Countrywide Financial Corp. to the list of banks and mortgage lenders who have seen their debt ratings lowered by Fitch Ratings over new concerns about the poor performance of home-equity loans.

Fitch announced Wednesday that it was cutting Countrywide Financial's long-term issuer default rating two notches, to "BBB-" -- the lowest investment-grade category. Fitch took the same action for the company's subsidiaries, Countrywide Bank and Countrywide Home Loans Inc.  more...

Real Estate Connect San Francisco 2008

Jul 22, 2008 – Jul 24, 2008 • Palace Hotel, San Francisco

July 23-25, 2008

Real Estate Connect is where the brightest minds in real estate and technology come together to tackle some the most pressing issues facing the real estate industry.  more...

Property manager's right to keep late fees questioned

By Robert Griswold, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

Question: I own a 20-unit rental property and have a property management company. One of my renters is having difficulty paying rent on time and I have just noticed that the property manager is keeping the late fees as opposed to passing the fees on to me. Her response is that this is standard practice, but I am sure that my previous manager forwarded the fees to me. What is the proper procedure in these cases?

Property manager Griswold replies:  more...

Homeowners get good tax news for 2007

By Benny Kass, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

(This is Part 2 of a five-part series. Read Part 1, "IRS debunks common tax myths.")

"The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin." --Mark Twain  more...

Can townhouse community ban RV parking?

By Janet Portman, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

Q: I own a townhouse that I rent out. One of the rules in our development restricts residents and guests from parking RVs in their driveways or on the streets. My tenants just bought an RV and tell me that because there's no state or local law forbidding anyone from parking an RV at a rental home or even on the city streets, they should be able to do so despite our community rule. Do state laws override our CC&Rs? --Dorothy H.  more...

When tenant dies, next of kin have rights

By Helene Lesel, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

Q: My mother rented the same place for 40 years and recently passed away. Where are my responsibilities as next of kin? What are my rights to the place?

A: When a resident passes away, the responsibility for any contracts and commitments generally falls on the next of kin, such as spouse, child or parent. As for your rights, that's a bit more complicated.  more...

Mortgage rates end week higher

By Inman News, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

Mortgage rates were up this week, Freddie Mac reported today in its latest survey, but were still lower than they were a year ago.

The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages climbed to 6.13 percent from last week's 6.03 percent, while the average 15-year fixed mortgage jumped from 5.47 percent to 5.6 percent. A year ago, rates on the 30- and 15-year loans averaged 6.14 percent and 5.88 percent, respectively.  more...

Report: Mortgage fraud up 31% in 2007 Premium Content

By Inman News, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

The number of suspicious activity reports related to mortgage fraud increased 31 percent in 2007 compared to the year before, to 46,717, with 60 percent of those incidents involving false claims on loan applications such as employment history and claimed income.  more...

Refis help Countrywide fund most loans since August

By Inman News, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

Countrywide Financial Corp. released numbers today showing a refinancing boom helped push February mortgage loan fundings up 16.9 percent from the month before, to $25.6 billion, but purchase-loan activity fell to a new low.

Countrywide said refinancings grew 29.2 percent in February, to $19.5 billion, helping the company post the best numbers for total mortgage fundings since August.  more...

Nevada, California, Florida lead nation in rate of foreclosure Premium Content

By Inman News, Thursday, March 13, 2008.

U.S. foreclosure activity rose 59.8 percent in February compared to the same month last year, data provider RealtyTrac reported today, and Nevada led the nation with a foreclosure rate of one filing for every 165 households -- more than three times the national average.  more...

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