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Jun

13
2008

FHA says flip -- I mean fix -- that house

By Matt Carter, Friday, June 13, 2008.

To help lenders get REO properties off their books, FHA is lifting a 90-day waiting period on resales instituted five years ago to deter fraudulent/predatory home flipping (see Inman News story). But lenders are probably still going to have to do some rehab on many of the properties they foreclose on. FHA has eased up a bit on requirements for minor repairs, but before you can sell a home to a borrower relying on an FHA loan guarantee program, it's got to be "safe, secure and sound."  more...

FHA waives 90-day waiting period for resales Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Friday, June 13, 2008.

In an attempt to help lenders speed the process of getting real estate-owned properties off their books, the Federal Housing Administration will temporarily lift a 90-day waiting period for property resales financed by FHA-guaranteed loans.

The 90-day waiting period -- instituted in 2003 to counter predatory lending and house flipping -- never applied to properties sold by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or state- and federally chartered financial institutions.  more...

EPerks sues blogger over online comments Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Friday, June 13, 2008.

A war of words over an online company that offers a real estate referral service has escalated to a lawsuit against a blogger but has not doused the Internet discussion.

Volodymyr "Vlad" Zablotskyy, a former real estate agent who maintains the Go-Beyond-MLS.com blog, had earlier received a letter from ePerks that asked him to cease alleged "ongoing efforts to unfairly disparage and slander ePerks.com through the dissemination of false and/or manufactured information."  more...

Fed foolish to raise rates now

By Lou Barnes, Friday, June 13, 2008.

The credit markets have concluded that inflation risk now forces the Fed into a sustained series of increases in its overnight rate, presently 2 percent.

Interest rates -- all of them -- spiked in the last 10 days. Lowest-fee 30-year mortgages to 6.625 percent (if you're a shady character, FICO under 720, make that 6.75 percent), 10-year T-notes to 4.2 percent, and Fed-tied 2-year T-notes to 2.9 percent (up 0.55 percent this week).  more...

NYC multifamily deal tops $8M

By Inman News, Friday, June 13, 2008.

Heritage Realty LLC recently purchased an apartment complex in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood for nearly $8.8 million.

The deal, comprised of four five-story residential buildings and totaling 87 units, was handled by brokerage Marcus & Millichap.

The selling price represents a per-unit price of $100,575.  more...

Construction company buys in SoCal

By Inman News, Friday, June 13, 2008.

Padilla Construction has paid approximately $3.8 million for an industrial building in San Marcos, Calif.

The property totals 13,000 square feet. Located at 1380 and 1390 Armorlite Drive, it includes 7,000 square feet of office space on two floors, and features three truck doors and a concrete parking area.

Sold by American Bobcat and Backhoe Services, the site totals 1.9 acres.  more...

North Park apartments snagged by LLC

By Inman News, Friday, June 13, 2008.

Brokerage Cushman & Wakefield this week announced it represented the seller in a San Diego apartment deal that totaled nearly $1.2 million.

Arizona Elite Condos LLC sold the 6,160-square-foot multifamily building to private buyer Carolann M. Pollan. The property is located at 4081 Arizona St. in the city's North Park area.

Built in 1971, the building sits on a 0.16-acre lot and consists of 10 one-bedroom, one-bath units. The property features 10 parking spaces as well as on-site amenities such as a laundry facility for residents and an open courtyard.  more...

Foreclosure filings rise, mortgages more expensive Premium Content

By Inman News, Friday, June 13, 2008.

The following is a roundup of real estate news items:  more...

Friday Fun: Creepy Mansions Sales Hurting

By Joel Burslem, Friday, June 13, 2008.

Seems like the housing market slump is affecting all segments of the market...

In a story published in the Onion today it seems there has been a nationwide slump in Creepy-Mansion sales. "Thousands of creepy mansions like these are tied up in Escrow or ancient blood curses," reports the publication.  more...

Brokers, do you really need the branch office? Premium Content

By Inman News, Friday, June 13, 2008.
Chris Crocker

Chris Crocker is vice president of operations for NRT's Southwestern division.

Crocker oversees company strategy and operational improvement projects and spearheads technology development for the Realogy corporate-owned operations.

His industry perspective comes from a combination of his diverse real estate experience with a background in technology investment banking and consulting.

Crocker will speak at Real Estate Connect in San Francisco, July 23-25, 2008.  more...

High number of Hispanics die in construction jobs

By Inman News, Friday, June 13, 2008.

The construction industry accounted for about 34 percent of work-related deaths among Hispanic workers in the United States from 2003-06, according to a government report.  more...