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Bank sues over alleged mortgage fraud

By Inman News, Friday, October 6, 2006.

Fifth Third Bancorp has sued appraisal firms, a title insurance company and alleged straw buyers it says defrauded the bank of more than $10.8 million in transactions involving suburban Detroit-area luxury homes.

Fifth Third is seeking damages from 44 people it says were involved in seven of at least 11 fraudulent real estate deals, the Detroit News reported today.  more...

New York state's real estate market 'healthy'

By Inman News, Friday, October 6, 2006.

Sales of existing single-family homes in New York fell considerably from a year ago, while the statewide median home price grew at a normal clip, according to preliminary single-family sales data for August accumulated by the New York State Association of Realtors.

Realtors recorded 10,805 home sales in August, down 10.2 percent from the August 2005 sales total of 12,034, although sales were up from July 2006.

Year-over-year sales gains in August were reported in just 12 of the state's 54 counties, while 44 counties reported growth from July 2006, according to NYSAR.

 more...

Far-flung and sick of learning new things

By Alison Rogers, Friday, October 6, 2006.

I thought I'd never say it, but: I am so sick of learning new things.

When I started out, everyone said one thing: specialize. New York is a big place; you'll want to get identified with one particular area.

Well, that sounded good. I went with Chelsea, a midtown Manhattan neighborhood, because I wanted to work for a particular sponsoring broker, and he specializes in it, and I'd lived there before, so I felt a connection to it. But honestly, I have no idea how to grab clients who are interested in my particular neighborhood.  more...

Realtor association signs south-of-the-border agreement

By Inman News, Friday, October 6, 2006.

The National Association of Realtors has signed an agreement with a real estate association in Mexico that allows its members to use the Realtor logo and registration mark.

All of the members of the 50-year-old Asociación Mexicana de Profesionales Inmobiliarios (Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals) will become Realtors in January, NAR announced.

"This is an important initiative. Not only will it create a wealth of new business opportunities for NAR's members in the United States and AMPI members ...  more...

Small dip in overnight real estate rates

By Inman News, Friday, October 6, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were down slightly Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.61 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average slipped to 5.8 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate sank to 5.5 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.31 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.76 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...

Mid-Atlantic MLSs discuss resource sharing

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Friday, October 6, 2006.

The largest multiple listing service in the country and a regional MLS are studying ways to cooperate and share resources, the groups announced this week, and they have invited other MLSs to join the discussions.

Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. (MRIS), which has about 60,000 members in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and parts of West Virginia and Pennsylvania, has entered into talks with Real Estate Information Network Inc.  more...

Why designing a home is a high-stress job

By Katherine Salant, Friday, October 6, 2006.

Richard Rivin is a forensic architect. For more than 20 years he has analyzed building failures to determine what went wrong. In a recent interview from his Norfolk, Va., home, I asked him to shift his thinking 180 degrees and talk about what makes a project go right.

What can homeowners do to help ensure a happy ending, with all parties congratulating themselves for a job well done? With residential work, Rivin said, two factors that contribute to success are often overlooked.

The first is that the homeowners handled stress well.  more...

What to do about that mushy subfloor

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, October 6, 2006.

Q: I have pulled up the carpet in my condo, and found a couple of areas of subfloor that seem mushy underfoot, as well as some areas with raised ridges where the two pieces of plywood meet. How is this properly taken care of, and who is the best person to contact to do the work? --Katherine D.

A: It's unusual for this type of ridging to occur in plywood unless it has been wet. My first concern would be to check for any signs of moisture in this area, such as dry rot or staining on the surface of the wood.  more...

Best ways to cash in on a buyer's market

By Robert Bruss, Friday, October 6, 2006.

October of 2006 promises to be one of the best months in many years to be a home buyer.  more...

Glenridge Apartments acquired in Colorado

By Inman News, Friday, October 6, 2006.

Marcus & Millichap arranged the sale of Glenridge Apartments, a 220-unit apartment complex in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The value of the transaction was $15.6 million, or $71,136 per unit.  

Glenridge LLC, a West Coast-based private investor, purchased the property from CDS-CO2 Property Associates, a Utah-based apartment investment group.  more...

COPT dumps Brown's Wharf

By Inman News, Friday, October 6, 2006.

Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) sold Brown's Wharf, a 104,203-square-foot property with a mix of office and retail tenants, located in Baltimore, MD.

The value of the transaction was $20.3 million.

The three- and four-story property is located at 1615-1637 Thames St. in the historic district of Fells Point.

The identity of the buyer was not disclosed.  more...

Grocery distributor nabs large warehouse

By Inman News, Friday, October 6, 2006.

Grubb & Ellis/Oakbrook negotiated the sale of a 348,000-square-foot distribution facility in Madison, Wis.

The transaction was valued at approximately $7.3 million.

Newell Rubbermaid sold the property to Certco Inc., a Fitchburg, Wis.-based grocery distribution company.  more...

Labor report sends mortgage rates higher

By Lou Barnes, Friday, October 6, 2006.

Some very strange news this morning has the mortgage market at risk for a sharp reversal. The 10-year T-note bottomed at 4.54 percent and this morning is 4.7 percent and unstable, forcing mortgages to depart 6.25 percent, headed north.

The cause of this abrupt turn in expectation: in plain, nontechnical English, things don't look as bad as the bond market had hoped.

On the first Friday of every month at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, the Labor Department releases the single most-watched datum of each month, the change in nonfarm payrolls in the immediately prior month.  more...

More strategies for handling short sales Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Friday, October 6, 2006.

I recently spoke in Brighton, Mich., which is about 45 minutes outside of Detroit. Michigan is experiencing a very difficult buyer's market. Prices are decreasing. The auto industry is experiencing massive layoffs. Many Michigan sellers lack sufficient equity to close a transaction. As a result, short sales have become an unpleasant fact of doing business. If your market is slowing down, you may be facing some of the same issues listed below.

Who is the decision maker?

Most lenders sell the loans they originate on the secondary market.  more...

Web site created to help distribute $325M Ameriquest settlement

By Inman News, Friday, October 6, 2006.

A Web site and toll-free telephone number have been created to help consumers who may be entitled to restitution from Ameriquest Mortgage Co. under the terms of a $325 million settlement.

The Web site is http://www.ameriquestmultistatesettlement.com/, and the toll-free number is 1-800-420-5875.

Ameriquest customers who may be eligible for restitution will receive notices in early 2007.  more...