©2010 WSJ.comByline: Lingling Wei  In 2007, at the height of the commercial real-estate boom, Credit Suisse Group packaged 250 mortgages into bonds and sold them to investors in a $3.3 billion issue of commercial-mortgage-backed securities.  The story of how some of those loans soured explains why investors, including pension funds, mutual funds and hedge funds, are starting to take their lumps from holding debt on office towers, strip malls and other commercial real estate. While values have shown signs of stabilizing, the weak economy continues to hammer rents and occupancy rates in many markets. As a result, defaults, foreclosures and losses on mortgages are risin ...
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©2010 The Daily CourierByline: Ken Hedler  Realtors and development interests are urging the Arizona Corporation Commission to repeal a policy that enables Arizona Public Service to charge for utility line extensions.They said the policy harms homeowners in the pocketbook and hurts the economy as well. They seek to reinstate a free service for line extension for as much as 1,000 feet as long as it costs no more than $25,000."It is arbitrary, and we are dealing with a monopoly (utility company)," Holly Mabery, first vice president of the Arizona Association of Realtors, said during a meeting Tuesday evening. "If 100 homes are built, it is equal to 112 jobs." ...
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©A/P 2010  Members of Congress traveled to northeastern Colorado Monday to hear testimony on managing water to support agriculture on the Front Range.  U.S. Reps. Betsy Markey and John Salazar, both Colorado Democrats, hosted the meeting of the House subcommittee on water and power at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.  Two six-person panels -- including state and federal water managers, local officials and farmers -- discussed techniques used to manage and conserve water in the South Platte River basin. Read more. ...
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Gov. Tim Pawlenty this week signed into a law a bill that bans private covenant transfer fees in home purchase contracts. The Minnesota Land Title Association and the Minnesota Association of Realtors lauded Pawlenty’s action, calling the Transfer Free Covenant Act a pre-emptive strike against so-called “Wall Street resale fees.”Association representatives said the legislation is needed because private transfer fees have popped up in real estate sales in Texas, California, Ohio and, close to home, South Dakota. They called the emerging practice a dangerous financial scheme that threatens to undermine home buying by delaying or scotching deals and raising purchase costs. &nb ...
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©Reuters 2010  Two years after Vallejo, California, filed for bankruptcy protection, officials in nearby Antioch are also tossing around the 'B' word.  Antioch's leaders earlier this month said bankruptcy could be an option for the cash-strapped city of roughly 100,000 on the eastern fringe of the San Francisco Bay area.  Antioch's fiscal woes are standard issue for local governments in California: weak revenue from retail sales and property taxes is forcing spending cuts, layoffs and furloughs. Read more.  ...
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©Inc. 2010  Loan sweeteners that offer higher guarantees and lower fees are tapped out. Will Congress extend them for the fifth time?  Two key U.S. Small Business Administration loan programs have run out of money to support breaks that provided higher guarantees and lower fees – and for the fifth time. Read more.  ...
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On Wednesday, the department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, authorized the issuance of Conditional Commitments for USDA’s Section 502 Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program beginning immediately and continuing until $2.5 billion in loan limits is exhausted.  The decision to increase the commitment authority will provide the guarantees needed to assist rural families, local housing markets, create jobs and generate new tax revenues. ...
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For more than 10 years, a temporary provision in the depreciation rules has allowed a 15 year recovery period for the cost of making improvements to leased property. This rule expired as of January 1, 2010, however. Thus, until Congress acts to renew and extend the provision, the cost recovery period is now 39 years, with the improvements being treated as part of the cost of the underlying real property. The House and Senate have previously passed different versions of legislation (HR 4213), which includes a provision that would renew and extend the 15-year recovery period, retroactive to January 1, 2010, and through December 31, 2010. The Chairs of the tax-writing committees have agreed on ...
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In a letter to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) Interim Director, Ed DeMarco, announced that the Independent Valuation Protection Institute (IVPI) will not be implemented by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two government sponsored enterprises (GSE) will instead implement a targeted appraisal complaint process for the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). The GSEs will act on suspected acts of fraud and violations of HVCC. A standardized form should be available within a few weeks. In the letter, Mr. DeMarco cites the use of substantial tax payer funds by the GSEs as the primary reason the IVPI will not be implemented. "In light of ...
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© 2010 Forbes.com Doing the work yourself can save money, but it could end up being more costly than a realtor's commission in the long run. Read more. ...
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