Obama Administration Scraps Sale of Government Buildings
The current administration has been forced to “scrap” plans announced last summer to sell off thousands of government buildings because plan was simply “unworkable”[1]. Now, a new commission has been...
View ArticleSarasota Real Estate Flippers Hear Their Charges in Chains
When you think of criminals handcuffed and shackled, you probably think “axe murderer” a little before you get down to “real estate flipper.” However, that is exactly how the defendants in one of the...
View ArticleSEC Investigation Indicates Concerns about Extend and Pretend
While the country’s lenders struggle to stay afloat, one of the main methods for keeping books in the black for banks with heavy commercial real estate lending portfolios is a common practice called...
View ArticleFlorida Foreclosure King Shuts Down
David J. Stern law offices will be closing at the end of the month[1]. The Florida-based law firm that was squarely at the heart of much of the brouhaha surrounding the robo-signing fiasco and...
View ArticleDouble Jeopardy: Taxpayers Could be on the Hook (Again) if GSE Loses Lawsuits
As if it is not bad enough that taxpayer money (in the amount of more than $100 million) is being used to defend Fannie Mae executives accused of accounting fraud, taxpayers stand to be on the hook for...
View Article14 Percent of BofA Mortgages Have a Shot at HAMP
In a recent sampling of 60-day (or more) delinquent mortgages, Bank of America determined that only 14 percent of them could qualify for a permanent HAMP loan modification[1]. As Republicans in...
View ArticleHUD Speaks Out in Defense of HAMP, Foreclosure Prevention
Over the past few weeks Republicans in Congress have led efforts to eliminate four foreclosure alternative and prevention plans, saying that they are doing more harm than good. Many experts agree with...
View ArticleFormer Fannie Mae CEO Receives Wells Notice
Fannie Mae’s former CEO may have some explaining to do to the SEC. Daniel Mudd, former CEO of Fannie Mae, was the recipient of a Wells notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is...
View ArticleU.S. Housing Market Could be Approaching the Bottom
According to Jan Hatzius, chief economist of the Goldman Sachs Group in New York, the U.S. housing market could, finally, be approaching the bottom[1]. And that’s good news: “Over the next few years,”...
View ArticleScrap Thieves Threaten Home Values
Every real estate investor knows that a property sitting empty on the market is a magnet for vandals and thieves. However, you probably do not expect the property to explode as part of the process....
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