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Archive for January 2012
Is the Boston Business Journal Advocating for Dumb Real Estate Agents?
An article in the Boston Business Journal caught my eye today. It was titled, “Study says real estate licensing limits competiton“. Just the title of it made me grind my teeth a little… that and the fact that they misspelled “competition”.
A quick read of the article and I realized that they weren’t suggesting that agents shouldn’t have a licensing requirement. If first impressions really do matter then one can only conclude that they can’t spell and that they don’t know how to properly title an article… at least that was my first impression. But what they were suggesting Read the rest of this entry »
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Justice Department Going After Firms that Issued Mortgage Backed Securities
Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the DOJ has formed a team to go after firms involved in the sale of mortgage backed securities. The new team will start out with 55 DOJ attorneys. But the stated goals of the group and the political realities that it will encounter are likely to be at odds with each other.
As stated by the Legal Times,
The group, Holder said, will identify, investigate and prosecute Read the rest of this entry »
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Good and Bad News for San Fernando Valley Real Estate
It’s a mixed bag for LA real estate news today.
The bad news is that real estate prices in the San Fernando Valley actually fell last year by about 7%. That pain was not equally shared however. It goes back to the old adage, location, location, location. From what I’ve seen over the last year, many of the price swings have been neighborhood specific. Homes in highly popular areas, especially those south of Ventura Blvd, have held their value much better.
According to the Southland Regional Association of Realtors, the median Valley price dropped to just over $363,000. But just try to find a house in that price range that is south of the Boulevard in Encino or Sherman Oaks. Right now, there is only one single family home that I’m aware of, in that price range and in that area. Your pickings don’t get much better when it comes to condos either.
The good news is that even though sales were down, they were not down as much as the previous year. That’s a good sign that the market may be bottoming out and that we could see a market turn around this year.
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Buyers & Sellers Need to Use DRE’s License Look-Up Before Hiring an Agent & Avoid Scams
Most buyers probably don’t think too much about the licensing status of the agents they hire. But they should. And that is especially true in this market. The scam artists are out in droves. Looking up the license of your agent will at least tell you that he or she, a) received a license from the state, b) that their license is current, and c) if there are any past or current disciplinary procedures going on with your agent. Here is a recent example of how licensing look-up can save you a lot of heartache and money.
Take the case of Michael Carabajal; a resident of Vacaville, CA. Carabajal hired a realtor by the name of Alonzo Brown, III. Brown apparently presented him with a contract to purchase a short sale home and then let him move right in. And Carabajal was making what he thought were mortgage payments to Brown. He claims to have paid out roughly $48,000. Read the rest of this entry »
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Will Settlement Between States and Nations Five Largest Banks over Bad Mortgages Amount to Another Bank Bailout?
For some time now, there have been talks going on between the 50 state Attorneys General and the nation’s five largest banks. Those discussions have involved the issue of robosigning, violation of state real estate laws in foreclosures and costs to the states and to individual borrowers. Last year, both Nevada and California walked away from the talks to pursue their own legal remedies. The feeling was that group settlement that the talks would produce would not be in their best interest.
For some time now, the states that have continued in the talks and the federal government have been saying that a deal is close. Now there is a rumor Read the rest of this entry »
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