In Modesto, California, a real estate agent and his roommate set up a simple scam that enabled them to steal thousands of dollars from elderly homeowners while acquiring properties at rock-bottom prices. The agent, James Lee Langford, who is also the owner and broker for Century 21-Apollo Realty in Modesto and his roommate, Jon Vance McDade, would target elderly property Read full article »
Tag archives for Property Owners
Real Estate Lending Scam in California Targets Elderly Homeowners
category: Real Estate News, Real Estate Scams
tags: 10 Million, Balloon Payment, California Realtor, Century 21, Elderly Homeowners, Estate Business, Extra Money, Langford, Mcdade, Modesto California, Property Owners, Real Estate Agent, Rock Bottom Prices, Roommate, Scammers, Suspicions, Thousands Of Dollars, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo Bank
USA Today Declares the Days of Flipping Real Estate “Pretty Much Over”
Due to fears of a double dip recession, lack of “hot markets” and plummeting property values, one of USA Today’s financial experts has stated that “the days of flipping real estate, commercial or otherwise, are pretty much over”. Tom Casey, a certified financial planner at Casey Thomas & Associates, believes that now is the time to rent property, not try Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
Commercial Real Estate is the Secret to Successful Investment Funds
As of March 25, 2010, real estate was the third-best performing sector among investment funds this year, despite home sales remaining stubbornly at record lows while unemployment and restrictive lending laws kept serious resurgence in the market at bay. So how did it happen? Commercial real estate is the answer, says Paul Katzeff, journalist for Investor’s Business Daily. In the past Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
tags: 12 Months, Billion Dollars, Buller, Commercial Real Estate, Convertibles, Fidelity Investments, Fidelity Real Estate, Investment Funds, Liquidity, March 25, Property Owners, Quicksand, Real Estate Investment, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Real Estate Investments, Record Lows, Reits, Residential Option, Resurgence, Unsecured Bonds
Lenders Struggle with Commercial Real Estate Loans: Bank Closure Tally Reaches 41
BusinessWeek reported on March 28 that U.S. Lenders are collapsing at the fastest pace in 17 years. Paul J. Miller an analyst at FBR Capital Markets in Arlington, VA, attributed the failures largely to “smaller institutions” failing due to a lack of access to capital because of too much focus on “residential construction and commercial real estate.” At first glance, this Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
tags: Businessweek, Choppy Waters, Commercial Investor, Commercial Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate Investor, Commercial Real Estate Investors, Creative Thinking, Dollar Drain, Fbr Capital Markets, Fdic, First Glance, J Miller, Necessary Thanks, New Breed, Plethora, Property Owners, Real Estate Investor, Real Estate Investors, Real Estate Loans, Residential Construction, Retail Property
A Silver Lining For Decreasing Property Values
There's not a whole lot that's good about declining property values - but there is one opportunity that it presents: Property Tax Reductions. As any property owner or investor knows, the government makes an income on every inch of real estate in this country by assessing property taxes. Generally done at the local level, property taxes are ostensibly to Read full article »
category: Uncategorized
tags: Life Blood, Local Governments, Proper Evidence, Property Assessment, Property Owner, Property Owners, Property Ownership, Property Tax Assessment, Property Tax Assessments, Property Tax Bill, Property Tax Reduction, Property Tax Reductions, Property Taxes, Property Values, Public Education, Reassessment, Silver Lining, Square Footage, Stratosphere, Tax Rate, Whole Lot
The Politics of Real Estate
Few industries are as profoundly impacted by the political machinations in Washington as the real estate industry. Whether it's old legislation like Jimmy Carter's Community Reinvestment Act or Barack Obama's massive mortgage bailouts, the U.S. political machine has a huge impact (usually bad) on the business of real estate.
Ideally, we could ignore politics. But here at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, we insist on seeing the world with clarity - including the reality of Washington's aggressive involvement in every facet of our business, from mortgage lending to real estate sales license; from loan modification regulations to appraisal requirements... every piece of our business is profoundly impacted by politics. So rather than stick our heads in the sand and ignore reality, readers of the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter choose to be informed and prepared.
Mortgage Industry News
Few things change more rapidly than the mortgage market, and with the increasing dominance of GSE's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the mortgage business, it's more important than ever to keep up. Here are a few recent mortgage news updates:
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Mortgage News
- HAMP Success Tally Slowly Growing
- Western States Working Through Foreclosure Backlog Quicker than Eastern
- Biggest Down Payments in the Country Found in New Jersey
- President Bypasses Congress, Appoints Director of the Consumer Protection Bureau
- Federal Reserve Recommends Expanding GSEs to Turn Housing Market Around
- Mortgage Rates Likely to Remain Low for a While Longer
- Top Former FDIC, Wells Fargo Execs Say Fannie and Freddie Must Go
- FHA Continues to Extend Anti-Flipping Waiver
- More Homeowners Using Delaying Tactics to Slow Down Foreclosures
- Now that It’s Passed: The True Cost of the Payroll Tax Cut
About Bryan Ellis
Bryan Ellis is an Atlanta-based real estate analyst and publisher of the widely read newsletter "The Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter". With over 200,000 subscribers - including real estate investors, agents, brokers, appraisers and other real estate professionals - the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter is among America's largest sources of unbiased coverage of politics and public policy for the real estate industry.
Bryan Ellis serves as editor in chief for the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter and is assisted by an extraordinary staff of writers, researchers and editors who are each real estate experts in their own right and who assure that the news we report is well researched, factual, and highly relevant to today's real estate industry.
Bryan is very happily married and has two wonderful daughters. He makes his home in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. You can contact the team at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter here.