Condo foreclosures hurt others, too - Mortgage Mess- msnbc.com: "When too many condominium owners lose their units to foreclosure, condo associations feel the financial pain. That's bad news for homeowners and real estate investors who depend on these associations to take care of building maintenance, property insurance, utilities, landscaping and other amenities that are shared in common."
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Nice to see the media catching on to this situation at long last.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Changes may bring dark days for condos - Jacksonville Business Journal:
Changes may bring dark days for condos - Jacksonville Business Journal:
This goes back to May. I heard about it this morning on Common Interest Radio, CAI's program that is broadcast on WIND-560 AM here in Chicago. This is a bombshell that I missed when it happened:
NORTHEAST FLORIDA -- Changes in the underwriting standards of mortgage giant Fannie Mae have caused lenders to look more closely at condominiums and the companies that manage them, often resulting in more rejections of mortgage applications. The new lending requirements imposed by one of the nation's largest buyers in the secondary mortgage market have bled through to lenders' requests from condo management companies in the form of additional lines on questionnaires and legal document requirements. Lenders wanting to sell bundles of mortgages are further scrutinizing association reserves, investor occupancy ratios and the number of past-due loans in the complex. One wrong answer that results in a higher risk to the lender can mean a loan is rejected.
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The guests on Common Interest Radio are saying that this will make it impossible for many associations to borrow, and for many buyers to get loans. If Fannie Mae won't buy the loan, many lenders won't lend. It will be a lot of work for association boards, and if they don't do it right they don't get the loan. Basically, Fannie Mae is making the lender hold the association to much higher standards.
This means harder times for associations, especially those that are already in trouble.
This goes back to May. I heard about it this morning on Common Interest Radio, CAI's program that is broadcast on WIND-560 AM here in Chicago. This is a bombshell that I missed when it happened:
NORTHEAST FLORIDA -- Changes in the underwriting standards of mortgage giant Fannie Mae have caused lenders to look more closely at condominiums and the companies that manage them, often resulting in more rejections of mortgage applications. The new lending requirements imposed by one of the nation's largest buyers in the secondary mortgage market have bled through to lenders' requests from condo management companies in the form of additional lines on questionnaires and legal document requirements. Lenders wanting to sell bundles of mortgages are further scrutinizing association reserves, investor occupancy ratios and the number of past-due loans in the complex. One wrong answer that results in a higher risk to the lender can mean a loan is rejected.
--------------
The guests on Common Interest Radio are saying that this will make it impossible for many associations to borrow, and for many buyers to get loans. If Fannie Mae won't buy the loan, many lenders won't lend. It will be a lot of work for association boards, and if they don't do it right they don't get the loan. Basically, Fannie Mae is making the lender hold the association to much higher standards.
This means harder times for associations, especially those that are already in trouble.
Merrill's Mortgage Gamblers Lose One-Quarter Of Money Firm Made In Last 36 Years
Merrill's Mortgage Gamblers Lose One-Quarter Of Money Firm Made In Last 36 Years: "How much of a toll has the credit crisis and subprime meltdown taken on Wall Street? Here's one example: In the past 18 months, Merrill Lynch (MER) has lost a quarter of the money it made between 1971 and 2006:
FT: Merrill Lynch’s losses in the past 18 months amount to about a quarter of the profits it has made in its 36 years as a listed company, according to Financial Times research that highlights the extent of the global banking crisis."
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FT: Merrill Lynch’s losses in the past 18 months amount to about a quarter of the profits it has made in its 36 years as a listed company, according to Financial Times research that highlights the extent of the global banking crisis."
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Lenders face huge hit on mortgages fraudulently obtained by crime gangs - Times Online
Lenders face huge hit on mortgages fraudulently obtained by crime gangs - Times Online: "Britain’s mortgage lenders may be sitting on hundreds of millions of pounds of worthless loans fraudulently obtained by criminals to support drug manufacturing, illegal immigration and money-laundering.
Bradford & Bingley, the buy-to-let mortgage lender, admitted yesterday that it had been forced to take an £18 million impairment charge in the half year to June 30 to cover borrowing by criminal gangs and other fraudsters. The sum represents an increase on a £15 million charge taken in June.
B&B’s losses may be only the tip of the iceberg."
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I wonder if US banks were doing the same thing.
Bradford & Bingley, the buy-to-let mortgage lender, admitted yesterday that it had been forced to take an £18 million impairment charge in the half year to June 30 to cover borrowing by criminal gangs and other fraudsters. The sum represents an increase on a £15 million charge taken in June.
B&B’s losses may be only the tip of the iceberg."
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I wonder if US banks were doing the same thing.
Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
Tenth bank failure this year: "Integrity Bank, with $1.1 billion in assets and $974 million in deposits, was shuttered by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Regions Financial Corp., Alabama's biggest bank, will assume all deposits from Integrity, which was run by Integrity Bancshares Inc. The failed bank's five offices will open on Sept. 2 as branches of Regions, the FDIC said."
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It isn't 1929, or 1987, but it isn't good.
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It isn't 1929, or 1987, but it isn't good.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Advocates assail suburbs for fighting housing rules | CourierPostOnline.com | Courier-Post
Advocates assail suburbs for fighting housing rules | CourierPostOnline.com | Courier-Post: "TRENTON — New Jersey's wealthiest and least diverse municipalities are the ones most resisting new state rules that require towns to build more affordable housing units for low and moderate-income families, according to a report released Monday by affordable housing advocates."
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Mystery Reader sent this piece that recounts the latest episode in New Jersey's affordable housing saga. This has been a huge issue for decades, including the Mt. Laurel litigation and statutory law and battles at the local level.
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Mystery Reader sent this piece that recounts the latest episode in New Jersey's affordable housing saga. This has been a huge issue for decades, including the Mt. Laurel litigation and statutory law and battles at the local level.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | 'Lost towns' discovered in Amazon
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | 'Lost towns' discovered in Amazon: "A remote area of the Amazon river basin was once home to densely populated towns, Science journal reports...Like medieval European and ancient Greek towns, those forming the Amazonian urban landscape were surrounded by large walls. These were composed of earthworks, the remains of which have survived. "
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It seems as though whenever an old city is unearthed they find a wall around it.
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It seems as though whenever an old city is unearthed they find a wall around it.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Gun Rights vs. Freedom?: How "take your guns to work" laws violate property rights - Reason Magazine
Gun Rights vs. Freedom?: How "take your guns to work" laws violate property rights - Reason Magazine: "Supporters of the right to keep and bear arms have long recognized the value of firearms for the defense of life, liberty, and property. But in Florida, a perverse conception of the 2nd Amendment has produced the opposite effect: The cause of gun rights is being used to attack property rights.
In 1987, Florida wisely affirmed personal freedom by letting law-abiding citizens get permits to carry concealed weapons. But this year, the legislature decided it was not enough to let licensees pack in public places. They also should be allowed to take their guns into private venues—even if the property owner objects.
The 'take your guns to work' law says anyone with a conceal-carry permit has a legal right to keep his gun locked in his car in the company parking lot. Until recently, companies had the authority to make the rules on their own premises. But when it comes to guns, that freedom is defunct."
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This is another example of what I think of as "repressive libertarianism," where certain people who call themselves libertarians invariably side with property owners who want to limit other people's liberties through the use of contract law. Property rights (usually held by somebody with a whole lot of economic clout) trump every other liberty. The libertarian defense of HOAs is the perfect example. The developer writes covenants and leaves. Everybody who lives there has to obey them forever, even if they lose due process of law and expressive liberties.
As private corporations take over more functions of government, this position could lead to gradual elimination of constitutional liberties. But ironically some state governments are pushing back against the property owners, not only in this gun situation but with HOAs and condos.
In 1987, Florida wisely affirmed personal freedom by letting law-abiding citizens get permits to carry concealed weapons. But this year, the legislature decided it was not enough to let licensees pack in public places. They also should be allowed to take their guns into private venues—even if the property owner objects.
The 'take your guns to work' law says anyone with a conceal-carry permit has a legal right to keep his gun locked in his car in the company parking lot. Until recently, companies had the authority to make the rules on their own premises. But when it comes to guns, that freedom is defunct."
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This is another example of what I think of as "repressive libertarianism," where certain people who call themselves libertarians invariably side with property owners who want to limit other people's liberties through the use of contract law. Property rights (usually held by somebody with a whole lot of economic clout) trump every other liberty. The libertarian defense of HOAs is the perfect example. The developer writes covenants and leaves. Everybody who lives there has to obey them forever, even if they lose due process of law and expressive liberties.
As private corporations take over more functions of government, this position could lead to gradual elimination of constitutional liberties. But ironically some state governments are pushing back against the property owners, not only in this gun situation but with HOAs and condos.
FBI saw threat of mortgage crisis - Los Angeles Times
FBI saw threat of mortgage crisis - Los Angeles Times: "WASHINGTON -- Long before the mortgage crisis began rocking Main Street and Wall Street, a top FBI official made a chilling, if little-noticed, prediction: The booming mortgage business, fueled by low interest rates and soaring home values, was starting to attract shady operators and billions in losses were possible.
'It has the potential to be an epidemic,' Chris Swecker, the FBI official in charge of criminal investigations, told reporters in September 2004. But, he added reassuringly, the FBI was on the case. 'We think we can prevent a problem that could have as much impact as the S&L crisis,' he said.
Today, the damage from the global mortgage meltdown has more than matched that of the savings-and-loan bailouts of the 1980s and early 1990s. By some estimates, it has made that costly debacle look like chump change. But it's also clear that the FBI failed to avert a problem it had accurately forecast."
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So let's all give the FBI a big hand for preventing a disaster. Oh, wait.
'It has the potential to be an epidemic,' Chris Swecker, the FBI official in charge of criminal investigations, told reporters in September 2004. But, he added reassuringly, the FBI was on the case. 'We think we can prevent a problem that could have as much impact as the S&L crisis,' he said.
Today, the damage from the global mortgage meltdown has more than matched that of the savings-and-loan bailouts of the 1980s and early 1990s. By some estimates, it has made that costly debacle look like chump change. But it's also clear that the FBI failed to avert a problem it had accurately forecast."
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So let's all give the FBI a big hand for preventing a disaster. Oh, wait.
Kannapolis subdivision divided over homeowners association - Independent Tribune - Concord and Kannapolis
Kannapolis subdivision divided over homeowners association - Independent Tribune - Concord and Kannapolis: "ANNAPOLIS - A Kannapolis subdivision that residents say was shorted on some amenities and infrastructure by its developers is now seeing some turmoil over a homeowners association formed for the community."
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But this is a voluntary association, so it is questionable whether they can get it organized. That's why the industry makes them mandatory. That's also why the libertarians who keep touting HOAs as examples of voluntarism are so, so, so wrong.
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But this is a voluntary association, so it is questionable whether they can get it organized. That's why the industry makes them mandatory. That's also why the libertarians who keep touting HOAs as examples of voluntarism are so, so, so wrong.
Residents Find Lake Full Of Rotting Fish - KYPost.com
Residents Find Lake Full Of Rotting Fish - KYPost.com: "One resident says her kids were playing near the shallow lake Thursday evening, and everything was fine. When she went outside Friday morning, she saw dozens of dead and rotting fish floating near the surface. She tells 9News she stopped counting the fish at 100.
The residents here have contacted their Homeowners Association, who say they'll start cleaning this up on Monday."
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Rotten fish? Call the HOA!
The residents here have contacted their Homeowners Association, who say they'll start cleaning this up on Monday."
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Rotten fish? Call the HOA!
Condo association opposes making street private | hometownlife.com | the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers, Mirror Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies
Condo association opposes making street private | hometownlife.com | the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers, Mirror Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies: "Residents of Brookdale Condominiums are protesting a proposal to turn responsibility for Brookdale Court back to residents of the complex."
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The city figures that since the street only services the condo complex, the residents should pay for it.
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The city figures that since the street only services the condo complex, the residents should pay for it.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Most gated communities shy away from politics -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Most gated communities shy away from politics -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: "Most gated communities shy away from politics. 'A lot of people are concerned, 'Is this bipartisan?' So rather than do something, they do nothing,' is Abe Fenster's take on the subject. He's the Shores' new president and manned the floor microphones with Harvey Hoffman, his predecessor. Most of the candidates interviewed said they had been in few or no other gated communities during this election cycle because they have to be invited."
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Well, if it is about listening to a sales pitch from some self-serving candidate, I can see why they'd rather play bridge. But if the political issue activates the NIMBY reflex, HOA residents can be mobilized to pay attention pretty fast. Propose building a low-income apartment project next door and see who shows up for the meeting.
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Well, if it is about listening to a sales pitch from some self-serving candidate, I can see why they'd rather play bridge. But if the political issue activates the NIMBY reflex, HOA residents can be mobilized to pay attention pretty fast. Propose building a low-income apartment project next door and see who shows up for the meeting.
Who's responsible for homeowner dues in case of bankruptcy and foreclosure? - Los Angeles Times
Who's responsible for homeowner dues in case of bankruptcy and foreclosure? - Los Angeles Times
The Villa Appalling authors address this question in their weekly LA Times column.
The Villa Appalling authors address this question in their weekly LA Times column.
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