Real estate news

• SEC accuses Michigan pastor of leading $6.7 million real estate fraud scheme

  03-04-2017 23:31
  
  A Michigan pastor allegedly bilked church members, retirees, and laid-off autoworkers out of millions of dollars by convincing them to invest in a “successful” real estate scheme, the Securities and Exchange Commission said last week. All told, the SEC is charging Larry Holley, the pastor of Abundant Life Ministries in Flint, with defrauding approximately $6.7 million from more than 80 investors.
  
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• Millennials lead other generations in rising HELOC trend

  03-04-2017 23:15
  
  As interest rates rise, refinances continue to decrease, leaving an open gap in the market for home equity lines of credit to take the place. Interest rates are up from last year, but so are home prices, giving homeowners a new source of equity to tap into. Most surprising, however, was that Millennials hold the leading share of HELOCs.
  
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• Guaranteed Rate stands by exec with revoked real estate license - Chicago Tribune

  03-04-2017 23:05
  
  Chicago Tribune
  Guaranteed Rate stands by exec with revoked real estate license
  Chicago Tribune
  Chicago-based mortgage provider Guaranteed Rate stands by the company's new business development director despite her revoked real estate license. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune). Becky YerakContact ReporterChicago Tribune. People make mistakes.
  
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• Quicken Loans commits $1 million to build up Detroit business

  03-04-2017 22:59
  
  Quicken Loans is one of the biggest companies championing the resurgence of Detroit, consistently dedicating a portion of its funds to the city to revitalize downtown. Detroit Demo Day follows this same mindset to rebuild the city. Run a business in Detroit? Check out this inaugural event.
  
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• Ben Carson: Housing will be part of Trump infrastructure bill

  03-04-2017 22:42
  
  Now that he’s back in Washington, HUD Secretary Ben Carson's focus is turning back to the looming cuts to HUD’s budget, announced as part of the budget proposal from the Trump administration. The proposed $6.2 billion cut to HUD’s budget has many concerned about the number of housing programs that may be negatively affected or cut entirely, but Carson said Monday that those concerned with the proposed cuts aren’t seeing the big picture.
  
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• Crushed by Rent, Homeownership More Out of Reach for Minorities: Report

  03-04-2017 22:40
  
  Rent has become a sizable expense for many households, but more so in minority communities, according to a recently released analysis by Zillow. Renters in minority communities, in effect, are having a harder time saving for a down payment on a home than renters in white ones.
  Why? According to the report, renters in majority black neighborhoods have to spend 43.7 percent of their income on rent, while renters in majority Hispanic neighborhoods have to spend 48.1 percent; renters in majority whi
  
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• Mortgage Lenders Optimistic Even as Demand Subsides

  03-04-2017 22:31
  
  Mortgage lenders have never felt more optimistic about the economy than they do now—an outlook that could come with more relaxed standards for homebuyers, who continue to contend with tight conditions as the spring home-buying season gets underway.
  The share of lenders recently surveyed in Fannie Mae’s Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey® who believe “the economy is on the right track” burst through to a survey high in the first quarter of 2017, even as the share of lend
  
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• Sycamore Valley Ranch—Formerly Known as Michael Jackson’s Neverland—Reintroduced to Market

  03-04-2017 22:29
  
  The legendary California estate formerly known to the world as Neverland Ranch has been reintroduced to the market at $67 million. Now known as Sycamore Valley Ranch, the renowned property retains its iconic status and incorporates more than four square miles of sweeping vistas, dramatic mountain ranges and pastoral farmland. The Ranch was designed for recreation and entertaining on a grand scale.
  The private estates of Santa Barbara County have long been the retreat of some of the world’s
  
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• Here's how the industry adapted to QM lending, heightened regulations

  03-04-2017 21:40
  
  As the mortgage regulation alphabet continues, with lenders implementing HMDA, TRID, QM and more, it’s not going without notice in the industry. A new survey found that lenders believe regulation is having a negative impact on business production and consumer credit availability. These charts break down how that’s affecting the bottom line.
  
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• Leonard Litwin, New York Real Estate Mogul, Dies at 102 - The New ... - New York Times

  03-04-2017 20:20
  New York Times
  Leonard Litwin, New York Real Estate Mogul, Dies at 102 - The New ...
  New York Times
  Mr. Litwin's imprint is on the Manhattan skyline in dozens of buildings he built, owned and operated with high-end amenities and lofty rents.
  Leonard Litwin, real estate baron, campaign donor, dies at 102 ...Newsdayall 4 news articles »
  
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• Fairfax County's west is still the best for commercial real estate, but the east is making a move - Washington Business Journal

  03-04-2017 20:05
  Fairfax County's west is still the best for commercial real estate, but the east is making a move
  Washington Business Journal
  Tysons, Reston and the Dulles corridor are generally seen as the drivers of Fairfax County's commercial economy. And they are, based on the numbers, but eastern Fairfax is making a move to be competitive. According to new county data, assessments of ...
  
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• Katie Porter, California mortgage settlement monitor and Warren protégé, running for Congress

  03-04-2017 19:41
  
  The coming battle for control of Congress in 2018 has a new combatant, one that would bring significant experience in the mortgage space to the House of Representatives. Katie Porter, who served as California’s independent monitor in the nationwide $25 billion National Mortgage Settlement from 2012 to 2014 and boasts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. as a mentor, announced that she is running for a seat in the House of Representatives in 2018.
  
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• UWM: Industry is taking the wrong approach to protecting veterans

  03-04-2017 19:21
  
  United Wholesale Mortgage’s CEO explained that the industry’s current approach toward veterans and Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans is in need of a change. In the company’s monthly 3 Points video, he notes: How about we do right by our veterans the first time and we won’t have this issue?
  
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• A Real Estate Developer For The Next Generation - Forbes

  03-04-2017 18:07
  
  Forbes
  A Real Estate Developer For The Next Generation
  Forbes
  By the time it was completed last year, and its wealthy owners began occupying their sprawling new homes, The Pacific, a luxury condominium in San Francisco, had already begun getting buzz in real estate circles. It wasn't just that the 76-unit ...
  
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• NAR celebrates #OpeningDay with nine facts about real estate

  03-04-2017 17:41
  
  The first unofficial day of spring is here as Major League Baseball players step onto the diamond for opening day. To celebrate the day, the National Association of Realtors created an infographic of nine facts about today’s real estate market — one for each position.
  
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• Here are the top 5 best states to retire

  03-04-2017 16:17
  
  While many associate sunny beach states such as Florida with retirement, these states actually didn’t fare as well in Bankrate’s new study which ranks the top states in which to retire. Whether planning to move to a new state for retirement, the plan of many Millennials, or planning to age in place, like the Silent Generation, here are the study’s top five states in which to do so.
  
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• The SFR market in 2017

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  Currently, institutional investors control approximately 170,000 properties (a relatively small portion of the overall SFR space, which is dominated by smaller investors, and estimated to include 11 to 13 million properties). KBRA reports that 105,000 properties have been included in the 26 single-borrower deals done to date, which suggests there are somewhere north of 60,000 properties that could still be securitized. 
  
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• The American Dream revisited

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  Today the average student debt resulting from a four-year degree stands at $30,000. According toa report released by American Student Assistance in 2015, 71% of non-homeowners surveyed who carry student debt say the burden of monthly payments has kept them from purchasing a home. More than half of those say their student debt loads will likely prevent home ownership for another five years.
  
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• SFR All-Stars: Xome Auction features intuitive search and bidding process

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  Buyers can search and filter from a nationwide inventory of REO, short sale, foreclosure and HUD CWCOT properties then place a bid and complete the purchase, all from the comfort of their home or office. Nearly 70,000 properties have been purchased through Xome Auction since its founding in 2013.
  
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• SFR All-Stars: Roofstock provides a curated marketplace for buying and selling leased homes

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  Roofstock allows sellers to earn rent from current tenants through closing and has a fee of just 2.5%, resulting in substantial savings for sellers. Properties on Roofstock’s marketplace are simultaneously marketed worldwide to institutional as well as individual retail buyers.
  
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• SFR All-Stars: Renters Warehouse provides highly standardized servicing capabilities

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  With advanced, highly standardized servicing capabilities, Renters Warehouse can successfully manage a wide range of portfolio sizes - from one to more than 5,000 doors. The company is the only national property management firm focused on single-family rentals to be rated by Morningstar Credit Ratings, a nationally recognized statistical rating organization.
  
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• SFR All-Stars: FotoNotes offers flexible field service management

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  FotoNotes enables companies to better manage field services such as bidding, estimation, repair and maintenance, as well as renovation and inspection processes. FotoNotes’ solution includes several key features that are integral to managing and maintaining properties: work order management, vendor management, mobile forms for field data and photo collection, and report generation.  
  
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• SFR All-Stars: FotoNotes' mobile-cloud platform streamlines SFR operations

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  FotoNotes enables companies to better manage field services such as bidding, estimation, repair and maintenance, as well as renovation and inspection processes. FotoNotes’ solution includes several key features that are integral to managing and maintaining properties: work order management, vendor management, mobile forms for field data and photo collection, and report generation.  
  
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• SFR All-Stars: Capaven enables investments in long-term rentals and lease options

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  Many investors don’t have the time to manage their own properties and need a solution to capitalize on the industry without all of the headaches. Capaven controls this process by underwriting the tenants first on their net income, selecting only well-qualified and stable candidates. The strategy of using net income is not just a benefit to the investor, but an education process for the tenants.  
  
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• How "alphabet soup" led to Day 1 Certainty

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  Combine standardization with so-called “big data” and that’s the power behind the DU validation service – another Day 1 Certainty offering. Data power enables a more accurate, simpler digital process. With electronic validation of income, assets, and employment, lenders and borrowers benefit by moving away from the manual processes prevalent in the industry today. 
  
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• HOT or NOT April: What's trending in housing right now

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  Wells Fargo announced March 1 that it plans to claw back the cash bonuses for eight of its top senior executives, including the bank’s new CEO, Tim Sloan, as the fallout from the bank’s fake account scandal continues. According to the bank, the revocation of the senior executives’ bonuses are “not based on any findings of improper behavior in the board of directors’ ongoing independent investigation” into how 5,000 of the bank’s former employees opened a
  
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• Freddie Mac Loan Advisor Suite automates lending to drive efficiency

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  Freddie Mac is showcasing why it’s among the most innovative technology companies in housing. It’s leveraging big data and advanced analytics to build game-changing solutions into Loan Advisor Suite, with new capabilities in Loan Product Advisor its next-generation, automated, underwriting solution.
  
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• Cutting housing off at the knees

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  Programs that create homeowners just by helping with down-payment amounts are the lowest-hanging fruit in our industry. These are people with jobs and qualifying income who just need a one-time lift from the government. But that one-time lift is not just beneficial to the new homeowners — the overall housing economy benefits as well, since homeownership begets more homeownership. 
  
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• April Kudos: celebrating milestones, launches and awards in the mortgage industry

  03-04-2017 07:00
  
  Guild Mortgage donated $116,000 to the Infinite Hero Foundation, which helps provide access to innovative rehabilitation programs that address the unique needs of military veterans and their families. The donation was used to purchase a wearable robotic exoskeleton from ReWalk Robotics, designed for individuals with spinal cord injury.
  
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• Monday Morning Cup of Coffee: Cordray to face Financial Services Committee hearing

  03-04-2017 06:01
  
  CFPB Director Richard Cordray will face the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday morning as the committee reviews the bureau’s biannual report. This hearing, however, could have a few more curveballs than normal considering the uncertainty surrounding the regulator’s future. Plus, check out one surprising factor pushing home prices higher.
  
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