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Get Emergency Information No Matter Where You Are! 2007-09-27 22:08:44 About a week ago, the area around Post and Larkin was blocked off to traffic and MUNI was rerouted. I’m not really sure what happened, but I received a notice on both my cell phone and email letting me know to avoid the area, just in case I was heading that way. I still don’t know what the hell went on, but I knew to stay the hell away! AlertSF is a great new text-based emergency notification service that sends emergency updates directly to your cell-phone or handheld device. During the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina, phones didn’t work, but text messaging did! I won’t even begin to try to explain how texting works… I can’t even figure out the technology behind my phone working, (let alone how I hit “publish” and this blog is magically updated on the internet!) and I barely understand lightbulbs. But I do know that in an emergency, when most other communication methods fail, you are likely to be able to let your family know you are ...

Countrywide Wholesale to Eliminate all Subprime ARM Products Tomorrow 2007-09-27 12:38:53 According to our account resources, Countrywide Home Loans will eliminate all subprime ARM loan products tomorrow for their wholesale partners; leaving only the 15, 20 and 30-year fixed mortgage products available for brokers. This follows on the heals of Angelo Mozilo’s statement that Countrywide is “out of subprime” and marks a massive 180 from an industry built on short-term adjustable rate mortgages for people with less-than-perfect credit histories. This change eliminates the remaining ARM products such as the 5-year, 7-year and 10-year fixed ARMs that were available after the company moved (along with the rest of the industry) a couple of months ago to eliminate the short-term 2-year and 3-year ARMs that made up the majority of loans written in the subprime market for 2005 & 2006. This change affects the wholesale channel on the subprime side only - no word if it affects the Full Spectrum retail arm of Countrywide. It’s just another sign of the ongo ...

Urban home prices continue to rise 2007-09-27 11:26:32 Home prices in major Canadian cities continued rising strongly through the summer, Royal LePage Real Estate Services reported today. The company’s third-quarter survey of the resale housing market found that on a national basis the average condominium price increased 15.7 per cent from a year earlier to $241,818, while standard two-storey properties gained 13.4 per cent to $407,613 and bungalow prices were up 14.3 per cent to $340,941. “Much like the Canadian dollar, the Canadian housing market is charting its own course, quite independent from the United States and its currency and housing climate,” declared Phil Soper, chief executive of the national realty operator. “The strength of the Canadian dollar, and the fact that the country is adjusting well to its value, will continue to keep interest rates at their existing low-to-moderate levels, boding well for buyers looking to enter the market.” Saskatoon had the most dramatic year-over-year price apprec ...

Patrick of Patrick.net Interview on the Housing Crisis 2007-09-27 08:28:47 In this edition of the Blownmortgage.com interview series we speak with Patrick, the founder of Patrick.net. Patrick.net is one of the original housing web sites that decided to stop listening to the spin-doctors in the NAR and started looking for truth in the over-valued housing market of San Francisco. The site took off and now receives thousands of visits a day by people looking for news on the housing and mortgage market outside of the mainstream media. In this interview we discuss the humble beginnings of Patrick.net as well as where housing prices are going, why you can’t trust the NAR, and what impact fraud will have when combined with the upcoming wave of ARM resets. We also talk about Patrick’s unique real estate dating service - a novel approach to the idea of finding a home. A fascinating interview with one of the pioneers of tracking the housing bubble. Music licensed under the Creative Commons license, The Streets of Miami performed by Dokapi. Share This ...

Is Buying Foreclosure Homes Worth It? 2007-09-27 02:45:35 The answer, of course, is a resounding yes! When looking for your new home or for an investment opportunity it is always worth considering buying foreclosure properties. Compared to newly-built houses, foreclosure homes are guaranteed to save you much of your money. How? The fact that these homes are offered at prices based on the existing mortgage debt tied to the property, you can easily save as much as 50 percent. The homeowners being foreclosed on know that once the bank forecloses, their house with be up for auction. At that point, the house will be sold to the highest bidder. If you can find a way to get to the homeowners before their foreclosure is finalized, then you can pick up their home at a fraction of the price before it is offered to the public. Once the homeowners are foreclosed upon, they have no more equity in the home. But if you approach them and say you will give them $40,000 for the house, they are more than likely to take the offer. This is because they would rat ...

iPhone and Fizber: High Tech Ideas for Real Estate 2007-09-27 01:05:34 Mobile-friendly Fizber redesign now works on iPhones. Now even the busiest homeowners and home buyers can buy or sell the home of their dreams on their own, thanks to real estate for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) site Fizber.com. The company today announced its new mobile-friendly redesign which works on iPhones even. “We are working hard to make Fizber.com the FSBO service of choice for busy professionals,” stated Julia Foster, Fizber.com PR manager. “As part of that commitment, our designers have reworked the site to make it load quickly and display properly on all mobile devices, including the new iPhones.” Launched in July, Fizber.com has quickly become the FSBO service of choice for its functionality, innovative marketing solutions and affordable pricing. The company was the first to provide a free blog to each FSBO seller, and Fizber.com places its listings in over 70 other FSBO and social network Web sites, allowing sellers to maximize their online exposure &mdas ... Iphone

Got San Francisco Building Permit Questions? 2007-09-27 00:28:15 If you have questions about permits and inspections in the San Francisco building process (and who doesn’t?!), The annual Department of Building Inspection Summit is right around the corner! Get the answers at the “Meet the DBI Pros”� Summit, on October 11 and 12, 2007, between 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco Civic Center. The summit will offer free public workshops on: how to obtain a permit residential kitchen and bathroom remodels earthquake safety landlord and tenant responsibilities training on the new International Code standard …and more Cosponsors of the Summit are the American Institute of Architects, the Building Owners and Managers Association and the San Francisco Association of REALTORS®. An RSVP is required through DBI’s web site: www.sfgov.org/dbi by Friday, September 28, 2007. You also may call 415-558-6401 or e-mail DBISummit@sfgov.org. Click here for a sample of categories from last year&r ...

Yahoo relief? 2007-09-27 00:16:49 For those suffering from the malaise of Yahoo non-existance, maybe this will help. Yahoo’s just released some fresh updates to their crawling, indexing and ranking algorithms. ... Yahoo

This Just In: subprime defaults worsening, sky still blue 2007-09-26 19:16:14 Well hold the presses!  Wouldn’t you know - subprime defaults continue to increase!  Somebody, tell your friends - the terribly underwritten subprime loans brought to the market courtesy of New Century, Fremont, and the rest of the imploded subprime cartel continue to sour by the day.  Bloomberg reports: Late payments and defaults among subprime mortgages packaged into bonds rose last month, according to data for loans underlying benchmark ABX derivative indexes. After August payments, 19.1 percent of loan balances in 20 deals from the second half of 2005 were at least 60 days late, in foreclosure, subject to borrower bankruptcy or backed by seized property, up from 17.5 percent a month earlier, according to a report yesterday from Wachovia Corp. Prepayment speeds for the loans slowed, suggesting it’s more difficult for borrowers to sell their homes or refinance, according to another report by New York-based analysts at UBS AG. Record levels of delinquencies and defaults ...

Take the Stress out of Moving Day - How to Move Without the Drama 2007-09-26 17:30:28 Whether you’re moving into or out of San Francisco, or Timbuktu, moving can add a few more gray hairs to anyone’s head. I was looking at the Gilbert Guide after a reader from the company posted a comment on my blog, and ran across a great post that can help even the biggest stress cases maintain a sense of sanity during a move. On the lists of stress-inducing events, moving is usually one of the highest, with move day being the climax. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are two categories of needs that occur during move day. The first encompasses transactional needs, the types of activities that you find on checklists. The second category comprises emotional need. Finding solutions for emotional needs is often more complex. By planning and anticipating both types of needs, you can reduce stress on move day and create a smooth, positive experience. What’s the secret to planning and implementing stress-free moves? Start with the big picture; everyth ...

Real estate broker sued for “cybersquatting”�, has the last laugh 2007-09-26 16:48:50 In June 2006, Florida real estate broker Michael Morgan unveiled a Web site targeting alleged costly construction mistakes by Lennar Homes. In it, Morgan alluded to allegations of “shoddy workmanship, slipshod carpentry and faulty wiring”� and invited consumers to submit their complaints. Morgan bought PPC ads and whenever someone was searching for Lennar Homes, they would get directed to his site instead. Last year, Lennar filed a lawsuit against Morgan over the website, seeking to suppress the “false and defamatory”� criticism and use of “keyword advertising”� which violates Florida’s trademark law. “The defendant deliberately selected and promoted these domain names to misdirect those Internet users intending to view Lennar’s official Web site into viewing the defendant’s Web site, instead,”� Lennar alleged. Lennar won and has since taken over the website www.Defective-Homes.net and changed all the verbiage ...

Greying population changing housing 2007-09-26 13:17:45 A report published by the Toronto-based Altus Clayton Research Group says it will be another 15 years before the senior “over 75″ demographic bubble will have a major impact on homes and housing construction. The report examines the implications of the aging population for the seniors’ housing market as the 21st century marches on. For purposes of the research, seniors’ housing is defined as accommodation developed and operated for profit and geared to those 75 or older — such as retirement homes, apartments, assisted and independent living projects, but not government-regulated nursing homes or long-term care facilities. According to the report, the majority of the aging population is sitting solidly in the age group of 55 to 74 years old. They are not considered seniors, but the “primary lifestyle buyer group.” They are fuelling the recreation housing industry, and will remain the dominant group for the next decade. “This represents t ...

Countrywide Lays Off at Full Spectrum Group 2007-09-26 08:46:04 According to now-former employees, Countrywide went through another round of layoffs at the (soon to be former?) Full Spectrum Group this morning which is the big subprime retail arm of the mortgage giant. It affected employees hired within the last 3 months and didn’t have tenure in the group. This affected several of the Southern California Full Spectrum branches although the numbers of people let go are currently unknown. If you have any information on the size of the layoff please let me know. This seems to be right in line with the Countrywide layoff plan, and Mozilo’s comments that Countrywide “is out of subprime.” If they’re out of subprime and they have both subprime and a prime retail origination divisions, some one has to go. If you want late-breaking mortgage industry news subscribe to my RSS feed and join my email list for more mortgage insight. Update: I changed it from Specialty Lending Group to Full Spectrum, SLG is the wholesale side, ...

Fremont General May Lose $80 million of “Life Line”� Funding 2007-09-26 07:33:55 Fremont General, who pulled the plug on their subprime mortgage unit back in March under scrutiny from the FDIC, said today that a deal worth $80 million in cash to the beleaguered S&L is off as their billionaire investor has backed out. Neither party specified the reasoning behind the last-minute cancellation of the deal; but the company is working on securing financing from other sources. From Yahoo! Business News: Shares of Fremont fell as much as 23.6 percent. The group led by billionaire investor and former thrift executive Gerald J. Ford had agreed to buy preferred stock and warrants in Fremont, for an initial 16 percent stake. Fremont, though, said that “in light of certain developments pertaining to the company” and its Fremont Investment & Loan unit, the Ford group was not prepared to invest. The company did not identify the developments. Santa Monica, California-based Fremont said “it does not necessarily agree” with Ford’s positio ...

Stinson puts businesses in bankruptcy 2007-09-26 05:45:19 Harry Stinson, the Toronto real- estate developer who was in competition with Donald Trump to build the city’s highest residential building, placed four of his businesses in bankruptcy and, according to the receiver running the operations, violated a court order by doing so. “It’s going to create more chaos,” Joseph Latham, lawyer for the receiver, Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc., told Ontario Superior Judge Sarah Pepall at a hearing in Toronto. He urged the judge to annul the bankruptcies. Stinson operated The Suites at 1 King West, a luxury condominium-hotel, through his company Stinson Hospitality Inc., one of the four companies placed in bankruptcy. He had also proposed to build twin towers, the highest at 81 stories, surpassing a 70-story condominium Trump had planned a block away. Trump’s tower proposal has been scaled down to 57 stories, while Stinson’s Sapphire Tower has been shelved, with Sapphire Tower Development Corp. having been ...