Hey Readers! I’ve been comin across some crazy stuff the past few days from a few different blogs around the web which I just had to share with you. Check em out below…

LeClairRyan Selects Next CEO

In addition to holding a number of official management positions within the firm, Freinberg has focused his legal practice on commercial real estate …   Read More…

Ninety-Seven Attorneys Named "Best Lawyers in America" 2011

Top Listed in Raleigh, NC in Real Estate Law with 3 attorneys. Top Listed in Richmond, VA in Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law with 2 attorneys. …   Read More…

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Biz Buzz column: Biz Buzz: Colonial Heights J.C. …

Commercial real estate experts believe construction will begin later this year or early next on the rest of the center, with new tenants moving in late next …   Read More…
That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

Technorati Tags: Richmond Real Estate

Relief effort fails many at risk of foreclosure – Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration’s effort to help those at risk of losing their homes is failing to aid many and could spur a rise in foreclosures that would further depress the housing industry.

More foreclosures would force down home prices and that would deter already-ailing homebuilders from starting new projects.

As a result, the economic rebound could suffer. Each new home built creates, on average, the equivalent of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes paid to local and federal authorities, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

“Foreclosures hold down the pricing for everybody,” said Marty Mitchell, vice chief executive officer of Mitchell & Best Home Builders in Rockville, Md. “As a builder, we have to be cognizant of foreclosures, if there are more coming along, because it affects pricing across the board.”

Home construction plunged in June to the lowest level since October, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Driving the decline was a more than 20 percent drop in condominium and apartment construction, a small but volatile portion of the housing market. Construction of single-family homes, the largest part of the market, was essentially flat.

Applications for building permits, a sign of future activity, were up slightly. But that was also the result of the volatile apartment market.

The home construction report was released one day after the National Association of Home Builders said its monthly reading of builders’ sentiment about the housing market sank to the lowest level since March 2009.

“We’re going to see very minimal new construction until the stream of foreclosures has ended,” said Jack McCabe, a real estate consultant in Deerfield Beach, Fla.

The glut of homes being sold at foreclosure or as short sales — when a bank agrees to accept less than the total mortgage amount — could rise even faster in the months ahead.

More than 40 percent of the 1.3 million homeowners enrolled in the Obama administration’s mortgage relief effort have fallen out of the program, the Treasury Department said Tuesday.

“The program really hasn’t helped a lot of people, or at least not nearly as many had been hoped for,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. He predicts that about 2 million homes are likely to be sold over the next 12 to 18 months as foreclosures or short sales.

Many borrowers have complained that banks often lose their documents and then claim borrowers did not send back the necessary paperwork.

The banking industry said borrowers weren’t sending back the necessary paperwork. They also have accused the Obama administration of initially pressuring them to sign up borrowers without insisting first on proof of their income. When banks later moved to collect the information, many troubled homeowners were disqualified or dropped out.

Obama officials dispute that they pressured banks and they defend the program. Lenders are making more significant cuts to borrowers’ monthly payments than before the program was launched. And eight of the largest mortgage companies in the program have offered alternative programs to 45 percent of those who fell out of the program.

The government’s program “only reflects a portion of what’s happening in the broader marketplace,” said Raphael Bostic, an assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

While developers have cut back on construction and the number of new homes on the market has fallen dramatically, they still must compete against foreclosed homes.

Builders are adjusting by adopting a new sales pitch. Many are emphasizing the simplicity of buying a new home, compared with the bureaucracy involved with purchasing a short sale or the expense of repairing a foreclosed property.

Yet even as they discourage buyers from looking at distressed properties, some builders see financial opportunity in that market. Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. said this week it would form a new subsidiary that will invest in distressed real estate, buying up distressed loans or unfinished developments and possibly selling them to other builders.

Evan Cramer, development manager at Southeast Capital Management in Atlanta, said his company is pursuing a similar strategy. Through buying up bad real estate development loans at a discount and selling undeveloped lots to builders, his company figures it can turn a profit.

“If you can sell a home for under $200,000, there’s still a good amount of demand,” he said.

The rate of home building is still up about 15 percent from the bottom in April 2009, though it’s down 76 percent from the last decade’s peak in January 2006.

New home sales in May dropped 33 percent to the slowest pace in the 47 years records have been kept. The drop-off came immediately after the tax incentives to sign a contract on a home ended on April 30.

Builders may be turning their attention away from new projects to complete those already in progress. Housing completions rose 26.2 percent in June. Some economists said that could be a positive sign that the market may have reached the bottom.

But Mitchell said many are focusing on existing projects because they can’t get financing for new ones.

“Banks just don’t want to get involved with any new real estate deals whatsoever,” he said. “Particularly for the private builders, the only choice you have is to build out the projects that you’re in.”

___

AP Real Estate Writer J.W. Elphinstone contributed in New York to this report.

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I recently saw an interesting article on some of the reactions on the passing of the new health care reform bill. I have no doubt that this bill is targeted solely in helping the poor. But, let’s look at the cost to companies just managing to stay solvent. What happens to their workforce if they close their doorsŅ more unemployment. I realize that there’s a need in changing our health care system. There may even be some good features in this legislation, but this bill went way over the edge of common sense. We all know that this bill was pushed through by the Obama administration to show that they achieved one of his campaign promises, with no consideration of its cost or future ramifications.

The biggest problem this country faces is not health care reform, its unemployment. Without jobs you can’t buy homes, you can’t buy health care insurance, depression and other health issues are on the increase, and foreclosures are increasing. The one item in this bill that bothers me the most is the requirement that everyone must buy health care insurance. What if someone is unemployed or makes just minimum wage, are they going to be able to pay a monthly health care bill? The basic principle that this country is based on is “freedom choice” and that people need to workŅŅ. not get free handouts. Its obvious that the government can’t subsidize everyone, so who will get the handouts? Again, most of the working middle class will end up with the bill.

Read the article and let me know what you think.

Reacting to the new health care reform law, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed legislation outlawing the U.S. government from requiring state residents to purchase medical insurance.

Meanwhile, the White House was dismissive of lawsuits filed by 14 state attorney generals, including Virginia’s, who filed two federal court actions yesterday to overturn the new health reform law.

At the same time, Robert P. Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, said that buried deep in the new federal law are items that could be positives for workers’ compensation, health and disability insurers. Gov. McDonnell signed a measure, passed last month by the Virginia General Assembly, stating in part that no resident “shall be required to obtain or maintain a policy of individual insurance coverage except as required by a court or the Department of Social ServicesŔ The state statute is in direct conflict with the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, mandating that all Americans buy some form of health insurance starting in 2014.

Yesterday, the state’s attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Richmond, arguing the Virginia law is valid despite the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution because the federal act is unconstitutional. The action argues that the federal health reform law is an impermissible overreaching of the government’s ability to regulate U.S. business under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, in Florida, a suit challenging the federal law was filed in U.S. District Court in Pensacola by 12 Republican attorneys general and one Democrat. The Democrat who signed on was Attorney General James Caldwell of Louisiana, who said he did so after Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal made a request, which he agreed with. The filing argues that the health reform act is an “unprecedented encroachment of the sovereignty of the states”and has a tax penalty” for the uninsured that violates sections of the Constitution dealing with taxes.

White House domestic policy chief Melody Barnes was quoted by Associated Press as saying of the suits, “Bring it on,” adding: “If you want to look in the face of a parent whose child now has health care insurance and say we’re repealing that…go right ahead.” She also cited the failure of legal challenges brought after passage of Social Security and the Voting Rights Act.

Senior White House adviser David Axelrod yesterday commented that every single major piece of legislation “that’s ever been passed in this country has engendered lawsuits. That’s the nature of our system and we expected that. We’re not concerned about these lawsuits.”

Mr. Hartwig noted that the majority of states have not sued, and he said he believed that legally such a challenge is “a steep uphill climb.”

Some insurers may agree and some may disagree with the legislation, “but ultimately every industry is going to adjust to the new health care bill.”

Among the provisions that insurers should appreciate, he said, is one that allows them to charge smokers 50 percent more for coverage. “They have to pay more, [just] like a bad driver,” he noted. Another provision provides that employees enrolled in a company wellness program or meeting certain health standards can get a 30 percent reduction in premiums, which could prove a benefit for disability and workers’ comp insurers if it prods employees to improve their health and lower their number of claims.

“The American work force is a ticking time bomb. In many states the majority of the work force is overweight,” which produce more medical coverage claims, he noted. Gov. McDonnell, signed the Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act at 3 p.m. with Attorney General Cuccinelli and members of the General Assembly present. He later issued a statement noting that, “The Act was passed with bipartisan support, in sharp contrast to the narrow straight line partisan vote that enacted the federal health care bill on Sunday night. Virginia’s Healthcare Freedom Act received the votes of leading Democratic Senators, as well as the Democratic House Minority Leader. It was an important step to sign this bipartisan legislation today.”

For additional related articles, go to my website at http://investments-in-foreclosures.com

About The Author

My name is Dan Balke. I’m a licensed Wisconsin realtor with Green Bay Real Estate and an investor looking to work with you on either marketing or purchasing your property. I generally concentrate in the Fox Valley area (Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Wisconsin), but will consider other areas as well.

* As a Wisconsin realtor I am committed in helping you sell your property in the shortest time possible and still get a satisfactory price for your property, or work with you to find the home of your dreams. Green Bay Real Estate is committed to giving their clients the most reliable and honest service in the area. Visit us at http://www.greenbayrealestatellc.com

* As an investor I’m looking always looking for problem properties. I call them alligator houses– properties with negative cash flow and/or negative equity that eat cash each month. Worst of all you cannot get rid of the cash-eating-alligator because it has no equity and you would need to write a check to get rid of it! What I do is negotiate with your lender to make an affordable payment and then take over those cash-eating-alligator houses. As long as I can negotiate a payment that works or an equity situation I am happy with I am willing to take your cash-eating-alligator off your hands. What I offer is a no-lose proposition for you. If I can negotiate a good deal with your lender I will take responsibility for the house, if not you are in no worse position.

* In addition, I owned and managed investment (rental units) property for approximately 15-years with approximately 15-18 years in the private sector as project manager. Therefore, I am well qualified to assist any of my clients as a property manager.

For more information contact Dan Balke at (414) 704-8031 or (920) 405-9900 Ext 112.

Technorati Tags: Richmond Real Estate

Technorati Tags: Richmond Real Estate

Technorati Tags: Richmond Real Estate

Technorati Tags: Richmond Real Estate

Where are some apartments for rent near Richmond, Indiana?

does anyone know of any apartments for rent that are nice near richmond, connersville, lynn or another city close to the border close to ohio. Not to far out of the way from Dayton, Ohio. Any apartments around those areas that anyone knows of. Also around $400 or maybe up to about $450 at the most. 1 bedroom needed. If anyone could please help me out here, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Technorati Tags: Richmond Real Estate

New home sales up, but sales remain slow – Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON – Sales of new homes jumped last month, but it was the second-weakest month on record. The lackluster economy has made potential buyers skittish about shopping for homes.

New home sales rose nearly 24 percent in June from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 330,000, the Commerce Department said Monday. May’s number was revised downward to a rate of 267,000, the slowest pace on records dating back to 1963. Sales for April and March were also revised downward.

High unemployment, slow job growth, and tight credit have kept people from buying homes. The industry received a boost this spring when the government offered tax credits to homebuyers. But since they expired in April, the number of people looking to buy has dropped, even with the lowest mortgage rates in decades available.

“There’s no question that this is a weak number, but it seems to be more stable,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. “The bottom line to all of this is that we need more jobs.”

Sales are down 72 percent from their peak annual rate of 1.39 million in July 2005. More than 600,000 new homes were sold annually from 1983 through 2007. After the housing bubble popped, sales plunged to 375,000 last year. That was the weakest yearly total on records dating back to 1963.

New home sales made up about 7 percent of the housing market last year. That’s down from about 15 percent before the bust.

Weak sales mean fewer jobs in the construction industry, which normally power economic recoveries. Each new home built creates, on average, the equivalent of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes paid to local and federal authorities, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The impact is felt across multiple industries.

Builders have sharply scaled back construction in the face of a severe housing market bust. The number of new homes up for sale in June fell 1.4 percent from a month earlier to 210,000, the lowest level in nearly 42 years.

Due to the sluggish sales pace, it would take eight months to exhaust that supply. That’s above a healthy level of about six months.

The median sales price in June was $213,400. That was down 0.6 percent from a year earlier and down 1.4 percent from May.

New home sales rose by 46 percent in the Northeast, 33 percent in the South and 21 percent in the Midwest. The West posted a decline of nearly 7 percent.

“One month doesn’t make a trend and the roadblocks to a healthy housing market are high, the most important one being the still-high jobless rate,” wrote BMO Capital Markets economist Jennifer Lee in a note to clients. “But with borrowing costs at record lows, prices also remaining low, those with jobs who can afford a home may be enticed.”

(This version CORRECTS month in which new homes up for sale declined.)

Technorati Tags: Richmond Real Estate

Technorati Tags: Richmond Real Estate

How about these right… I think you’ll find the following nuggets of wisdom particularly insightful. Leave your comments below. Check out the second one in particular…

Richmond Honan Medical Files For IPO Of Up To $257.6 Million

Richmond Honan also plans to use proceeds to purchase the real-estate operations of those portfolios, to repay debt and for other purposes.   Read More…

Richmond area home values up by 1.6 percent

… a possible turn in the housing market here, even as values nationwide continue to fall, according to an online real estate report released yesterday. …   Read More…

Fed to Keep Holdings Stable in Bid to Boost Growth

While weakness in housing and commercial real estate will restrain the recovery, and the job market's “slow recovery” weighs on consumers, “rising demand …   Read More…
That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

Technorati Tags: Richmond Real Estate