By REspace Doug on December 3, 2008
The New York Daily News tried to show that it is easy to “steal” property by filing fake deeds. The story is rather foolish, but if you want to read it: It took 90 minutes for Daily News to ’steal’ the Empire State Building.
The reporters think that by filing a forged deed, they somehow could [...]
Posted in Real Estate Space Blog Posts | Tagged Anti-Money Laundering, Mortgages, Title
By Doug on May 24, 2008
The Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Procedure 2008-28 [.PDF ] which provides for the modification of certain mortgage loans will not jeopardize the favorable tax treatment of the capital structure for certain securitization capital structures.
One issue impacting the downturn in the real estate market is the inability of some lenders to revise the loan [...]
Posted in Real Estate Space Blog Posts | Tagged CMBS, foreclosure, Mortgages, real estate market conditions, residential
By Doug on April 18, 2008
Mark Gongloff reports in WSJ.com that U.S. commercial banks are keeping more of the loans they make on their balance sheets.
Total assets at U.S. commercial banks swelled to $11.12 trillion in early April, up from $9.94 trillion a year ago, according to Federal Reserve data that are updated every Friday. Last month, the growth rate [...]
Posted in Real Estate Space Blog Posts | Tagged CDO, CMBS, Mortgages
By Doug on April 14, 2008
Fran Mastroianni of Goodwin Procter LLP, published a story in Real Estate Investment & Finance: The Case for Exotic Notes in Commercial Real Estate Transactions.
“PIK (payment-in-kind) Notes and Toggle Notes, which began as alternative debt instruments with safety valve features attractive to the real estate industry, became a life jacket keeping overly aggressive financially engineered [...]
Posted in Real Estate Space Blog Posts | Tagged CDO, CMBS, mezzanine loans, Mortgages
By Doug on February 9, 2008
The Chain of Fools is the title of The Economist’s Economics Focus column. The article points to the increasing evidence that securitization lead to lax mortgage lending in the United States.
The column is based largely on the study by Atif R. Mian and Amir Sufi of the University of Chicago’s Business School: The [...]
Posted in Real Estate Space Blog Posts | Tagged Mortgages, real estate market conditions
By Doug on January 24, 2008
The American Land Title Association (ALTA), recently approved three new form closing protection letters. These new forms took effect on January 1, 2008.
Closing Protection Letter
Closing Protection Letter – Limitations
Closing Protection Letter – Single Transaction Liability
Jon Anderson, Senior Title Counsel for CATIC wrote an article on these new forms and how they clarify the underwriter’s [...]
Posted in Real Estate Space Blog Posts | Tagged Mortgages, Settlements, Title
By Doug on January 18, 2008
Below is my material from Real Estate Development From Beginning to End in Massachusetts.
The document is hosted on a site called Docstoc.
Posted in Real Estate Space Blog Posts | Tagged Construction, Mortgages
By Doug on December 29, 2007
With a week left before expiration of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, President Bush Signs 7 Year Terror Insurance Extension, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (TRIPRA). The Act extends the insurance program through the end of 2014.
The availability of terrorism insurance has been crucial for financing of buildings in New [...]
Posted in Real Estate Space Blog Posts | Tagged Insurance, Mortgages
By Doug on November 26, 2007
I ran across two articles on usury and expect we will see more as the debt markets and foreclosures continue to sort themselves out and more borrowers are faced with foreclosure.
Usury is the charging of excessive interest on a loan. Most states have a law prohibiting usury and defining what is meant by usury. [...]
Posted in Real Estate Space Blog Posts | Tagged foreclosure, mezzanine loans, Mortgages, Predatory Lending Regulations, usury
By Doug on November 13, 2007
As Jay Fitzgerald of the Boston Herald reports: Companies may drop home loans
The mortgage industry does not like the new mortgage regulations proposed by the Attorney General. As I posted on this summer, these new predatory lending regulations under 93A are well intentioned but vaguely drafted: (15) Lender Must Believe the Borrower Can Repay, (16) [...]
Posted in Real Estate Space Blog Posts | Tagged Mortgages, Predatory Lending Regulations
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