Network of Real Estate Professionals
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen will be in Phoenix to talk about Arizona’s economy next week.
She’s the keynote at Lambda Alpha International’s Phoenix real estate conference on Nov. 10th. The event starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Downtown Phoenix. Lambda Alpha is the honorary society for land economics.
Go to Visit www.lai-phx.org for more information. …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
A University of Arizona professor has some new advice for homeowners who owe more than their house is worth: consider walking away.
The controversial advice comes from Brent White, an associate law professor, who recently completed a discussion paper called “Underwater and Not Walking Away: Shame, Fear and the Social Management of the Housing Crisis.” His theory is more homeowners could be walking away from their mortgages but aren’t because they’re being shamed by banks and politicians to keep paying or their credit will be ruined, and that isn’t fair.
“It’s unfair that responsible homeowners, who bet on the housing market just …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen will be in Phoenix to talk about the key issues Arizona is facing for an economic recovery.
She’s the keynote at Lambda Alpha International’s Phoenix real estate conference on Tuesday Nov. 10th. The event starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Downtown Phoenix. Lambda Alpha is the honorary society for land economics.
Go to Visit www.lai-phx.org for more information. …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
“Thing are beginning to look up in Arizona as they are for the nation. Still the Phoenix housing market is nowhere near a return to health.”
The pronouncement came from Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen on Tuesday to a group of the Valley’s leading real estate and banking executives.
“As the housing market collapsed and the nation fell into financial crisis and recession, your desert metropolis was set back on its heels,” she said to the Phoenix chapter of the land economics group Lambda Alpha International. “Just as you (Phoenix) grew faster than the nation as a whole …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
The crackdown on mortgage fraud in Arizona has resulted in another conviction in the Valley. Jeffrey Todd Crandell, 33, of Mesa has pled guilty to six counts of Bank Fraud
According the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Arizona, Crandell was the leader of a sophisticated cash-back mortgage fraud scheme. In 2005, he obtained the rights to properties in Queen Creek, then hid his interest in those properties by putting them in his brother-in-law’s name. Then Crandell recruited friends to buy the properties for inflated prices—often hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the cost of the land.
Crandell brokered the …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
Arizona owners of second-homes or investment properties facing foreclosure have one less thing to worry about. The law that could have made them liable for tens of thousands of dollars, SB 1271 was repealed on Monday when Gov. Jan Brewer signed SB 1004.
Controversial SB 1271 required some Arizona homeowners in foreclosure to prove they had lived in a home for six straight months or they would be liable for their lenders loss on the property.
SB 1271 was repealed in the Arizona’s special budget legislative session a few months ago. But then in October, the Arizona Bankers Association filed a lawsuit …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said his office is teaming with the federal goverment to stop more loan modification scams.
Today, at the end of the National Association of Attorneys Generals meeting in Phoenix, Goddard said his office recently met with federal regulators, including the U.S. Department of Justice. He said the prosecutors plan to work together to stop firms from cheating struggling homeowners.
Non-profit housing counselors currently offer free help to homeowners trying to receive government-backed loan modifcations to avoid foreclosure. However, a growing number of firms are solicting homeowners and offering help for fees as high as $5,000. Instead of providing loan modification help, …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
Are you trying to sell your home, contemplating walking away because you owe more than it’s worth or just frustrated by the foreclosures in your neighborhood? I am working on a story to tell the plight of the typical Valley homeowner right now. Please contact me with your story at catherine.reagor@arizonarepublic.com. …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
Arizona business leader and growth expert Ioanna Morfessis has been recruited by Rhode Island to lead the state’s economic-development efforts.
Last week, Rhode Island’s Economic Development Corp., led by Gov. Donald Carcieri, voted unanimously to offer Morfessis a three-year contract.
“Ioanna is considered one of the best economic-development executives in the country with a proven track record in attracting and retaining businesses,” Carcieri said.
Morfessis’ appointment was announced Friday. Her confirmation goes to the Rhode Island Senate for approval in January.
“Rhode Island is an extraordinary state where the governor, General Assembly, business community, educational leaders, civic leaders and citizens are working together as …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog
Phoenix isn’t alone in its economic and real estate pain. The entire Mountain West area is hurting more than any other region of the country, according to a new Brookings Institute study.
The first Mountain Monitor from Brookings was released earlier this week. Unfortunately, it’s another bad economic report card for Phoenix, which is one of 10 metro areas in Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Idaho tracked in the survey.
“Across the (Mountain) region, the deflation of a massive housing bubble, widespread job losses, and the onset of a significant public-sector fiscal crisis have wreaked havoc on many …
Posted by CatherineReagor’s Blog