News

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSan Francisco–Architecture and planning firm Hornberger + Worstell will celebrate the opening of the 53-unit Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco in June 2008. The Fairmont Heritage is a landmark adaptive re-use project involving the conversion of the Chocolate, Cocoa, and Mustard Buildings, as well as portions of the Clock Tower and Woolen Buildings, into a fractional ownership hotel. Ghirardelli Square had already been converted for different uses more than once. The most significant conversion took place in the early 1960s when William Wurster, the well-known local architect, adapted the fully operational…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorThe regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, recently eased a major restriction on the companies in an effort to unfreeze credit markets and stabilize housing prices. Starting April. 1, the mortgage limits on loans the two outfits can guarantee will rise from $417,000 to $729,750. The caps on their portfolios have also been lifted.“This is all coming off as positive news for the multifamily market,” Cheryl Patton Malloy,
senior vice president
of Multifamily and Governance at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) tells MHN. “All Fannie and Freddie multifamily loans…

By Erin Brereton, Content ManagerFoster City, Calif.–Declining home sales may mean trouble for real estate agents, but in some areas–such as Southern California, where Foster City, Calif.-based Legacy Partners Residential, Inc. added 6,450 units to its property management portfolio during 2006 and 2007–they’re giving the rental market a big boost. Legacy’s 2007 additions, located in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego county, bring the company’s Southern California and Arizona roster to 56 properties with nearly 11,000 units under management.Because the Los Angeles area consists primarily of renters–60 percent compared to 32 percent nationwide–Legacy expects demand for rental apartments to grow,…

Miami–The mortgage industry is being stricter about issuing home loans to consumers with good credit and is refusing to insure certain loans in almost a quarter of the nation’s ZIP codes–including areas such as Miami, which is experiencing falling home prices and a high foreclosure rate.Mortgage insurers’ backing is required for borrowers who can’t put down a 20 percent down payment; but the industry is no longer interested in backing loans for a variety of properties–including big homes in Scottsdale, Ariz., ranch homes in Flint, Mich. and luxury Miami condos, according to Newsweek. Mortgage insurers have singled out more than…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLa Quinta, Calif.,–Coachella Valley Housing Coalition (CVHC), a housing development non-profit dedicated to helping low- and very-low income families improve their living conditions, recently broke ground on a $90 million green affordable housing development to be built on nearly 15 acres in the La Quinta community near Palm Springs, Calif. When complete, Wolff Waters Place will provide 218 affordable homes to families earning 35-50 percent of the area’s median income, or approximately $30,000 per year for a family of four.Wolff Waters Place, located on Avenue 48 and Dune Palms Rd., includes 22 buildings designed as…

Paramus, N.J.–Vornado Realty Trust has completed a $260 million refinancing of its River House Apartment Complex, located in Washington, D.C. This financing is comprised of a $196 million interest-only seven-year 5.43 percent fixed-rate mortgage and a $64 million interest-only 10 year floating rate mortgage at the Freddie Mac Reference Note Rate plus 1.53 percent (4.36 percent at closing).The 1,670-unit three-building apartment complex was part of Vornado’s acquisition of H Street Building Corp., completed in April 2007. With this financing and proceeds from a contractual land sale scheduled to close this year, Vornado’s total investment in H Street will be $409…

Atlanta–LeasingDesk Insurance Services along with American Modern Insurance Group, the major underwriter of its liability and renters’ insurance policies, are expediting the claims process for its 47 policyholders living at the Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts, impacted by the deadly tornado in Atlanta last Saturday.The Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts, located in Cabbage Town, two miles east of downtown Atlanta, were severely damaged, destroying personal property and displacing some residents. “Considering the magnitude of damage to the community, it is very fortunate no one was seriously injured,” says Dirk Wakeham, president of LeasingDesk. “Our immediate priority is to take care of our…

Enterprise Appoints New Officers in Capital Markets, Structured Finance and Tax Credit SyndicationColumbia, Md.–Enterprise Community Investment Inc. has appointed four new officers in Capital Markets, Structured Finance and Tax Credit Syndication.Kari R. Fitzpatrick (pictured) was elected as vice president of Investment Management–Capital Markets, Bill Ostrye will be vice president of Fund Analysis–Capital Markets, Tom Eastman is the new vice president of Tax Credit Syndication and John Ducey will be the vice president of Structured Finance.Fitzpatrick was named director and head of Investment Management in 2007. In this role, she maintained and augmented key investor relationships as well as managed and…

Foxboro, Mass.–The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has filed an administrative complaint against Daniel J. Lynch and Grace K. Lynch, seeking a $20,600 civil penalty for failing to notify tenants about potential health hazards from lead paint at their residential units in Foxboro, Mass. According to EPA’s complaint, Daniel J. Lynch and Grace K. Lynch failed to provide renters on their property with lead warning statements and lead hazard information pamphlets and for failing to disclose whether they had knowledge and records or reports pertaining to potential lead-based paint hazards. The complaint alleges that the Lynches failed to comply with the lead…

By Erin Brereton, Content ManagerWashington, D.C.–USA Today recently named National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun–who is responsible for NAR’s real estate statistics and forecasting–as one the top 10 economic forecasters.Yun is ranked fifth on the annual list, which acknowledges forecasting accuracy.”NAR is proud of USA Today’s recognition of Lawrence Yun and his economic forecast accuracy,” says Dale Stinton, NAR executive vice president and chief executive officer. “He is a highly regarded economist, and the housing and real estate industry have come to rely heavily on his economic analyses.”Yun has been with NAR–which represents 1.3 million residential and commercial…