L.A. Times - Real Estate News

Civil rights complaint targets Wall Street rating firms

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Moody's and Fitch's high ratings of subprime mortgage bonds disproportionately harmed black and Latino home buyers, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition alleges.

In what is apparently the first legal action of its kind, an association of community-based organizations has filed a federal civil rights complaint against two of the three largest Wall Street rating firms, charging that their inflated ratings on subprime mortgage bonds disproportionately caused financial harm to African American and Latino home buyers across the country.

Efforts expand to help financially distressed homeowners

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Two mass-market loan modification programs are aimed at preventing foreclosures. But critics say they don't solve the problem and could have a corrosive effect on borrowers.

You may have seen headlines about the latest public and private efforts to help financially distressed homeowners cope with their mortgage payments. But you might not have caught key details that could affect you or people you know -- now or in the recession months ahead.

On the Market: Redondo condos

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

2615 Ruhland Ave. #14, Redondo Beach 90278

Board's spending raises worries about reserves

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Question: I'm a titleholder in a town home association. Our monthly assessments have risen annually since 2004 from about $250 per unit to more than $360. We had special assessments in 2004 and 2005 amounting to about $5,000 per unit per year. The 2004 special assessment was used to replace gutters, pay for completion of deferred maintenance and replace funds in the operating and reserve accounts. The 2005 assessment was used to fund completion of the repair project that was supposed to be funded by the previous year's special assessment.

Earlier closings may be in home buyers' best interest

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Most people schedule real estate settlements late in the month to save on paying upfront cash, but the last-minute rush often causes mistakes and creates logjams.

To milk all they can out of their final rent checks, first-time buyers often try to schedule their closings as close to the end of the month as possible.

'Granny flats' let aging relatives live close -- but not too close

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

For some families, a second home on the same lot yields perks: You can keep tabs on aging parents, and the kids can spend more time with grandma.

Their homes are too big, their friends have moved or their families are too far-flung. But those aren't the only reasons aging adults are moving into separate residences on their children's properties.

Adult children moving back home with parents

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Extended families sharing a home was once an American tradition. Now with rising foreclosures and layoffs, it's a necessity. But there is a silver lining.

Donald Garcia, 35, and his wife, Augustine, were living in a Burbank apartment when Augustine's mother approached them for help. She had refinanced her three-bedroom Tujunga home a year and a half earlier with an interest-only loan, and what had been a $900 monthly house payment had doubled.

Foreclosure king surfs troubled home waters

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Real estate broker Leo Nordine is working his well-timed magic in selling distressed houses.

The South Bay's reigning King of Foreclosures runs around barefoot, doesn't own a cellphone and drives an 8-year-old Toyota Tundra pickup.

Rebuilding a home after a fluke flood

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Three days before Christmas 2006, as chef Matt Beville was sliding a tray of pastries into the oven at work, he had no idea events were unfolding at his 1924 Burbank home that would displace him for 18 months and lead to a $209,000 whole-house remodel.

ON THE MARKET: L.A. lofts for sale

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:01:05 -0700

Downtown lofts, from Chinatown to the Barker Building

Three downtown lofts, priced from $527,000 to $895,000: 510 S. Hewitt St., Unit 513, Los Angeles 90013