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| Federal appraisal rules stir more ire
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| Realtor groups large and small complain that the new rules are scuttling home sales and they -- along with mortgage brokers, loan officers and builders -- are leaning on Congress to impose an 18-month moratorium on the rules, arguing that the measures are stalling recovery of the housing market.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 07/15/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Faulty Appraisal Process Harming Housing And The Economy
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| Twenty-six percent of builders are seeing signed sales contracts fall through the cracks because appraisals on their homes are coming in below the contract sales price, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The survey showed that nearly 60 percent of the builders are reporting that inadequate appraisals are causing serious problems in the market, with the biggest problem being comparables of new single-family homes that are too often based on foreclosures and distressed sales.
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| @ National Association of Home Builders | Posted: 07/15/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC)
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The Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) establishes standards for solicitation, selection, compensation, conflicts of interest and appraiser independence. It is effective May 1, 2009, for any mortgage that will be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac; Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) mortgages are not covered in the agreement.
Editor's Comment: This is good read
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| @ National Association of Realtors | Posted: 07/15/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Levitt's Lee County lots on auction block
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| The real estate owned by bankrupt builder Levitt & Sons — including hundreds of lots and houses in Cascades at River Hall in east Lee County — will be auctioned off July 22 to pay the $117 million debt the defunct company racked up with Bank of America.
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| @ Ft. Myers News Press | Posted: 07/15/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Orlando's warehouse sector still slumping
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| A survey of 141 buildings — most institutionally owned— in Orange and Seminole counties found that the areas hardest hit by the recession include Orlando Central Park and the Orlando International Airport area. The market's overall vacancy rate rose from 23 percent in the first quarter to 27 percent in the second, remaining about double the rate of a year ago.
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| @ Orlando Sentinel | Posted: 07/15/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Elgin, Illinois - Best place for 'fixer-uppers'
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| An architectural and historical cache of vintage housing in far northwest suburban Elgin has earned a spot in This Old House magazine's 2009 Best Old-House Neighborhoods list. Elgin took a top laurel for "Best Place for Fixer Uppers" for its diverse architecture, which ranges from Queen Anne and Tudor to Gothic Revival. The magazine pointed out that "dazzling TLC-needing Queen Annes start at $100,000." The city's location, 40 miles from the Loop, was also an award-winning criteria as well as the grant program for old houses offered by the City of Elgin.
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| @ Chicago Sun Times | Posted: 07/15/09 at 0400 EDST
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| State of Illinois paychecks in limbo amid budget crisis
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| Thousands of state workers are in danger of missing a paycheck Wednesday unless the governor and legislators reach quick agreement on a new budget. A first round of 5,000 to 6,000 direct deposits and checks will be delayed Wednesday and thousands more by the end of the month, said a spokeswoman for Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, who maintains the office lost its authority to issue checks when the state’s new fiscal year began without a budget on July 1.
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| @ Springfield Journal Register
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| Fed's Hoenig says U.S. recovery to be very slow
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| The U.S. recession is almost over but the recovery will be very slow, a top Federal Reserve policy-maker said on Tuesday, while warning that even in this climate inflation is a long-term threat that should not be ignored.
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| @ Reuters | Posted: 07/15/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Are China's smaller cities a bargain for investors?
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| Wuhan, Chongqing and Chengdu aren't exactly names that roll off the tongue for foreign investors in China's real estate, but these cities may offer more bang for the buck than their more-famous coastal cousins or capital Beijing.
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| @ Reuters | Posted: 07/15/09 at 0646 EDST
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| UK's quarterly jobless rise largest on record
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| The number of people unemployed in the UK rose by 281,000 to 2.38m in the three months to May, the largest quarterly increase since records began in 1971.
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| @ Financial Times - UK | Posted: 07/15/09 at 0652 EDST
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| U.K. Unemployment Claims Increase the Least in a Year
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| U.K. unemployment claims rose the least in a year in June, adding to evidence that the worst of the recession may have passed. Jobless benefit claims climbed from May by 23,800 to 1.56 million, the highest level in 12 years, the Office for National Statistics said in London today.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 07/15/09 at 0655 EDST
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