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November 2007 |
A Publication of ELLIOTT®
& Company Appraisers |
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NY
ATTORNEY GENERAL GOES AFTER
FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC |
 Andrew
Cuomo, attorney general of New York, subpoenaed Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac as his investigation of conflicts of interest in the mortgage
industry escalated. A few days earlier, Cuomo had sued eAppraiseIT,
claiming the subsidiary of First American Corp. agreed with Washington
Mutual Inc. to only use "proven appraisers," who could be counted on to
inflate appraisal values.
"In order to fulfill their duty to consumers and investors, Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac must ensure that Washington Mutual’s mortgages have not
been corrupted by inflated appraisals," Cuomo said. "Our expanding
investigation into the mortgage industry has uncovered that Washington
Mutual improperly pressured appraisers to provide inflated values that
best served the lender’s interest. Knowing this, Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac cannot afford to continue buying Washington Mutual mortgages unless
they are sure these loans are based on reliable and independent
appraisals."
The two GSEs have reportedly purchased $33 billion in loans from
Washington Mutual, the largest U.S. saving and loan, this year. There is
a possibility that WaMu may have to repurchase these loans.
"The integrity of our mortgage system depends upon independent
appraisers," the attorney general said. "Washington Mutual compromised
the fairness of this system by illegally pressuring appraisers to
provide inflated values. Every company that buys loans from Washington
Mutual must be sure that the loans they purchased are not corrupted by
this systematic fraud."
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ELLIOTT®
GIVES THANKS AT THANKSGIVING
As we approach the
Thanksgiving holiday, we at ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers would like to
thank our clients, for the business they have given us, and our
appraisers, for making this business possible. Our gratitude to you
extends all year long.
We will be open for business on Friday, November 23, the day after
Thanksgiving. |
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SURVEY LINKS DOMESTIC HOUSING PRICES
WITH FOREIGN COUNTERPARTS |
Among features on the 2007 Home Price
Comparison Index (HPCI) of Coldwell Banker was a listing of the
10 most affordable international housing markets, their average
sale price on a single-family, 2,200-square-foot, four-bedroom
home and a comparable market in the United States. The list reads
as follows:
- Bogata, Columbia ($140,100),
compared with Canton, OH ($146,333)
- Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
($144,896), compared with Muncie, IN ($150,000)
- Charlottetown Prince Edward
Island, Canada ($157,630), compared with Eau Claire, WI
($158,650)
- Grenada, Nicaragua ($190,000),
compared with Memphis, TN ($191,936)
- Panama City, Panama ($201,333),
compared with Erie, PA ($205,475)
- St. John’s Newfoundland, Canada
($209,000), compared with Florence, KY ($209,579)
- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
($211,666), compared with Huntsville, AL ($212,183)
- Manama-Muharraq, Bahrain
($230,500), compared with Lawrence, KS ($232,300)
- Aruba, Aruba ($236,250),
compared with Lawrence, KS ($232,300)
- Suzhou, China ($241,275),
compared with Port Charlotte, FL ($239,100)
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ULI RATES COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKETS
The Urban Land Institute (ULI),
an educational and research-oriented nonprofit organization, has
announced its rating of the top commercial markets for 2008.
All the leading markets, according to this report, have certain
characteristics in common. They have either an international
airport or a shipping port, if not both. Their downtowns have
all been revitalized.
Topping the list is New York City, which ULI calls "America’s
24-hour city." Despite the rapidly rising rental prices in the
Big Apple, vacancy is in the single digits. With the dollar at a
low world value, foreign investors are big on real estate in
Manhattan.
Other top commercial markets on ULI’s list are Seattle;
Washington, DC; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Boston; San Diego;
Denver; San Jose, CA; Honolulu; Austin, TX; Raleigh-Durham, NC;
Charlotte, NC; Portland, OR; Sacramento, CA; Las Vegas; Orlando,
FL; Tampa, FL; Salt Lake City, UT; Jacksonville, FL; Nashville,
TN; and Minneapolis. |
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QUOTES OF WIT &
WISDOM
 "It’s
dangerous to be right when the government is wrong." --
Voltaire
"A rumor without a leg to stand on will get around some
other way."
-- John Tudor
"One of the greatest victories you can gain over someone is
to beat him at politeness." -- Josh Billings
"In youth we learn; in age we understand."
--
Marie Ebner von Eschenbach
"If writers stopped writing about what happened to them,
there would be a lot of empty pages." -- Elaine Liner
"It’s not the hours you put in the work that counts; it’s
the work you put in the hours." -- Sam Ewing
"Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life."
-- Immanuel Kant
"Opinions founded on prejudice are always sustained with the
greatest of violence." -- Francis Jeffrey
"Truth is beautiful, without a doubt, but so are lies." --
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"There are people I know who won’t hurt me; I call them
corpses." -- Randy Milholland
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