News (Noticias) for Real Estate

LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: LFG), has expanded its KnowYourClosing.com website to include a Spanish language translation of the site’s explanation of the entire real estate transaction process to homebuyers. KnowYourClosing.com empowers homebuyers by providing them a beginning-to-end reference of what’s involved and what to expect with home purchases and closing requirements. The site’s information, which includes a glossary of terms and detailed definitions, is written in everyday language making it easily understood by the greater public.

“The American Dream of home ownership unites people of all backgrounds and strengthens our nation’s sense of community,” said Kate Hall, Vice President
– LandAmerica. “Making the vital information found on KnowYourClosing.com available in Spanish is an important step in seeing this dream come true for the growing Hispanic homebuying population.”

Hall added including a Spanish language translation of the site reflects the LandAmerica commitment to give each customer superior service, and helps the company pursue its goal of being the premier provider of real estate transaction services.

About LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc.
LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. is a leading provider of real estate transaction services with over 650 offices and a network of more than 8,500 active agents. LandAmerica serves agent, residential, commercial and lender customers throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Asia. LandAmerica has been ranked Number One in the Mortgage Services Industry on Fortune’s(R) 2007 and 2008 lists of America’s Most Admired Companies. “

AFL-CIO affiliate stands up for working families as Congress debates downpayment assistance
Ann Ashburn, President of AmeriDream, Inc., today praised the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) for urging Congress to preserve downpayment assistance funded in part by sellers as part of the housing stimulus package. LCLAA is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO and represents the interests of 1.7 million Latino workers in the United States and Puerto Rico. A copy of the LCLAA’s statement can be found here: supporthomeownership.com/News
LCLAA states in part, “Should Congress eliminate [downpayment assistance], thousands of Latino working families may never be able to become homeowners. This forces a good number of Latino families to either rent or resort to predatory sub-prime financing that has proven to be devastating for minority borrowers. Homeownership for Latinos is close to 30 percentage points below that of Whites. If DPAs are eliminated that alone would exacerbate economic disparities in our nation.”
“On behalf of every American family and individual that aspires to homeownership, I commend the LCLAA for its leadership in this critical homeownership debate,” said Ann Ashburn. “LCLAA recognizes that congressional efforts to eliminate downpayment assistance will only stifle the economic advancement of Latino families. LCLAA joins a rapidly growing list of supporters for downpayment assistance, ranging from members of Congress and mayors on both sides of the aisle to homebuilders, real estate professionals, and families and individuals across the nation. By visiting www.supporthomeownership.com every aspiring homeowner can tell Congress and the Bush Administration to regulate - not eliminate - downpayment assistance.”
BACKGROUND: Charitable downpayment assistance funded in part with seller participation has allowed homeownership to grow without using taxpayer dollars. To date, more than one million families and individuals have utilized this downpayment assistance, generating nearly $10 billion in home equity for those families between 2000 and 2005. AmeriDream has provided more than 200,000 gifts to aspiring homeowners, approximately 80% of whom were first-time homebuyers. AmeriDream also has helped educate 60,000 homebuyers through homebuyer education courses, helped 1,200 homeowners retain their homes when confronted with mortgage difficulties, and committed over $30 million to affordable housing development in local communities. “

Arvin Weiss, 58, has been found guilty of mortgage fraud and witness tampering, U.S. Attorney Troy Eid said today.

A U.S. District Court jury found Weiss, of Englewood, guilty late Wednesday in a complicated mortgage fraud scheme that primarily targeted Hispanics.”*

“This is a miracle,” said Maria Arias, a 41-year-old home health aide from Corona, Queens, who got more than $6,700 back as a result of a three-year investigation by the state attorney general’s office. “*

-Hispanic, Asian and African American real estate professionals issued a joint statement of endorsement today for the actions of the Federal Reserve Board and U.S. Treasury Department to bolster support for Government Sponsored Enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Multicultural Coalition of 70,000 combined members of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers announced their support of the measures by way of a letter sent to lawmakers and decision makers.

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have worked closely with NAHREP, AREAA and NAREB to promote homeownership and affordable housing opportunities in minority and other underserved communities,” said Timothy Sandos, President & CEO of NAHREP. “Without these important institutions, we believe that the current real estate crisis would be significantly worse, particularly for many minority families looking to finance their first homes or refinance out of existing high-cost mortgage products.”

The Multicultural Coalition views the GSEs as pillars of the housing system with an essential role to growing homeownership rates in the minority and immigrant markets. The groups favor immediate actions that ensure that the GSEs have adequate access to liquidity and sufficient capital to help promote recovery in the housing market. “*

Many Hispanics were urged to buy homes during the real estate boom to achieve a new found independence. They wanted a taste of the American dream. Today, due to creative financing, second mortgages and rising interest rates, many Hispanics are close to having their homes taken away. The quest for the American dream has forced many Hispanics into debt due to loans that they were not fit to have. Many were given loans they were not qualified to receive due to a lack of credit history and/or inadequate monthly income. Many were sold adjustable rate mortgages with initial low interest ‘teaser’ rates which simply delayed the day of reckoning until the mortgage reset and full interest and principle payments were due. “*

Work is accelerating a Spanish Colonial-style shopping center catering to a heavily Hispanic area of Mesa.

Mesa Ranch Plaza, a center on 18 acres of land at the northwest corner of Southern Avenue and Stapley Drive, will open early next year with two big retailers catering to Hispanic shoppers — La Curacao, a massive 100,000-square-foot electronics and home-appliance store, and grocer Pro’s Ranch Market.”*

More than a century and a half after Mexico lost Texas to the United States, Virgilio Garza wants a piece of it back.

A “Texas for Sale” sign and cowgirls in boots and white hats greeted Garza at the Convex center in Monterrey, Nuevo León, this month. Garza, a Monterrey developer and investor, was in search of foreclosed U.S. property to buy. “*

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) has signed a two-year agreement with VivaReal, operated by Bilingual Marketing Group, an online real estate media company, that will give its 15,500 members prominent placement on the recently launched Spanish-language web site VivaReal.us (www.vivareal.us). The online portal, which is in beta, provides Hispanic home-buyers with home-buying how-to videos, podcasts and educational content all in Spanish and links them with bilingual local real estate professionals and property listings they are interested in.

“VivaReal.us offers a perfect online meeting space for NAHREP members and Hispanic buyers that want to learn about the home-buying process, connect with experts and search for properties,” said Timothy Sandos, NAHREP President & CEO. “This is a great benefit for members because it also gives them a forum to share their expertise in their local markets through social media networking tools.”

Under the agreement, NAHREP members will be able to create a professional profile, upload property listings and generate a blog on the Hispanic home-buyer network that is gaining popularity with potential homebuyers.

“The sub-prime crisis has highlighted the need to educate Latinos at every step of the home-buying process,” said Brian Requarth, CEO of Bilingual Marketing. “We understand the growing need to have one reliable place online where Hispanics can start pursuing their dream of owning a home. VivaReal’s partnership with NAHREP brings together information specifically for Hispanic home-buyers, property listings and local professionals to help them make educated decisions to make that dream come true.”

VivaReal.us features user-friendly audio and video content in Spanish that communicates clearly with Hispanic home-buyers who want to learn more about the home-buying process. Topics such as “Choosing an Agent,” “Getting Prequalified for a Loan,” “Looking for and Finding the Right Home,” “Negotiating an Offer,” are just a few of the subjects covered.

The Spanish language web site currently has listings in major markets and, with recently agreed partnerships, will increase its database by over 100,000 listings in the coming months.

Under its partnership with NAHREP, Requarth and his company will teach bilingual agents how to create an effective blog that builds their profile in the online real estate community with other Spanish speakers. The service is free for NAHREP members.

According to a study issued earlier this year by the Pew Hispanic Center, more than one-in-two Latinos goes online and 76 percent of bilingual Hispanics use the Internet.

About VivaReal.us

VivaReal.us is where Spanish speaking professionals and home-buyers go to learn about buying and selling homes.

VivaReal is operated by Bilingual Marketing Group, which is a privately owned California company with offices in Santa Rosa, California and Bogota, Colombia.

About NAHREP

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, a non-profit 501c6 trade association, is dedicated to increasing the homeownership rate among Latinos by educating and empowering the real estate professionals that serve them. Based in Washington D.C., NAHREP is the premier trade organization for Hispanics and has more than 15,500 members in 48 states and 62 affiliate chapters. “*

Apartment Guide, a leading apartment resource for searching apartment communities nationwide, today announced the launch of its Spanish-language Web site – RentRentar.com. The new site provides Spanish-speaking apartment seekers with a variety of apartments to select from nationwide.

“The Spanish language is the second most spoken language in the world. Dedicated to providing apartment property listings in fully-translated Spanish, RentRentar.com meets a growing need for the Hispanic population,” said Arlene Mayfield, president of Apartment Guide. “Further, it provides an invaluable service to our advertisers and property managers.”

RentRentar.com may be accessed at www.rentrentar.com or through the “En Espanol” link on ApartmentGuide.com.

Contact Tamela Coval at tcoval@consumersource.com or 678.421.3320 for advertising information. “*

Not only has the nation’s slumping economy hit black workers and Latino workers hard, the mortgage crisis has had a disproportionate impact on them as well. In fact, some experts fear the mortgage crisis could undo a huge portion of the wealth built up by the growing African American and Latino middle classes.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies reports that the rate of subprime mortgages for Latinos and African Americans is about double the rate for whites. In 2006, subprimes made up one in four mortgages (26 percent) made to whites, 47 percent of those to Latinos and 53 percent of mortgages that went to African Americans. “*

Starting with one earthquake-damaged building in downtown Los Angeles, the Meruelo family spent nearly four decades building a real estate empire stretching from California to Florida.

But even as family-owned properties like the Grand Bay hotel in Coconut Grove and high-rise condominiums attest to the family’s success, the Meruelo-owned companies now face mounting financial problems and a stack of lawsuits.

The collapse of the housing boom has caught up with many South Florida developers as land and commercial property values have tumbled and financing has dried up. The travails of the Merco Group and its affiliates — the Florida real estate holdings built up by Belinda and Homero Meruelo and their eldest son Homero Jr. — are emblematic of the drama engulfing Florida’s real estate market.”*

Late last year, 20-year-old Emy Palacios signed up for a program she thought would help her keep the house she owned with her mother and shared with her two younger siblings.

After a couple of housemates moved out of the house last fall, Palacios had called her lender to explain that she and her mom couldn’t make their monthly payments. The bank said she could sell her house at a loss — a short sale — and Palacios set that plan in motion.

But soon after, she heard from a real estate agent about a program that promised to shield the house from foreclosure and allow her family to stay in their home. Palacios called to find out more. She signed over the deed of her home to the program’s operators, who said an antiquated government land grant program would shelter her home from foreclosure, at a seminar in December and cancelled the short sale. She made six monthly payments of $1,500 to “rent” her home.”*

Casa Latino Franchise Corporation announced today that it will incorporate several Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF) products and tools initially Cyberhomes, Listing Producer and EC Purchasing to further assist its real estate agents to conduct business and to better educate consumers on the process of buying a home. Robb Heering, president and founder of Casa Latino Franchise Corporation, said: “I am delighted to make available to our brokers and agents important tools to help them succeed in this challenging real estate market; and to be associated with a company with the capabilities and reputation of FNF.”

FNF’s Multicultural Marketing Division will also support Casa Latino agents in helping to educate immigrant and non-English-speaking home buyers and sellers about the home buying process. “FNF’s Multicultural Marketing Division and its nationwide network of title and escrow companies are uniquely positioned to assist Casa Latino in both closing transactions and reaching out to underserved consumers,” said Pablo Wong, FNF senior vice president for market development. FNF’s title and escrow companies operate under five brands, including Chicago Title, Fidelity National Title, Ticor Title, Alamo Title and Security Union Title.

“As our business relationship grows, we will incorporate other helpful FNF tools and establish FNF’s family of title insurance companies as Casa Latino’s preferred providers of title and settlement services,” concluded Heering.

William Arce
Casa Latino Franchise Corporation
3 Bullet Hill Park, Suite 307
Southbury, CT 06488
(203) 262-4185 TEL
(203) 262-8761 FAX

Everyone: Investors, marketers, academics, government and elected officials and corporate executives have a stake in understanding the broad evolution currently under way.

As the Hispanic population grows and matures, its structure is changing in almost every way, from educational levels and labor force composition to household characteristics and accumulation of wealth.

It is these evolving factors that drive the increasing influence of Hispanics in the U.S. consumer markets. Consumer-buying power in this segment will quadruple what it was in 1990, indicating major economic strides among Hispanics, according to a study from the University of Georgia Selig Center.”*

Walk down almost any street in the Cuban capital and it’s easy to spot the cheap hand-painted cardboard signs saying Se Permuta, meaning “Home for Swap.”

When Cubans want to move, these are the words they use. The “For Sale” sign familiar to Americans is banned; after all, you can’t sell what you aren’t allowed to own. So a family looking for an apartment with an extra bedroom for a new baby might swap with an older couple whose children have moved out. Run largely on word of mouth, the permuta is typical of the elaborate schemes Cubans have developed to work within the country’s socialist strictures.

“It may sound odd, but it works,” said Gladys Jane, 60, hunting for a house swap the other day on the Prado Avenue, a shady street on the edge of the historic colonial district that serves as Havana’s unofficial permuta market.”*

The complaint, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, accuses H&R’s Option One Mortgage Corp. of engaging “in unfair and deceptive conduct on a broad scale.”

H&R Block was not immediately available for comment.

Martha Coakley, the state’s attorney general, who filed the suit, said H&R Block, the country’s biggest tax preparer, and its mortgage unit marketed “extremely risky loan products” and helped escalate the foreclosure crisis in Massachusetts.”*

La Alianza, a Hailey-based nonprofit organization that promotes the interests of Latinos, recently received a grant that will greatly increase the fledgling group’s exposure and ability to work in the community.

The National Association of Realtors, through the Sawtooth Board of Realtors, awarded a $5,000 Diversity Initiative Grant to support La Alianza in its development as a cultural center in Blaine County.”*

It used to take a day or two for officers to get to an address after tenants received a notice to leave. Now, with evictions up by roughly a third over last year, Miami-Dade’s backlog is around two weeks, sometimes longer.

“It is what it is,” Officer Fernandez said, looking at a list of addresses about to be emptied. “People of all walks of life are getting evicted.”

If South Florida is a barometer for the housing crisis and the economy, the forecast does not look good. Like other areas nationwide, evictions are rising throughout the state, clogging county courts and spawning a boom in companies that specialize in “eviction services” like moving furniture to the curb.”*

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View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

Apartments.com, the leading online apartment search resource, today announced its exclusive partnership with Univision.com, the number one most-visited Spanish-language website among U.S. Hispanics.(1) As part of this partnership, Apartments.com will provide Univision.com users with complete access to more than 16,000 apartment communities nationwide.
Minority renter households have grown remarkably over the last 10 years. From 1995 to 2005, this segment of renters has increased by more than 40 percent and is projected to reach 50 percent of all renter households by 2015. Hispanics will account for more than 50 percent of the growth.(2)
“Our partnership with Univision.com is paramount to connecting with Hispanic renters,” said Kevin Doyle, senior vice president and general manager of Apartments.com. “With roughly one out of two Hispanics online and half of them renting, Apartments.com now has a far-reaching platform to provide this vast audience with a user-friendly and robust tool to seamlessly conduct their apartment search online.”
Univision.com users can easily search Apartments.com listings from a variety of access points on the website, including keywords: alquilar apartamentos (rent apartments), exclusive placement within the “Casa” (House) and “Alquilar” (Rent) sections, home page links found under “Servicios” (Services) and direct links from Univision.com’s local websites.
“Univision.com continues to partner with industry leaders such as Apartments.com to provide our users the best tools and services,” said Cesar Conde, executive vice president, chief strategy officer of Univision Communications Inc.
Over the past seven years, Univision.com continues to be the most-visited Spanish-language website among US Hispanics,(1) and currently reaches more than 17 million unique browsers on average per month.(3) Earlier this month, Univision.com released a study by Forrester Research that found it was the most-visited Spanish-language portal(1) for the seventh consecutive year.(4)”

Columbus developer Casto said today it is entering the Puerto Rican commercial real-estate market in a $400 million venture with a current investment partner.

Casto Caribbean, a new Casto affiliate, has joined Commercial Centers Management of Puerto Rico in the purchase of 1.7 million square feet of retail and office space in the U.S. territory. The investment includes an office building in San Juan and nine retail properties located around Puerto Rico.”*

Elias Escobedo, 41, lost his house earlier this month when it was foreclosed on, but not because he didn’t pay his mortgage.

Instead, he’s the victim of a real estate agent who is accused of forging the deed to his home and embezzling $40,000 in a scheme to raise his credit score and pay his monthly mortgage payments, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office.

Mortgage and foreclosure fraud is growing. According to the FBI 2007 Mortgage Fraud Report, suspicious activity reports grew 31 percent to 46,717 in 2007. The 1,204 mortgage fraud cases pursued in fiscal year 2007, which ended Sept. 30, resulted in 321 indictments and court orders for $595.9 million in restitution. In the Bay Area, counties are ranked by mortgage fraud with Santa Clara being the highest and then followed by Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The regional FBI office declined to release any further statistics.”*