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The Most Overvalued & Undervalued Homes |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Friday, 30 December 2005 |
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Florida & California overvalued homes - Texas & Alabama homes values lowest Sixty-five of the nation's 299 biggest real estate markets are severely overpriced and subject to possible price corrections.The report named Naples, Florida as the most overvalued of all housing markets in the United States. A single-family, median-priced home there sells for $329,970, 84 percent more than what it should cost -- $180,956 -- according to the analysis. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 16 January 2006 )
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Palm Beach Post Special Report |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Friday, 30 December 2005 |
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WHY SCREENS FAILED The hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 flattened screen enclosures, costing millions. Faulty designs and lax inspections contributed to the damage. LOOSE REGULATIONS TEAR INDUSTRY APART, ENCLOSURE DESIGNS FLAWED, THE COST OF REBULDING, PILE OF PROFIT, MORE REGULATIONS NEEDED. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 14 January 2006 )
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FOX:New Home Sales Tumble |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Friday, 23 December 2005 |
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New Home Sales Tumble 11.3%, Biggest Decline in 12 Years Sales of new U.S. homes fell 11.3 percent in November, the biggest decline in nearly 2 years, as the number of houses for sale hit a record high, according to a government report on Friday that offered more evidence of a cooling housing market. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 16 January 2006 )
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Investigations Continue in Ohio |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Friday, 23 December 2005 |
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Auditors at door of Dominion Homes State and federal agencies are investigating the business practices of Dominion Homes. The Dublin-based builder has come under scrutiny because so many of its customers can't pay their mortgages and can't sell their houses for what they paid for them. See Special News Reports - Brokered Dreams |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 23 December 2005 )
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Tuesday, 20 December 2005 |
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Tennessee builders to pay $226,000 in kickback settlement Nine Tennessee home builders will pay $226,000 to the U.S. Treasury in a settlement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development for allegedly getting kickbacks from a Tennessee title company, HUD said today...The builders involved in the settlement announce today are Oaktree Homes, Vintage Homes, Bronze-Christian, P & G Capital Partners, Summit Homes, Lenox Homes, Riverbirch Homes, Richard and Milton Grant Co. and Downing Homes Inc. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 December 2005 )
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Mortgage Fraud fastest growing crime |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Tuesday, 20 December 2005 |
MORTGAGE FRAUD RUNS RAMPANT Mortgage fraud is one of the in the United States, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reports. In fiscal year 2005, nearly 22,000 incidents of suspicious activity were reported by the banking industry, up from 17,000 the year before. The FBI reports the loss from this crime was more than $1 billion in fiscal year 2005, compared with $429 million the previous year. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 December 2005 )
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FBI Investigation of Mortgage Fraud |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Tuesday, 20 December 2005 |
THE RISE OF MORTGAGE FRAUD How It Impacts You 206 FBI indictments/informations (down from 241 in Fiscal Year 2004). 170 FBI convictions (consistent with 172 convictions in Fiscal Year 2004) $1,014,000,000 (FBI) reported loss (up from $429,000,000 in Fiscal Year 2004 |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 30 December 2005 )
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Tuesday, 20 December 2005 |
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Monday Morning Mycology - December 5, 2005 |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 28 July 2006 )
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Sunday, 18 December 2005 |
A neighborhood crime that alarms can't prevent Neighborhoods in North Texas are facing a quiet crime wave that yields millions in illegal profits for unscrupulous real estate insiders.Mortgage fraud scams can leave homeowners with hyper-inflated home values and higher property taxes while houses are left empty and go to seed before defrauded banks foreclose. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 18 December 2005 )
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Sunday, 18 December 2005 |
Neighbors suspect scam in home sales Alan Baugh's curiosity was piqued when the one-story, four-bedroom, three-bath home down the street sold quickly for far more than he thought it was worth..."In my mind, this is organized crime – with buyers, sellers and real estate professionals all cooperating with each other," said Mr. Baugh, a mortgage banker. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 18 December 2005 )
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Township Engineer Pleads Guilty |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Friday, 16 December 2005 |
Former Old Bridge official admits corruption Old Bridge's former community development director pleaded guilty Thursday to receiving illegal gifts from a developer doing business with the local government. |
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KPRC Chan.2 Troubleshooters Report |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Friday, 16 December 2005 |
Made-To-Order Home Missing Something Very Important A Houston-area woman's dream of a new home for the holidays is dashed when a typo causes a change in her floor plan, the KPRC Local 2 Troubleshooters report. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 16 December 2005 )
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Licensed, bonded and unaccountable |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Thursday, 08 December 2005 |
The Oregon Construction Contractors Board fails to discipline bad The board has done little as contractors avoided nearly half the damages ordered by the agency. During the past 10 years, the board awarded some $55 million to homeowners, suppliers and subcontractors, but only about $28 million was paid, CCB records show. Homeowners stand the best chance of collecting, but The Oregonian's analysis shows that many end up like Stuart, who won board-ordered damages of $364,000 but has been paid zilch. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 08 December 2005 )
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Oregonian Editorial- Contractor License Needs Teeth |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Thursday, 08 December 2005 |
Contractors board needs some teeth It's too easy to get a contracting license in Oregon, and the industry-dominated regulatory system is too lax - Getting a barber's license requires 1,100 hours of training; getting a contractor's license requires only 16 hours of classes, followed by a test. And that's just the least of Oregon's problem with its alarmingly lax system of qualifying and policing its building contractors. In a front-page report Sunday, Jeff Manning of The Oregonian described how the industry-dominated Oregon Construction Contractors Board oversees a regulatory operation in which: Contractors skate by without paying millions of dollars in board-ordered damages to aggrieved homeowners. |
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Asbury Park Press four-part series |
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Written by Janet Ahmad
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Thursday, 08 December 2005 |
Broken hearts, broken deals Marlboro developer Anthony Spalliero, accused of using bribes and go-go dancers to buy officials' support of his projects, has a history of accusations that he used and abused women to get his way. For years, Spalliero, 63, the developer of an estimated 1,000 houses in Marlboro, maintained two separate families, and had ready access to a supply of potential girlfriends for himself and his friends. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 08 December 2005 )
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