Wells Fargo's John Stumpf: How to fix the mortgage mess

By John Stumpf, chairman, president, and CEO, Wells FargoApril 4, 2011: 6:09 AM ET

FORTUNE -- For most Americans, their home is the largest and most important investment they will ever make. Ensuring that they have the right kind of mortgage is critical to their financial well-being and -- as we've seen recently -- critical to our entire economy.
That means we have to solve the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac problem and eventually figure out the proper role of the federal government in supporting a secondary market for home mortgages. Doing that right is one of the most important issues facing Congress and the Obama administration.

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Real estate: It's time to buy again

Posted by Shawn Tully, senior editor-at-large

March 28, 2011 5:00 am

Forget stocks. Don't bet on gold. After four years of plunging home prices, the most attractive asset class in America is housing.

A home under construction in Austin. The number of new homes in the pipeline nationwide is quite low.

From his wide-rimmed cowboy hat to his roper boots, Mike Castleman fits moviedom's image of the lanky Texas rancher. On a recent March evening, Castleman is feeding cattle biscuits to his two pet longhorn steers, Big Buddy and Little Buddy, on his 460-acre Bar Ten Creek Ranch in Dripping Springs, a hamlet outside Austin in the Texas Hill Country. The spread is a medley of meandering streams, craggy cliffs, and centuries-old oaks. But even in this pastoral setting, his mind keeps returning to a subject he knows as well as any expert around: the housing market. "I'm a dirt-road economist who sees what's happening on the ground, and in 35 years I've never seen a shortage of new construction like the one I'm seeing today," declares Castleman, 70, now offering a biscuit to his miniature donkey Thumper. "The talking heads who are down on real estate will hate to hear this, but America needs to build a lot more houses. And in most markets the price of new homes is fixin' to rise, not fall."Click here for full article

Tax time is here!

Housing paperwork can pile up at tax time - here's what to keep, and for how long

By Harvey S. Jacobs

Friday, March 18, 2011; 7:40 PM

Many taxpayers are preparing for their annual battle with IRS form 1040 by gathering up all their documents, statements, checks and other assorted papers. At the end of this process, taxpayers are often left with piles of neatly sorted, tabulated and cross-indexed piles. From a homeowner's perspective just what documents do you need to keep, and for how long?

At the risk of incurring the wrath of those followers of the maxim "When in doubt, throw it out," there are certain documents you should never throw out and certain documents to hold for six, three or even as short as one year. Among them are the documents you received at your settlement.
Yes, I know that pile of papers now exceeds 100 pages. Many settlement attorneys are now providing digital copies of those documents in addition to, or in place of, paper. If offered that digital option, take it. Copies are fine; there is almost no reason the homeowner would need the original documents.
The essential documents are your HUD-1 settlement statement, the promissory note, the deed of trust (mortgage), the truth-in-lending disclosure and the deed.
The HUD-1 settlement statement identifies your cost basis (purchase price) and those settlement costs that are added to your cost basis when calculating capital gains or losses upon sale. Examples of settlement costs that get added to your cost basis include legal fees for preparation of the sales contract and deed, title search fees, recording fees, transfer taxes, surveys, owner's title insurance premiums, and any amounts that seller owed but that you, as buyer, agreed to pay.

 

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Washigton Post Interactive Map

   

Housing sale trends in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia

Explore real estate trends from the last 10 years of property sales in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

 CLICK HERE to try interactive map

Washington Area Home Prices Up!- Wash Biz Journal Reports

Washington home prices up 8.1%


Washington Business Journal - by Jeff Clabaugh

Date: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 10:46am EST .
Sales of existing homes jumped 15.4 percent in the final quarter of 2010, while prices rose in more than half of the nation's cities. The Washington market posted one of the biggest year-over-year gains in prices, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Existing home prices were higher in 78 markets, including ten with double-digit increases.

Read more: Washington home prices up 8.1%
Washington Business Journal

Washington Post Reports - DC Now Requires Mediation Offers Before Foreclosures

Mediation offer now required before D.C. foreclosures

Thousands of foreclosures are put on hold

During the housing boom, millions of homeowners got easy access to mortgages. Now, some mortgage lenders and government officials have taken action after discovering that many mortgage documents were mishandled.

By Benny L. Kass

Friday, December 3, 2010; 10:23 AM
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Washington Post Asks: Are you Ready If Snowmageddon 2011 Hits?

When the next monster snowstorm hits the D.C. area, you can be prepared

By Tracey Longo

Special to The Washington Post
Friday, November 5, 2010; 8:01 AM

Barry Perkins has vivid recollections of fighting a losing battle last winter with his flat roof and ice-dammed gutters, which sent water leaking into three levels of his Reston townhouse. The cost of repairs? A startling $4,50

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NBC washington Blog: Old Trolley Staging Area Beneath Dupont Circle. What to do with it now?

Dupont Goes Under

Is the former trolley system D.C.'s High Line?

 

One of the latest trends in urban development is to take a dilapidated urban structure and repurpose it entirely. The success of the High Line in New York has developers and municipalities across the nation looking toward elevated tracks and other unused infrastructure elements and thinking gardens, promenades and galleries.

The District Department of Transportation just released a comprehensive outline for its D.C. Streetcar Plan, which begins with the H Street/Benning Road Line in Northeast and the Anacostia Initial Line Segment in Southeast. Expect that project to suck up a lot of the oxygen about redeveloping old infrastructure -- as it did when outgoing Mayor Adrian Fenty and presumptive Mayor-elect Vincent Gray squared off on funding for the streetcar -- for years to come.

But another group is trying to take an old project in a new direction, more in the vein of a progressive repurposing like the High Line.  The Arts Coalition for Dupont Underground wants to take some 100,000 square feet of space underneath Dupont Circle and turn it into performance and exhibition space.

The former underground trolley facility is another relic of the streetcar system that went empty in 1962. One developer tried to revive the spot in 1995, with an underground food court project called "Dupont Down Under" that itself quickly went under.

On Wednesday, the Arts Coalition and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development will host a public reception to present their ideas for the program. The reception, which will take place at the Dupont Hotel at 1500 New Hampshire Ave. NW from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., was promised at least a year ago -- and the idea itself is two years old.

 CLICK HERE for full Article

Businesses are encourgaging homeowners to Go GREEN when renovating

By Elizabeth Razzi

Special to the Washington Post
Friday, October 8, 2010; 9:15 PM

Icicles hanging from the eaves were not the result Dave Parsons had in mind when he installed a geothermal heating system at his Oakton home during the summer of 2009. But that's what he got during last winter's brutal cold spells, when the new system leaked hot air into his under-insulated attic. And monthly electricity bills as high as $560, the result of his geothermal's backup electric resistance heater kicking on too frequently, weren't welcome, either.

Digital Signatures Make Paper-trail Legitimacy Very Questionable

Robo-signers' add to foreclosure fraud mess

In testimony 'experts' admit they rushed paperwork, didn't know law 

msnbc.com news services updated 10/13/2010 11:49:19 AM ET

NEW YORK — In an effort to rush through thousands of home foreclosures since 2007, financial institutions and their mortgage servicing departments hired hair stylists, Walmart floor workers and people who had worked on assembly lines and installed them in "foreclosure expert" jobs with no formal training, a Florida lawyer says.

In depositions released Tuesday, many of those workers testified that they barely knew what a mortgage was. Some couldn't define the word "affidavit." Others didn't know what a complaint was, or even what was meant by personal property. Most troubling, several said they knew they were lying when they signed the foreclosure affidavits and that they agreed with the defense lawyers' accusations about document fraud. CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE

Virtual Tour of New Rock Creek Forest Listing

MLS#: MC7429617

$710,000

 2636 COLSTON DRIVE CHEVY CHASE MD 20815

Click Here for HD virtual Tour

Renovation of Historic Howard Theatre Contributes More to Shaw Neighborhood

Howard Theatre: History in the Making - Again

Restoration of the historic theater is set to begin

By MARK STEPHENS 

 

Listen closely and you can still hear the near-perfect voice of Ella Fitzgerald echo in the halls.

The keystrokes of Duke Ellington's piano resonate in the rubble.

A look out from the stage reveals the faces in the crowd -- some young, some old and almost all brown.

One hundred years ago, The Howard Theatre opened in D.C.'s Shaw neighborhood, becoming the first full-sized threater built for black audiences. It attracted the best in black talent.

"You know them," said D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. "Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, Shirley Horne, Redd Foxx himself, even Moms Mabley. Such talent could not be suppressed. It had to find a home. That home was The Howard."

The historic theater flourished until the late 1960's, but because of desegregation and the 1968 riots, The Howard's attendance began to decline. It closed its doors in 1970, was reopened in 1975, then closed again just weeks later. It was only used sprodically through the early-1980s and sat shuttered and in a state of disrepair for years afterwards. CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE

Ground Breaking for O street market in the Mount Vernon/Shaw Neighborhood

GroundBreaking: O St Market

Ever since we reported back in June that the long stalled O Street Market project (pictured) was finally back on, we have been excitedly waiting for work to get started… and as of today Roadside Development has broken ground on the CityMarket at O!

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Joseph Nalls Now with Prosperty Mortgage

One of our Favorite loan officers, Joe Nalls, has a new home with Prosperity Mortgage. Here is all of his new contact information- Congrats on the move and we wish you the best!
Joseph Nalls
Home Mortgage Consultant
Prosperity Mortgage Company
700 King Farm Blvd, Suite 125
Rockville, MD 20850
301-529-8611 Celll
301-230-1748 Office
joseph.nalls@prosperitymortgage.com
apply online at http://www.nallshomeloans.com/

Frank Lloyd Wright house in Bethesda now belongs to architect's grandson

 Washington Post Feature: Inhabit

 

 

 

By Nancy McKeon

Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, August 21, 2010

It was just the kind of building site that Frank Lloyd Wright loved to tackle: The steep piece of land in a heavily treed corner of Bethesda was generally thought to be unbuildable. The driveway, a nearly straight drop from the wooded road above, was daunting. In addition, the only flat area was small, certainly not enough for a big house.   Click Here for Full Article

Most Powerful Figure in DC Real Estate: Michelle RHEE

NBC Washingtons' Blog Reports

By LYDIA DEPILLIS - HOUSING COMPLEX

Updated 8:31 PM EDT, Wed, Aug 18, 2010It’s not my beat, but I hear that schools chancellor Michelle Rhee is a big deal in this here mayoral race.
Here’s how she ties in to real estate, though: It’s a pretty widely-acknowledged principle that good schools are a huge factor in local property values. Until recently, that didn’t hold so much in D.C., since anyone of any means would shell out for private schools or move out of the District once their kids entered kindergarten. Now, getting into the right district for a high-performing school is a key element in the housing search.
Don’t believe me, believe Tommy Wells, who just came out with a new spot discussing neighborhood schools: “We have had a renaissance,” Wells says. “Just to see the excitement of the realtors who are so happy with me because now people say, ‘not just are we in the boundaries for the cluster, but are we in the boundary for Brent, are we in the boundary for Maury, are we in the boundary for Tyler…Really no other urban area in America has had so many traditional elementary schools come back online as schools of choice in such a concentrated area.”
 
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