Archive for March 11th, 2009
Continue Reading March 11th, 2009
Of the 26 largest metros, Cleveland and Detroit metros have the worst delinquency rate for commercial property loans, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Nearly 4% of mortgages for Cleveland and Detroit office buildings, shopping centers, warehouses and other commercial buildings were more than 60 days late. That’s almost 4 times the national average, according to Bloomberg.
Commercial vacancies are rising quickly as the economy worsens and many experts are predicting serious problems ahead. So far, New York City isn’t in Bloomberg’s top 5. But Manhattan landlords are already feeling the pinch and I would expect that in an extended recession, more and more of them will miss payments.
Rounding out the top 5 cities for commercial loan delinquencies:
3) Tampa: 2.9% of mortgage payments were late.
4) Pittsburgh: 2.7% of payments were late.
5) Riverside, Calif.: 2.6% of payments were late.
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Continue Reading March 11th, 2009
It’s annual rite of spring in Southern California where everything grows like weeds to get our sewer pipe shorn of any wandering vines. My wife decided to switch plumbers this year–because her old guy now only wants cash up front-instead of credit cards later. But Bob the Rooter Man that came yesterday morning was nothing short of grumpy. He left with the work undone because he felt the neighbor’s cars blocked his access.
He came back again today when the cars were moved, but why was Bob so grumpy?
It turns out Bob used to be a mortgage broker. He lost his job and his house and started sleeping on a friend’s couch. The friend owned a rooter business and opportunity knocked. He said the business was doing $2,500 a week before the housing market crashed. (It’s practically mandatory to get your sewer checked in Los Angeles when you buy a house.) Today a good week is $700.
And that’s the story of Bob the Grumpy Rooter Man.
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Continue Reading March 11th, 2009
With the finance industry on its knees, securing a loan for a suburban New York City office property is not the cakewalk it used to be. However, lenders are still willing to fork over the funds for certain area assets, like Livingston, N.J.’s 385,000-square-foot Eisenhower Corporate Campus, which recently attracted a $64.8 million financing package.
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Continue Reading March 11th, 2009
Question: I’ve been told real estate investment trusts offer great diversification. But do they really? Last year REITs lost 38% - that’s a bit worse than the S&P 500. –Brian M., Greenwich, Conn.
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