Authorities in the United States and Africa have arrested eight people for alleged involvement in an international online fraud scheme that targeted Crye-Leike, a real estate company based in Memphis, Tenn., as well as other entities. The suspects, along with four others who are still at large, are accused of attacking computer servers and using bogus email messages to steal millions of dollars from individuals and companies involved in property
The U.S. Housing and Urban Development released new income guidelines for who can qualify for its low-income housing assistance, and one city’s “low income” level is turning heads. In San Francisco, HUD has deemed those earning $117,400 a year as having low income. The income is based on a family of four.Each year, HUD sets income limits that determine who can qualify for housing assistance, such as Section 8 vouchers, public housing, and
Commercial and multifamily properties across the country are seeing, in some cases, very steep rises in property taxes as assessors reset values at higher levels, the National Real Estate Investor reports. Rising property taxes are proving to be a big concern for landlords and tenants alike.Property tax appraisals can take time to catch up to the current market conditions. Some areas assess commercial property values every year while others do i
Mortgage rates declined this week, marking the fourth drop in the past five weeks, Freddie Mac reports.“The decrease in borrowing costs is a nice slice of relief for prospective buyers looking to get into the market this summer,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Some are undoubtedly feeling the affordability hit from swift price appreciation and mortgage rates that are still 67 basis points higher than this week a year ago
Consumers who buy a condo or refinance an existing condo mortgage may be eligible to bypass an in-person appraisal and have a faster automated appraisal, Freddie Mac announced this week.Freddie Mac’s automated collateral evaluation appraisal waiver gives eligible borrowers of mortgages for condos the opportunity to save on the traditional appraisal. Borrowers could save about $500 on appraisal fees and potentially close seven to 10 days faster,
How fast does your website load on a mobile device? The answer could dictate how many people will easily find your website.Web traffic from mobile and tablet devices have accounted for a higher percentage of traffic than desktops since 2016. Over the past few months, Google has been rolling out a mobile-first index, which could have a major impact starting this summer on the SEO performance of websites that are slow on mobile devices. Google me
A coalition of fair housing advocates, led by the National Fair Housing Alliance, filed a federal lawsuit against Bank of America and Safeguard Properties Management this week that alleges the firms failed to provide routine exterior maintenance on foreclosed homes in neighborhoods with predominantly African-American and Latino residents.The NFHA is accusing Bank of America in the lawsuit of neglecting 1,600 homes across 37 U.S. metro areas. The
The median listing price for homes nationwide reached an all-time record in June, realtor.com® reports. List prices soared to a median of $299,000 this month, as a shortage of homes for sale and high buyer demand continued to push asking prices higher.“Limited options, fast-selling properties, and escalating home prices have been a persistent challenge for would-be buyers,” realtor.com® notes in its June 2018 monthly housing trend report.O
For the fifth consecutive month, pending home sales dropped in May—a sign that the recently ended spring buying season didn’t live up to the hype typical for real estate’s traditionally busiest time of year, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday. Contract signings also eased last month, and a significant sales decline in the South offset gains in other regions of the country.NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-l
Real estate professionals accustomed to using Facebook’s “likely to move” ads are receiving notice that the social network will be shutting the feature down in mid-August. If you’re currently using the Facebook tool, you may be searching for another avenue for customer outreach and ad targeting online.Facebook’s “likely to move” ad platform culls data from third-party sites to identify consumers who show signs of relocating soon. Th
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