C.H. NAAMAD

An increasing number of buyers of foreclosed homes are finding that they can’t close on the property because the foreclosure — and the sale — is derailed by a problem with the foreclosure paperwork.

“Many of these transactions will probably never close,” said Greg Rokeh, a manager of bank-owned real estate in Longwood, Fla., for Watson Realty Corp.

Rokeh said he has about 25 pending sales that are tied up in the document reviews. He predicts that most of buyers will give up and purchase a different property.

“We understand it is a huge inconvenience to buyers,” Freddie Mac spokesman Brad German said.

Source: Bloomberg

C.H. (Chouaib) Naamad
Broker
Boston Luxury Residential Group
138 Newbury St.
Boston, MA 02116
617-407-9740
ch@warrenre.com

Nationwide mortgage applications for home purchases rose to their highest level in more than six months last week, buoying activity otherwise weighed down by waning refinancing, an industry group reported on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) seasonally adjusted purchase applications index jumped 14.4 percent to 205 in the week ended Nov. 19, the highest since the week ending May 7, the MBA said on Wednesday. The refinancing index slumped 1 percent to 3,793.6.

The composite index, which includes loans for home purchases and refinancings, increased 2.1 percent to 728.8, the MBA said.

"The increase in purchase applications last week aligns with other incoming data suggesting that consumers are feeling somewhat more confident with their financial situation," Michael Fratantoni, the MBA's vice president of research and economics, said in a statement.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 4.5 percent from 4.46 percent in the week, the MBA said. The rate last month reached 4.21 percent, the lowest level in the survey, which has been conducted weekly since 1990.

Rates for fixed 15-year mortgages averaged 3.83 percent, down from 3.87 percent in the previous week. (Reuter)

Boston Red Sox pitcher John Lackey, and his wife Krista, have purchased a condominium at 334 Beacon St. in Boston for $2.05 million.

The two-bedroom, one-bathroom condo was last assessed for $304,700, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. The home was purchased from David and Robin Kimball.

Lackey signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract last year to pitch for the Red Sox.

C.H. Naamad

Broker

Boston,

Back Bay

02116

617-407-9740 or CH@warrenre.com

The foreclosure process is getting longer and longer. According to statistics from LPS Applied Analytics:

· Delinquent loans in five judicial-process states spend more than 500 days in the foreclosure pipeline with the average time in process at 358 days, a week short of a full year.
· In the case of loans where the borrower is delinquent for 90 days or more, on average no payments have been made for 16 months.
· States that take the longest time to process delinquent loans are Florida and New York among the judicial process states, and Maryland, California, Virginia, Nevada, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Arizona, among the non-judicial states.

Source: Bankrate.com

The owners of the former Filene's site in Boston's Downtown Crossing will need to submit a new project proposal if they plan to build anything on the blighted street corner.

Frustrated by the lack of progress at the site, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) issued a letter today to Boston Global Investors' John Hynes and Vornado Realty Trust's Steven Roth, the project's main developers, saying the original project notification form is null and void. The action comes after various local groups said the lack of project progress continues to negatively affect the area.

It's been three years since the BRA issued a building permit to the team of Hynes and Roth, and no progress has been made to fill the gaping maw in the ground where the storied department store once stood.

According to the BRA's letter to the developers, the stop sign Hynes and Roth have placed in front of the One Franklin project have cost the city more than $20 million in new tax revenue, approximately 672 construction jobs and more than 2,700 permanent jobs.

"We know they have their feelers out for [selling the site]," said Jessica Shumaker, spokesperson for the BRA. "Our goal is to get the project going again, whether it's them going through the Article 80 process [large project review process] again or it's them selling it."

The development team has been looking at variations of the original proposal to see what could be financed in the current economic climate. Shumaker said other developers have approached the BRA and said anecdotally that they'd be interested in the property, but no official proposals have been made.

In a stinging conclusion to the letter, BRA Director John F. Palmieri indicated that perhaps it was time for the current development team to step away from the project.

"Recent reports in the media indicate that a broker is now marketing the One Franklin property," Palmieri wrote. "It is my sincere hope that this represents a genuine effort to identify an experienced and capable developer who is dedicated to bringing new economic life to Downtown Crossing and the city of Boston."

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