Pierce Brosnan Selling Malibu Home for $3.9 Million

Posted on July 27, 2010 by admin

Dashing, debonair movie star Pierce Brosnan is selling his Malibu home for $3.9 million, according to the LA Times. Brosnan’s home is described as a two-story, Mediterranean-style artist’s retreat, and is located just steps to the beach. Unfortunately, no interior photos of Brosnan’s home are on Zillow, so we only have the bird’s eye view (above) and what we presume to be what Mr. Brosnan sees once he walks a short distance to the beach (below).

The home has 3,412 sq ft, and offers typical California-style indoor/outdoor living:

A spacious living room is enhanced by high ceilings, massive wood beams, walls of glass, custom fireplace, wide-plank oak flooring, and wide balconies with ocean and mountain views. Gourmet chef’s kitchen is light, bright and features farmhouse sinks, skylights and ocean views. Adjacent dining room with fireplace, picture windows and staircase to garden with lawn. Master suite is a true retreat with a sitting area, balcony and luxurious bathroom with fireplace, claw-foot bathtub, European plumbing and steam shower. Additional bedrooms open to courtyard.

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Ted Kennedy’s DC Home on Market for $7,995,000

Posted on July 27, 2010 by admin

Ted Kennedy' homeThe Washington, DC home of the late Senator Edward Kennedy and his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, is on the market for $7,995,000 — this after being “quietly shopped around,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Kennedy’s home is a stately, Federal-style home with large, white columns out front and borrows other influences from the White House such as its large portico, the semi-elliptical fan transom above the paneled door and the large suspended lantern as a welcome beacon.

Once you enter through the grand entryway, you will find a study, library, French doors leading to an outdoor terrace and elegant gardens, five fireplaces, and a family room. The dining room can accommodate an event for 50 people and it opens to an adjacent sunroom. One gets the feeling that one any minute, one of the Founding Fathers will walk through the door.

A fun item is a secret hideaway that is entered through the library, leading to the garage and indoor resistance pool. The Kennedys bought the home in 1998 for $2.78 million.

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Dr. Phil Selling His $16.5 Million Beverly Hills Home

Posted on July 27, 2010 by admin

Dr. Phil HomeEveryone’s favorite prime-time TV shrink, Dr. Phil and his wife, Robin, are selling their Beverly Hills home for $16.5 million. While speculation about their divorce has swirled for years and found new legs with this real estate listing, the LA Times reports they are merely trading up after they “… bought a hillside view home they’ve been admiring for years.”

Dr. Phil’s gated and walled Mediterranean-style home is on three-quarters of an acre and in the description, the tell-tale reason they’re moving comes out: “…it’s on a flat lot…” and that’s why they covet the hillside view home! Makes sense. After living on the hill for a few years, they will soon desire a flat-lot home. That’s the way we scratch our real estate itchiness.

Anyway, the home features a “grand, two-story entry, generously sized rooms, a theater, gym, billiard room, two-bedroom detached guest casita, outdoor dining room and a master retreat with his and hers baths.”

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If you have a complaint against your bank, mortgage company

Posted on July 25, 2010 by admin

Protecting consumers from bad banks: The Real Deal 7-23-2010 WSYR ABC 9 Syracuse

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San Francisco FHLB Sues Over Questionable Mortgage Investments

Posted on July 25, 2010 by admin

The Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of San Francisco filed complaints last week in the Superior Court of California against nine securities dealers it claims made misleading statements about mortgage loans underlying securities.

The complaints involve investments the San Francisco FHLB said it made in private-label residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), rated triple-A at the time of purchase, “based on the information provided by the securities dealers.”

The FHLB is seeking to rescind or annul its purchases of 134 securities in 113 securitization trusts, for which the bank originally paid $19.1bn. According to public information on the court Web site, Deutsche Bank Securities and Credit Suisse Securities are among the firms named in the complaints.

The FHLB’s complaints allege the securities dealers made misleading or untrue statements regarding the characteristics of the underlying mortgage loans.

“In filing these complaints, the Bank seeks to continue supporting its mission and to protect the interests of its member shareholders, which include over 400 community banks, credit unions, and savings institutions headquartered in Arizona, California, and Nevada that serve millions of consumers,” the FHLB said in a statement.

A case management conference is scheduled for Aug. 13, 2010, according to the court’s Web site.

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New York Sues BofA Merrill Lynch over Subprime Investments

Posted on July 25, 2010 by admin

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is suing Bank of America (BAC: 13.74 +0.59%) and Merrill Lynch over losses related to subprime mortgage investments.

The separate lawsuits against each company allege the firms violated securities laws. DiNapoli took the action as trustee of the $132.6bn New York State Common Retirement Fund, which sustained losses on investments related to subprime mortgages.

The lawsuit against BofA seeks recovery for losses incurred based on the company’s alleged “misrepresentation and concealment of material facts” regarding its purchase of Merrill Lynch, according to a statement from DiNapoli’s office.

“These companies thought they could get away with profiting at the expense of New York’s pensioners and taxpayers through fraudulent activities and misleading public disclosures, and they were mistaken,” DiNapoli said. “Today, these companies have been served notice that they will be held accountable for losses caused through their misconduct. Investors, like the Fund, can tolerate risk — it’s what we do — but we cannot tolerate this kind of corporate irresponsibility.”

Read the complete story

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Celebrity Real Estate Highlights – July 17

Posted on July 24, 2010 by admin

Published By : Jana Schreiber on Saturday, Jul 17th, 2010, 2:00 pm


Jesse James Lists Two O.C. Properties It’s time to beat the heat and cool off with some of this week’s celebrity real estate selections which included a crop of beloved entertainers and a not-so-beloved biker.

Sandra’s scoundrel, Jesse James, Rob Schneider, and Scott Baio have all recently listed there California casas, and the former home of iconic musician, Jim Morrison, is on the market and can be found on Realtor.com.

Jesse James’ 4 bedroom, 4.25 bath Sunset Beach, CA home listed for $4,995,000
This 3,626-square foot Mediterranean Villa-style home has been completely renovated. Enjoy views of the Long Beach skyline, Palos Verdes and Catalina sunsets that can be seen on both levels of this two-story home. In addition, this estate features a powder room, large media room/den, fountain, Canterra stone floors and custom fireplaces.

Rob Schneiders San Marino, CA Home Listed for LessRob Schneider’s 4 bedroom, 4 bath San Marino, CA home listed for $3,000,000
Built in 1926, the 4,609-square foot home, which bears a striking resemblance to Snow White’s cottage, has garden walls surrounded by foliage and boasts an entrance that opens to a tower staircase and arched doorways. There is a butler’s pantry in this nearly half-acre site, dormer windows, an oval-shaped, saltwater swimming pool and a koi pond.

jim morrison

Jim Morrison’s Former Laurel Canyon Love Street Home for Sale.
Jim Morrison’s former 3 bedroom, 1.75 bath Los Angeles, CA home listed for $1,199,000
This 2,300-square foot home is in a gated community and was built in 1922. The two-story home has a unique, California bungalow style with multiple patios and mountain/hill views. A medieval interior design inside features custom pieces such as, beds, chairs, couches and iron chandeliers that come with the home. There is a garden and a hidden shower where Morrison’s scrolled preserved writings are kept behind the bathroom wall.

Scott Baio

Scott Baio Has Two Los Angeles Area Homes For SaleScott Baio’s 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath Encino, CA home listed for $2,695,000
This 4,403 square foot single-story home (pictured above) sits on 1.04 acres and boasts a garden, pool, hot tub and a gazebo with a home theater. The property also features a tennis court, three fireplaces, floor-to-ceilings windows and walk-in closets.

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A Multi-Million-Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scam Sends a Broker in Prison

Posted on July 24, 2010 by admin
scam

Contact us for a excellent, professional mortgage professional

Bethesda, Maryland – Michael Milan was sentenced to 108 months in prison, pursued by three years of supervised release, for his role in carrying out a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $3,141,409 and to forfeit $1,061,890 in proceeds he got hold of.

Milan was a consultant to various mortgage brokerage companies and connived with others to defraud mortgage lenders into lending funds for the purchase and refinance of residential properties. Milan caused his associates to prepare false mortgage applications which contained false information about the income and assets of the borrowers. Some of the mortgage applications falsely claimed that the borrowers earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from a company, Collid LLC that Milan controlled. Milan’s connivances submitted fraudulent loan applications for the purchase or refinance of 11 different properties and caused losses of more than $2.5 million but less than $7 million.

Milan is the sixth defendant convicted by the investigation that remains ongoing. Others convicted include a settlement agent, a loan officer who worked with Milan, and Milan’s son, Dustin Milan.

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HAMPering homeowners – consider a short sale by Watermark Properties

Posted on July 24, 2010 by admin
Carrie and Jarek Gadek, of Martinez

Short sale maybe a better solution

HAMPering homeowners
By Eve Mitchell
Contra Costa Times

Homeowners who receive a break on their mortgage after obtaining a trial loan modification could find themselves taking a financial hit if they do not end up qualifying for a permanent loan modification. • Carrie and Jarek Gadek, of Martinez, know all about how a program meant to help them actually ended up hurting them. They spent seven months in mortgage limbo while waiting for a decision on whether their trial loan modification, which reduced the payments on their Martinez home by almost $300 a month from their original loan, would become permanent. • Under program guidelines of the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, loan servicers are supposed to provide an answer after three months of successful payments in the trial program. As the Gadeks discovered, it often takes longer than that to get an answer, which would cost them more money. • HAMP rules require borrowers who do not qualify for a permanent loan to repay the discount — sometimes in a lump sum — from the lower mortgage payments in the trial program. The same rules apply to borrowers who qualify for a permanent loan, but for them the financial effect is more manageable since the difference is tacked on to the end of the loan. • “Our final trial payment was back in February. So we were told, you are going to underwriting and you’ll have a response within 30 days. It took months and months,” said Carrie Gadek, a hospital manager
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at a veterinarian’s office in El Sobrante. • The answer the Gadeks finally received was not what they were hoping for. In June, they were told by Wells Fargo that their household income was too high to qualify for a permanent loan modification. That meant they would have to repay the nearly $2,100 in mortgage savings over the next year.

Carrie Gadek thinks Wells Fargo made a mistake in denying the couple a permanent modification under HAMP when the bank failed to take into account a big pay cut her husband took to avoid being laid off from his construction job.

Read the whole story.

A short sale may be a better solution. Contact us,<a href=”http://www.wmpre.com” target=”_blank”> for information.</a>

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Seller Financing Can Have Tax Advantages

Posted on July 24, 2010 by admin

Offering to hold either a second mortgage or a primary mortgage in either a residential or a commercial sale can be a good deal for the seller.

The primary advantage is deferral of taxes due. Sellers are normally taxed as the principal is received, spreading the tax bill over several years, explains Richard Schank, a financial planner with PTS Brokerage in Mt. Laurel, N.J.

Other advantages can include:

· Support for a higher-than-average price.
· An interest rate that provides a relatively high return on investment.

The safest arrangement includes obtaining a deed in lieu of foreclosure from the buyer, which allows the seller to take back the property if the note isn’t paid in a timely fashion.

Source: Investor’s Business Daily, Jeff Schnepper (07/15/2010)

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