Cleveland, Ohio may well be the foreclosure capital of the nation. More: When asked recently just how bad it is, [County Treasurer Jim] Rokakis unfurled a six-foot by four-foot Cleveland city plot map. Each lot was covered with dots of red ink where foreclosed homes filled the plots. From a few feet away, the map [...]

Today, Forbes.com asked “Where Were the Realtors?” Moreover, “How is it… that millions of borrowers took on toxic subprime mortgages that could cost them their homes? Why did their agents not warn them off?” Well, it’s pretty simple: real estate agents are not mortgage brokers. More to the point, real estate agents are not lawyers [...]

Today’s Review Journal includes an item on getting around the Strip without a car. Now, some locals do like to go down to the Strip for shopping, dining, and entertainment. Many others work there. But usually we just drive to whichever casino or mall we are headed to and park. Parking is free just about [...]

I think by now everyone is aware that we are living in an environment of declining home prices. One aspect of that is reduced equity. This is a big problem for people who are in need of refinancing options: people with too much unsecured debt; people who need to finance a big-ticket item; people with [...]

Homeowners facing foreclosure, along with their lawyers and accountants, need to look at the charges from the mortgage company very carefully indeed. An authority no less than Gretchen Morgenson tells us that “some consumers may be losing their homes unnecessarily or that mortgage servicers, who collect loan payments, are profiting from foreclosures,” and “lenders and [...]

I am very fortunate to have colleagues like Tim Kuptz. Nobody knows the Vegas real estate market better than him, period. Every week, he looks at the actual market data and compiles it into a “snapshot” of current market conditions. Strangely enough, I first encountered his work several years ago while trying to get some [...]