http://www.hathawayduke.com A bit about contruction and mortgages... Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:59:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en "We wanted to make tougher to be in this business, and it's working,"                             ~ MN Commerce Department spokesman Bill Walsh Word. Minnesota's tougher mortgage industry regulation, passed into law last year, seems to be having the desired effect: Brokers are forfeiting licenses, ... http://www.hathawayduke.com/mortgages-construction/minnesota-mortgage-industry-regulation-having-the-desired-effect/ Last Week:Inflationary fears triggered a rise in Mortgage rates last week, and whats more, we may now be in for even higher rates after mortgage bonds fell through a key technical threshold (the 200 day moving average.) Though we did see some slightly better news on inflation last week - ... http://www.hathawayduke.com/mortgages-construction/monday-market-commentary-mortgage-rates-on-the-move/ Finance and Commerce reports on the status of Downtown Minneapolis' North Loop Condo Pipeline (Pipeline = industry-speak for planned and in-process projects):The new, under-construction Twins stadium has been touted as a catalyst for new development. But so far, new development has been slow to take off in North Loop. ... http://www.behindthemortgage.com/behind_the_mortgage/2008/05/north-loop-cond.html No surprise here, as the S&P/Case Schiller Home Price Index shows the continuing unwind of our local real estate market.  Median sales prices for March (year-over-year) were down 14.1%, in near lock-step with the reported national average of 14.4%. Bloomberg reports the most useful summary, which can be applied to ... http://www.behindthemortgage.com/behind_the_mortgage/2008/05/case-schiller-s.html Last Week:Mortgage bond prices softened last week, causing mortgage rates to post a small rise ahead of the holiday weekend.  Inflation fears, stoked in large part by $130 oil, continue to weigh on both the stock and Bond Markets.This Week:A short week, with an active agenda on the economic calendar, ... http://www.behindthemortgage.com/behind_the_mortgage/2008/05/tuesday-market.html We've been swamped with the demands of our business life the last week (a good thing) so posting has been sparse - we'll be back on the crest of the blogging wave by next week. In the meantime, amuse yourselves with this excellent podcast from Chicago Public Radio on the housing/mortgage ... http://www.behindthemortgage.com/behind_the_mortgage/2008/05/the-giant-pool.html Aryeh Schottenstein, 34, Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering, and Shawn A. Griffin, 38, also of Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering. ... http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MortgageFraudBlog/~3/285362765/ We're talking about foreclosures and short-sales folks, or, as a new report from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors terms it: Lender-Mediated Sales. Jeff Allen, research director at the MAAR and Aaron Dickinson, Edina Realty agent (and blogger) are responsible for this tight little report, entitled "Foreclosures and Short Sales ... http://www.behindthemortgage.com/behind_the_mortgage/2008/05/foreclosures-im.html Yolanda Crawley, 59, West Palm Beach, Florida was sentenced to two years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for wire fraud arising from a mortgage fraud scheme.  Judge Motz also ordered Crawley to pay restitution of $200,000. According to her guilty plea, from January 2005, ... http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MortgageFraudBlog/~3/283927149/ Kolawole Aminu, 45, a Nigerian national, pleaded guilty to conspiring to make a false statement in connection with a scheme to defraud a mortgage lender. Oyekunle Ikudayisi, 39, White Plains, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the same charge on April 23, 2008. According to court documents (their plea agreements ... http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MortgageFraudBlog/~3/283918294/