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Boycott the Bakersfield Business Conference! San Joaquin Bank is done! San Joaquin Bank Chairman selling his Coastal Mansion Crisp and Cole staffer going to the pokey... Jose Arredondo closing the Delano Chrysler store Reich-Wing Czar stupidity called out! Racist CONservatives looking for great White Hope (McCarthy?) Has Bakersfield.com and other local websites becoming irrelevant?The tv stations are even worse. Tea bag movement shrivels... Bright House is a joke! November 06 December 06 January 07 February 07 March 07 April 07 May 07 June 07 July 07 August 07 September 07 October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 December 08 January 09 February 09 March 09 April 09 May 09 June 09 July 09 August 09 September 09 October 09 November 09 
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Report: Central Valley leads nation in foreclosure risks The consummate flippersNeil Mohamed Husani and his partners have purchased millions in Southwest Florida property In the year before Neil Mohamed Husani engineered an eyebrow-raising deal to build a $125 million condominium tower opposite the Sarasota Quay, he became a master of flipping properties to partners at greatly inflated values.
Husani, who pleaded guilty to grand theft in circuit court in Manatee County in 2003, put together six multimillion-dollar real estate deals since January 2005. Husani bought the properties at one price, sold them to partners -- often the same day -- at much higher prices, got an appraiser to sign off on the higher values and obtained bank loans based on the appraisals. All totaled, Husani and his partners bought 2,088 acres of land in Sarasota and Manatee counties for $37 million, sold the properties to business associates for $103 million and secured $74 million in bank loans from six different banks. Just five years ago, Husani was so strapped for cash that he wrote bad checks, a crime he pleaded guilty to in circuit court in Manatee in 2002. The next year, he was placed on two years' probation after pleading guilty to stealing $14,000 in furniture from a vendor who supplied Husani's Palmetto furniture store. But Husani managed to turn his financial life around by showing a proclivity for savvy deal-making in a supersonic real estate market. He developed a strategy of buying properties with no money down and getting banks to cover the cost:  On March 1, Husani filed a deed that said he bought a 224-acre Manatee County ranch for $5.6 million. He then sold the land on the same day to one of his partners, Robert J. Martin, for $6.7 million, and Martin went on to get a $4.06 million loan from First State Bank. But the original owner of the land, Ralph W. Weeks, chairman of Lakeland-based Quality Petroleum Corp., said Husani paid only $2.2 million.On Jan. 18, Husani's company, Capital Force, bought five parcels of land between Fruitville Road and Fourth Street in Sarasota from Miller Ward Inc., Pillot Family Ltd., Holland House Apartments and Nellos of Sarasota for $10.35 million. It sold the properties the same day to Sarasota Grand Central, an LLC made up of Husani, Martin and Michael Tringali, for $24.6 million. Sarasota Grand Central then got a $16.25 million mortgage from Fifth Third Bank.On Aug. 22, Husani's Capital Force bought 254 acres near Myakka City from ACT Enterprises LLC for $3.04 million. It sold the land on Oct. 6 to Tringali's Steeplechase Properties LLC for $7.6 million. Tringali got a $4.94 million loan from Coast Bank.On June 16, The Eddy Corp. sold a 1,142-acre sod farm to Rusty Pot LLC, a company controlled by Manatee County businessman Peter J. Shirk, for $7.78 million. Shirk sold Rusty Pot LLC to Husani some time between June 15 and July 28. Shirk said he sold the LLC to Husani for $19.6 million, but there is no record of the transaction. On Aug. 8, Husani sold the land to Steeplechase Properties for $34.2 million, and Steeplechase got a $27.86 million loan from Fort Lauderdale's BankAtlantic.On May 2, Husani's Capital Force bought 177.5 acres on Fruitville Road in Sarasota County from David and Madeline Andrews for $4.2 million. That same day, Capital Force sold the land to Tringali's G&T Land Development for $11.2 million. G&T got a $7.28 million loan from Clearwater-based Mercantile Bank.On Jan. 10, 2005, Capital Force bought 289 acres on Vamo Road in Sarasota from Betty Snead Lindsey for $8.93 million. That same day, Capital Force sold the land for $18.2 million to G&T Land Development. G&T got a $13.15 million loan from Naples-based Orion Bank.Martin and Tringali insist that there is nothing wrong with doing business this way, that most developers try to limit the money they have in the game. "No one has been hurt," Tringali said. "All of our loans are performing well and the banks are very happy." Rags to riches Husani, who declined to comment for this story, admittedly hit rock bottom after his financial and legal troubles at the beginning of the decade. Husani said all his problems revolved around his mismanagement of the City Center Furniture store in Palmetto, and his removal of $14,000 in furniture without paying one of his vendors. "I got sued by five different companies," Husani said during an interview last month. "I tried to remain afloat, but I couldn't make it. I lost everything. I even had to sleep at friends' houses. You have no idea how embarrassed I was." It took about two years for Husani to find his financial footing again. He started using slightly different names that involved changes in order or spelling. He would be "Neil Hussani" in one document and "Neal Mohamed" in another. The name changes helped Husani to hide his past, but trouble followed him and his financial woes persisted. In October 2002, Gwendolyn Newbloom sued Husani in circuit court in Hillsborough County, claiming that he was trying to cheat her out of buying an Apollo Beach apartment. Husani told Newbloom he owned the Apollo Beach apartment and there were no liens or encumbrances on it, the suit says. But after she signed the contract to buy the apartment and made a $12,500 deposit, she discovered that Husani did not own it and the actual owner had not kept up to date with mortgage payments. The mortgage company, Novastar Mortgage Inc., initiated foreclosure proceedings, and Newbloom had to file suit to keep the apartment from being seized. After a two-year legal battle, Newbloom prevailed, getting everything she asked for from the beginning. She was able to buy the property and get Husani to pay $6,000 for promised repairs. Exactly one year later, banks started foreclosing on the home that Husani owned in the Villa Mirada subdivision of Palmer Ranch. But proceedings ended when Husani sold the house in October 2004 for $625,000 and paid his bills. Those setbacks did not deter Husani from proceeding with his real estate career. "He was a very busy guy, always on the phone always doing some deal," said Kenneth Stevens, who met Husani in 2004 and began making him custom-tailored suits in the $1,200 price range at The Fitting Room on Main Street in Sarasota. "He wanted nothing but the best. But it was like pulling teeth to get him to make a deposit, pick the suits or pay his balances." At the time, Husani was part of a group of real estate speculators. That's evident from a lawsuit filed in circuit court in Sarasota County in 2005 by Mary Jane Smith. The suit says that Smith, who owned a beachfront home on Siesta Key, was befriended by one of Husani's associates, John D. Burke, in July 2003. The couple started a romantic relationship, and it wasn't long before Burke convinced her to sell her home, buy a new one and move in together, the suit says. Burke handled all the transactions. He sold Smith's Siesta Key house for $975,000, bought another in Silver Oaks Estates for $750,000 and put it under his name. Smith said she never saw a penny. "As part of the closing, Burke's business associate -- Mr. Husani -- was for some reason paid $18,922. But Smith doesn't know what for," the suit says. Less than a year later, Burke resold the home for $1.25 million. He then bought a house at 412 Pheasant Way on Bird Key from Husani for $875,000. It was a lucrative deal for Husani, who had bought the house the same day for $520,000. Big game In late 2004, Husani pursued bigger game, teaming with Tringali, a real estate developer and scion of a well-respected Sarasota family. Tringali already was developing 20 lots at Portofino on the Bay in Sarasota County and another 85 lots at Golden Verna Estates in Manatee. Between January 2005 and January 2006, Tringali and Husani completed five deals together, buying nearly 2,000 acres of land in Manatee and Sarasota counties, while raising more than $70 million in bank loans. Tringali would not say how much of his own cash he invested in his transactions with Husani. At first he said he couldn't remember, then said he had to check with his accountant and finally he hung up on a Herald-Tribune reporter. Martin, however, said he did not pay a penny for the 224-acre ranch he bought from Husani earlier this month, and he confirmed that no money changed hands between Husani and his partners in the downtown condo project. That's an important point because it shows that the banks paid for the properties, not the developers. Martin first entered the picture after Husani and Tringali already had put together the deal to buy land opposite the Sarasota Quay. Martin, whose projects include condo developments in Miami and Longboat Key, office warehouse projects in Manatee and the rehabbing of luxury skyboxes at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, said he was brought in because Tringali didn't think he had the expertise to build condos himself. "I've done a lot of large construction projects all over the country," Martin said during an interview last month. "I bring expertise." But Martin was so intrigued by Husani's formula that he quickly followed the condo deal with the purchase of the Manatee ranch, financed entirely by a $4.06 million bank loan. "It was a cashless transaction." Last modified: March 23. 2006 9:03AM Falling prices trap new homebuyersNeighbors in a new Garden Grove tract say a developer's plan to slash prices by about $140,000 has left them owing more for their homes than they're now worth.The Orange County Register
GARDEN GROVE – David Dunn felt as if Christmas were stolen from him when prices for neighboring homes in his new subdivision fell by about $140,000. Now, he says, his home is worth less than he owes, making it next to impossible to refinance before his $3,000-a-month payment doubles. Eleven neighbors who bought before the price cuts are in the same boat. "They put us in a bad financial situation by lowering the price," said Dunn, 33. "Some of (the buyers) did 100 percent financing, so they're completely over their head right now." Brandywine Homes, developer of the 42-home Heritage subdivision in Garden Grove, is one of many homebuilders that's had to cut prices lately. Dave Barisic, Brandywine's vice president of sales and marketing, said in an e-mail that his firm recently held what he thought was a successful meeting with homeowners. "As such, I don't think you'll be contacted again and there probably isn't much of a story there," he wrote. But homeowners say the matter remains unresolved, and an attorney says he's still waiting for a response to a letter he sent the developer on behalf of buyers who hired him. Meanwhile, ads offering big discounts and concessions on new homes have been rolling off the press for weeks as builders race to clear inventory before the end of the year: •"It's a homebuyer's market, and now is the time to take advantage of it," said a Richmond American Homes ad several weeks ago that offered buyers free stainless-steel appliances, free washers and dryers, plus 3 percent toward paying closing costs. •"Ask about our Serious Incentives for Serious Buyers," Taylor Woodrow Homes said in another ad. •The only thing that's not negotiable, added a Standard Pacific Homes ad, is the quality of the houses – implying that the price is negotiable. Year-end incentives include below-market loan rates, no-loan payments for six months and free upgrades. At Tustin's Columbus Grove, sales reps for William Lyon Homes, Lennar and KB Home touted plans that included help paying off closing costs and loans, flooring upgrades worth up to $20,000 or – in the case of one KB Home development – up to $70,000 off the purchase price. Wally Welter, an Irvine home shopper, said salesmen for several builders at Ladera Ranch offered concessions worth $100,000 or more. "I've had salespeople say, 'Make an offer,' which you never hear the builder say," said Welter, 60. "Now, they're willing to listen." The reason builders now are listening is a housing slump that's caused new home orders to tumble and homebuilder profits to fall. Standard Pacific Corp., for example, reported that its net income fell by $66 million in the third quarter, a 68 percent drop; Toll Brothers reported a 44 percent decline in quarterly profits; William Lyon Homes reported that its net income fell 72 percent from the third quarter of 2005. Most homebuilders are reporting that 40 percent or more of their buyers are canceling this year. Often, cancellations result in the builder getting stuck with an empty home that's already under construction. The closer the home gets to being finished, said KB Home's Irvine-based regional manager, Jay Moss, "the more anxious the homebuilder gets to make the deal." Concessions, said housing consultant John Burns, are "the talk of the industry." "On a completed home, it can be substantial." But residents of Garden Grove's Heritage subdivision maintain that there's more to their story than mere concessions. They maintain that their builder, Brandywine Homes of Irvine, has cut prices well below market values, regardless of how that affects the earlier buyers. At the very least, their story shows that the pain caused by falling prices isn't borne by the developers alone. The homeowners said that the price cuts began in November, just months after the first dozen buyers closed escrow, paying from $770,000 to $888,500 for their homes. The average price was $825,000, property records show. After the builder dropped prices by more than $100,000, all but five of the homes sold in a matter of weeks. "Usually builders keep their prices up. They try to keep their buyers happy," said Christie Vu, 27, who paid almost $870,000 for the home she and her husband, Philip Luu, share with their two young sons. "In this case, it's just the opposite." The builder's representatives said during a recent meeting that they are being forced to price the homes to sell and maintain they are getting "zero profit" from the project, homeowners said. Keyvan Samini, an attorney for some of the buyers, said the purchasers relied on the lender and its appraiser to confirm the homes' $800,000-plus price tags. But appraisers ended up using homes about three miles away as a guide for the first appraisal, and subsequent loan appraisals were based on the first one, Samini said. The appraisals "were way too high," Samini said. "I believe that the builder knew they were too high, or should have known. And it's not the fault of the buyers. They rely on the expertise of those appraisers." Barisic, Brandywine's sales VP, said he doesn't know anything about the comparable homes used in the appraisals. "The appraisers are not hired by Brandywine Homes," Barisic said. "They're hired by the lenders, which the homebuyers chose themselves." One of Samini's clients said he's facing the possibility of foreclosure because of the price cuts. Dunn said he's in a financial bind because he's using an exotic mortgage called an Option ARM, an adjustable-rate loan in which the homeowner can pick his monthly payment from a variety of options. Eventually, he'll be responsible for making full payments of $6,000 a month, he said, adding, "I don't know how we'll be able to pay that." "It's not just the financial aspect. It's the emotional," Dunn said. "We can't eat, can't sleep. I can't concentrate on work. This is all I think about." Contact the writer: 714-796-7734 or jcollins@ocregister.com I know the newspaper printed some rosy story about the turnaround in 2007. It was some REIC puff piece. However, back in the real world, two more REIC players have left us:
http://bakersfieldbubble.bl...
Does this President know what the heck he is doing? The Iraq report is out sand it says the following: The report released Wednesday says "the situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating" and no path can guarantee success. It adds that the ability of the United States to influence events is diminishing and violence is increasing "in scope and lethality."
"You're doing a fine Job Brownie!" To all those who claim there is no bubble in the Valley. Please read this. Homeowner loses $235,000 by buying into the American Dream. I know this is happening here, however, the Californian refuses to print stories like this:
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