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I put more than 85 miles on the ol' trip odometer Thursday driving around Bako to take pictures of (very) recently sold homes.

The result is here.

This wasn't a scientifically random sample, but is hopefully a representative cross-section of what's being bought these days.

Here's the methodology. I went to the Hall of Records Wednesday and looked through deed transfers recorded Monday, Tuesday and (part of) Wednesday.

I tried to pick an assortment: Different banks, for example, selling foreclosured homes. A range of builders closing new-home construction.

I also tried to find "normal" sales of existing homes....those transferring from one person to another. But after I got back to the office to research property histories, they all turned out to have been short sales!

I wasn't trying to ignore the northeast; I ran out of time Thursday to make it to the sale (in K Hov's Four Seasons) on my list.

It turned out ALL of the existing-home sales — which were foreclosures or shorts, as it turned out — had been part of the 2005-2006 financing frenzy.

One house I never made it to, near Edison and Fairfax, had been bought for $37k or so in the 1970s. It fell to the classic ATM syndrome during the '05 bubble: a series of equity loans for hundreds of thousands that went bad. It foreclosed.

Anyway, I hope folks enjoy grazing through the properties.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

--- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

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Do you know what the woman to the left accomplished?

Read about what Annie Puskarich and several other local men and women in business achieved in this week's People in Business column.

Then send your news for next week's listing.

People in Business announces new hires, promotions, awards, professional achievements and other business “people news” in Kern County. Submissions can be mailed to The Bakersfield Californian, business editor, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302; faxed to 395-7519; or e-mailed to business@bakersfield.com. Sorry, photos that are submitted cannot be returned. For information, call 395-7345 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

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Our latest map for homes that sold in Bakersfield from July 1 to 5 is ready for a peek. There’s no need to grab a map to figure out where to find Gardenwood Lane and Flower Street. We’ve done the work for you.

We regularly publish single-family home sale transactions that occurred between individuals as well as foreclosures.

Check out what homes are going for, color-coded by price, with information from First American Real Estate Solutions compiled by reporter Jenny Shearer.

Highlights for July 1 to 5:

• 58 homes are new on the map.

• Priciest? One sold for $657,000 in the 93312 ZIP code. (It was 3,671 square feet.)

• Cheapest? One sold for $37,500 in the 93306 ZIP code. (It was 1,366 square feet.)

—  Christine Peterson

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Do you know what Matthew N. Malerich, the man to the left, accomplished?

Check out this week's People in Business column to read about him and others in the Kern County Busines community.

Then get in on next week's list.

People in Business announces new hires, promotions, awards, professional achievements and other business “people news” in Kern County. Submissions can be mailed to The Bakersfield Californian, business editor, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302; faxed to 395-7519; or e-mailed to business@bakersfield.com. Sorry, photos that are submitted cannot be returned. For information, call 395-7345 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

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I'm posting extra pics from today's excursion to halted tracts.

Click "larger view" to scroll through them if you like. 

The Castellina and Olympia sites were especially strange. It's the first time I've come across documents ditched like that. Some appeared to be work-flow items; it wasn't all meaningless trash.

The existing houses at Olympia looked nice, creating what's becoming a common sight: healthy green lawns next to bald stretches of dirt. One homeowner there who didn't want to be quoted told me the empty lots were recently cleaned up and look much better now.

I know there's a lot more stoppage out there. If you have examples let me know!

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

gwenner@bakersfield.com 

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08-0812 HOI 2nd ~.pdf

UPDATE II:

The latest CBIA e-mail says this is now ready to go today.

And here it is:

I sincerely apologize for the flood of emails and mixed messages, but after working out a slight miscommunication, we are sending out the press release for you to use today. This is the final version, so please use as you see fit, and again, I apologize for any inconvenience. Thank You!
 
Mike Castillo
Communications Specialist

UPDATE:

An "oops" from CBIA says we should ignore this until tomorrow. But I'll leave it posted here for now.

Here's the e-mail:

Please disregard the press release that was sent earlier entitled “Despite Improvement, California Housing Remains Mostly Unaffordable, CBIA Announces”. The release was sent out in error and the final results will be released tomorrow. I apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you!
 
Michael Castillo
Communications Specialist

---

Housing affordability in California is improving with the wave of foreclosures, the California Building Industry Association reported today, but the state is still largely unaffordable.

Bakersfield -- which includes all of Kern County -- ranked 50th in the list of the 100 least affordable places in the country, according to a second-quarter report from the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.

The report says 43 percent of Bako's homes were affordable in the second quarter, up from 34 percent in the first quarter. Median family income was pegged at $50,000 and median price at $187,000.

Worst in the country was the New York City area, with 11 percent affordability. California spots — San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Napa, Santa Cruz and Santa Ana/Irvine/Anaheim — dominated the top 10 slots.

A PDF with the full list is available on the CBIA's Web site or if you click the blue box to the left.

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

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K. Hovnanian put the kibbosh on new construction at two City in the Hills neighborhoods, Lantana's Edge and Rosemary Arbor.

It's the second big blow to City in the Hills of late. The master developer defaulted on a construction loan for its Juliana's Garden neighborhood last month.

I drove around today trying to figure out if the entire first phase of the K. Hov tract has been built out. Last time we checked, in March, permits for 114 of the 166 lots had been pulled.

Results: The first phase is not entirely built out, though we can't say for sure when construction will stop. The company's letter said the suspension would be "over the next several months."

But here's what I saw:

Lots south of Tandil Way's eastern tip were empty.

The southernmost road in the first phase, Guaranda Place, has no homes.

At the western edge, Moengo Way divides phases one and two, county tract maps show. The southern boundary at this end lies with the homes on the south side of Ponta Pora Place. Just three homes on that cul de sac were finished; two were partially done.

The entire second phase, some 254 lots, appears to be all dirt, from what I could see.

Those lots are owned by K. Hovnanian and Regent Land Investments LLC, a Wisconsin company. We did a long story in March with more info than you want, plus there's a PDF of property ownership by builder.

If you're dying to look at the tract maps, the county has a great site.

The tract number is 6498; you can find various pages that lay out the street names and tract boundaries, etc. 6498A is the first phase; B is the second. Each phase has about 5 pages (each page a separate link).

I'm not sure if this link will work, but if we're all lucky it will take you directly to one of the tract map pages so you can see what they look like.

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

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Our latest map for homes that sold in Bakersfield from June 1 to 29 is ready for a peek.

There’s no need to grab a map to figure out where to find streets such as Trooper Way and Brave Avenue. We’ve done the work for you.

We regularly publish single-family home sale transactions that occurred between individuals as well as foreclosures.

Check out what homes are going for, color-coded by price, with information from First American Real Estate Solutions compiled by reporter Jenny Shearer.

Highlights for June 22 to 29:

• 98 homes are new on the map.

• Priciest? One sold for $490,000 in the 93314 ZIP code. (It was 3,148 square feet.)

• Cheapest? One sold for $35,000 in the 93304 ZIP code. (It was 810 square feet.)

Take a look, then tell us what you think.

— Christine Peterson

Williams-Sonoma opens at 10 a.m. Aug. 23. It's in the Marketplace, between Color Me Mine! and Stride Rite.

Hours will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mondays-Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. They have hired employees already, but if you're interested in seasonal work, swing by the store and pick up an application. The first cooking class is at 10 a.m. Sunday...learn how to cook with olive oil.

Williams-Sonoma ups the shopping ante in B-town. But here's what I'm super excited about: We are mere months away from the holidays and Peppermint Bark time.

It's one of my most favorite things. Ever. For the uninitiated, it's a layer of dark chocolate (really good stuff) covered by a layer of white chocolate and sprinkled with candy cane bits.

It's the perfect hostess gift. Or you can devour it yourself. It's crack in a decorative tin.

— Jenny Shearer, staff writer

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Do you know what Gene Archer, the man on the left, accomplished?

Read this week's People in Business column to find out what he and others have done.

Now it's your turn; submit your news for next week's column.

People in Business announces new hires, promotions, awards, professional achievements and other business “people news” in Kern County. Submissions can be mailed to The Bakersfield Californian, business editor, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302; faxed to 395-7519; or e-mailed to business@bakersfield.com. Sorry, photos that are submitted cannot be returned. For information, call 395-7345 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

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Appraiser Gary Crabtree kindly provided an estimate for as-yet unaccounted for foreclosures at the local level. I'm using it for something I'm working on but thought I'd post it here in the meantime as there seems to be considerable interest in the topic.

Crabtree figures about 1,460 single-family units in the greater Bako metro area haven't shown up on the MLS yet.

Here's how he got there.

He counts more than 4,500 s/f foreclosures in the metro area in the last 12 months.

About 2,075 of those have been sold off so far. More than 1,000 remain in the current MLS listing of about  3,170 s/f homes in the metro area.

Crabtree's foreclosure tally differs from numbers we use at the paper, which count filings for all of Kern County (and all property types).

Thank you Gary!

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

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I'm not kidding.

None are in Kern, but if you travel around the state here are a dozen or so contractors to call 911 about. After you hide in the bushes, of course.

It's a new feature on the  Contractors State License Board's Web site. They say it will be updated frequently.

Check the license status of any contractor here. You all do that before you hire someone, right? Kinda like fastening your seatbelt?

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

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No, we're not talking about a grant so you can go on a trip.

Rather, the Kern County Board of Trade has $200,000 in grants for 2008-09 meant to help qualified groups lure visitors to the area.

Officially, they're known as the Kern County Tourism Promotion Grants.

According to a release from Executive Director Rick Davis, these four free workshops will be held to help groups learn what they have to do to apply:

• 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27 at Ridgecrest City Hall, 2100 Hacienda Blvd.

• 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 28 at the Kern River Valley Veterans Building, 6405 Lake Isabella Blvd.

• 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2 at the Frazier Park Recreation Building, 300 Park Drive.

• 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3 at the DoubleTree Hotel, 3100 Camino Del Rio Court in Bakersfield.

The application period will end in early November. Call 661-868-KERN for info or e-mail kerninfo@co.kern.ca.us.

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No surprise here: Bakersfield made the Top-10 list as a foreclosure hotbed nationwide.

Again.

RealtyTrac's report for July pegs Bako -- which includes all of Kern County -- at No. 7 for foreclosure-related filings.

Call it the curse of living in interesting times.

California's Central Valley, along with Vegas and parts of Florida, have consistently made up the largest ground-zero spots for the housing bubble to play out.

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

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An apparent decline in California's pre-foreclosure activity ... something seen even in Kern ... could be an illusion, one foreclosure firm reports.

Bank of America's takeover of Countrywide could have created July's drop in default notices, ForeclosureRadar says.

That's because Countrywide loans accounted for more than 90 percent of Cali's defaults recorded since April, the firm says. July's drop in default notices could simply be due to administrative and procedural delays from the merger, a ForeclosureRadar analayst says.

In Kern, default notices peaked in April. Here are numbers from the Kern County Recorder's office for 2008:

July: 1,227

June: 1,259

May: 1,272

April: 1,303

March: 1,259

February: 1,177

January: 1,175

That's 8,672 default notices so far in 2008.

Default notices are the first step in possible foreclosure. A borrower has about 3 months to correct a defaulted loan before the lender can schedule the property for public auction. The auction notice allows at least another 3 weeks to right the loan before repossession.

Separately, folks are talking about "shadow inventory," (a nod to BakersfieldBubble for pointing this out) or the backlog of foreclosed homes that haven't yet hit the resale market. That inventory alone could drag down values and stifle demand for new construction for a good chunk of time.

In Kern, the pace of foreclosures has hit record levels in 2008, county filings show. Since January, 4,956 Kern properties have foreclosed.

Appraiser Gary Crabtree's preliminary market report for Bakersfield home sales in July showed almost 70 percent of the 484 sales were "distressed" listings ... homes already foreclosed or "short" sales made to avoid foreclosures.

— Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

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Bakersfield is in ice cream heaven!

First, the owner of the Baskin-Robbins at the Marketplace says he's opening a new drive-through only Baskin-Robbins store at 7695 White Lane in a former Supreme Bean hut just east of Gosford Road. That's coming Friday, Aug. 15.

And now Ben & Jerry’s has opened its much anticipated ice cream shop in East Hills Mall, the Burlington, Vt., chain’s first in Kern County.

Business partners Larry Roland and Kirsten Potegian own the franchise, a 1,148-square-foot store in the food court at 3100 Mall View Road.

Roland said he brought the popular chain to Bakersfield because he grew up eating Ben & Jerry’s on the East Coast.

“It’s fun and wholesome and I just love it,” Roland said.

The quirky company is known for its social action and environmental leanings.

Roland says the local store will be the first of at least three. Plans call for opening a second in the northwest and a third either in the southwest or close to downtown.

So, in the Battle of The Scoops, who's superior?  Baskin-Robbins or Ben & Jerry's?

--Courtenay Edelhart

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2008Q2_Bakersfie~.xls

29% of folks who bought homes since 2003 owe more than their property is worth, a new survey by Zillow says.

The quarterly report also found values nationwide declined almost 10% from the second quarter last year.

Here are the charts for Bakersfield.

 The downloadable Excel report shows Kern median values dropped by 27% compared to 2007's second quarter. I'll attach it so you can click on the blue box below the polar bear to download it.

Caveat: While national surveys are fun, some critics think Zillow's values aren't particularly accurate for their local region. Also, Kern/Bako isn't as big a sample area as a huge market like Los Angeles, so it's best to take numbers, especially at the neighborhood level, with a grain of salt.

This is where you'll find the full national report. 

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer

It looks like work on the Gateway to East Hills Mall is now complete.

Those of you who regularly pass by the northeast corner of Mount Vernon Avenue and Bernard Street have likely seen the construction under way for the past month or so.

The Rite-Aid, which has a drive-through pharmacy, has opened at the west end of the plaza.

At the east end is a new Bank of the Sierra branch.

Nothing's moved in yet in the strip of stores between those two "anchors."

— Christine Peterson 

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Our latest map for homes that sold in Bakersfield from June 1 to 22 is ready for a peek.

There’s no need to grab a map to figure out where to find streets such as View Street and Scenic Way. We’ve done the work for you.

We regularly publish single-family home sale transactions that occurred between individuals as well as foreclosures.

Check out what homes are going for, color-coded by price, with information from First American Real Estate Solutions compiled by reporter Jenny Shearer.

Highlights for June 16 to 22:

• 96 homes are new on the map.

• Priciest? One sold for $585,000 in the 93312 ZIP code. (It was 2,903 square feet.)

• Cheapest? One sold for $65,000 in the 93305 ZIP code. (It was 888 square feet.)

What do you think of the prices?

— Christine Peterson

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Do you know what the couple to the left accomplished?

Read about Majors Daniel and Carole Abella and several other professionals in Kern County in the weekly People in Business column.

You can submit your information for next week's list.

People in Business announces new hires, promotions, awards, professional achievements and other business “people news” in Kern County. Submissions can be mailed to The Bakersfield Californian, business editor, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302; faxed to 395-7519; or e-mailed to buiness@bakersfield.com. Sorry, photos that are submitted cannot be returned. For information, call 395-7345 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Leather Town, a clothing and accessories retailer based in Sylmar, is closing its Bakersfield store at Valley Plaza Mall at the end of the month.

The closing is part of a larger downsizing that has seen the chain shrink from 11 stores less than two years ago to six today.  Earlier this year, Leather Town shuttered stores in Ventura and San Jose. After scheduled closings in Bakersfield and Lakewood, only four stores will remain.

Sales companywide are down 40 percent from their peak in late 2003, early 2004, said chief executive Sean Demin.

At the same time, the company’s costs for shipping, rent and raw materials are going up.

The company’s plan is to operate its few remaining stores “until we can return to profitability, and then hopefully, if the economy rebounds, we can come back to some of the stores we closed," Demin said.

The Bakersfield store, which opened in 1992, had as many as seven employees at one time, but is down to three in its last month of business.

Merchandise at the 1,200-square-foot store across from JC Penney is on clearance in preparation for vacating the site Aug. 31.

It's 7 pm and I just filed tomorrow's print story.

I'll probably be doing a follow-up for Thursday's paper with more details, fact-checking and analysis.

In the meantime I'll try to answer a couple questions y'all have asked and add an item or two from deep in my notebooks.

TSM: I have no idea how the judge will decide or how the real estate commissioner will finally rule.

Administrative law? Heck...could be drenched with loopholes?

Those of us who have followed the saga know how it ended: More than a hundred foreclosed properties, at least $78 mill in bad loans (based on our internal tally created from public documents; probably more if you have access to non-public docs), etc. The "fate" of the loans under scrutiny was never allowed into the record.

I guess a betting pool or futures market might be a better predictor?

Random items:

• Cole is now selling real estate on the coast, under his Points West Group brokerage license (his Honda civic hybrid sedan had the old license plate holder with the slogan: "The agents you want...the Realtors you deserve.")

• Kathryn Monize (long):

I finally had a chance to ask about this — here's a deep-notebook item. Monize had four homes purchased through the Crisp & Cole network foreclose.

Back when colleague Vanessa Gregory and I first started investigating C&C (she has since moved to Mississippi where her husband got a job) I spent many (many) hours trying to find Kathryn Monize.

I called the only local Monize family I could find...not only had they never heard of her, but they said they knew all the other Monizes around because it's a Portugese name that shouldn't have the "e."

I called voter registrars in the Bay Area county where one of her alleged addresses was; even got one registrar to search the entire state...no Kathryn Monize.

I found similar names through Zabasearch and called all of them in the state...none were her.

Vanessa and I tracked her supposed home addresses on public loan documents. Most were other houses in the Crisp & Cole network.

One early file had an address in the Bay Area we tried to pin down (it's on my other computer...not trying to be vague). We had neighbors try to leave a note on the door saying we wanted to talk to her...they told us there was no such home. We called that county's assessor/recorder and confirmed there was no such address.

On and on. I searched other counties' recorded documents and eventually found a few items indicating she did indeed exist (something I'd begun to question). But no scrap of her exists in Kern other than the Crisp & Cole transactions, and we've never found a working address or number.

When some of the former Crisp & Cole employees still talked to us on background, I'd ask who she was; none had heard of her.

One of theproperties had been quit-claimed to her by Carl and Rebecca Cole in June '07 shortly before it defaulted and eventuallly foreclosed. (2701 Windermere, for real estate geeks).

So when Carl Cole was talking to TV and radio after the hearing, I asked him who Kathryn Monize was.

He said she was a friend of David Crisp's; he knew nothing about her.

Crisp didn't respond to any questions from reporters, including mine about Kathryn Monize.

More tomorrow, unless news breaks.

Thanks all for reading and commenting.

-- Gretchen Wenner

 P.S. Tie update: Cole's tie today wasn't purple, it just looked like it from a distance.

It had small red and blue alternating triangles.

So ends the blog...

State's closing is detailed timeline focused on David Crisp/Jennifer Crisp's multiple purchase offers/loan applications to simultaneous lenders without required disclosure...

"He lied to the lenders," Rich tells the judge. The applications and use of straw buyer "scams" shows Crisp has a "low moral compass," he says, and has "no compunction about lying to lenders."

As to Cole,  he is an "abject failure" as a supervising broker. His claims of not knowing what was going on, of forged documents with his signature, of being too busy etc...are no excuse, Rich says.

Bottom line: Mr Cole was not paying attention, he says.

The jets, cars etc were an expensive image neither earned nor deserved that provided motivation to take rake in dollars...the image induced people to buy from them...etc

Much more detail...Kottcamp is now offering his closing arguments. Some, but very little, of Crisp or Cole's defensive moves have addressed the material issues brought against them.

Will attempt update with Crisp's close, if any. Media now lurking waiting for end...should be mad rush for final quotes.

Again it will be months before we know the outcome of these hearings. State is asking for revocation of Crisp, Cole, and Robinson Nguyen (the no-show).

 -- Gretchen Wenner

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Crisp called one witness, a housepainter, who says he painted room for the Grimshaw house and saw Crisp's family living there before they moved to New Quay.

No questions from Cole's or state's attorney for housepainter.

DRE calls Crisp...Crisp appeals to judge for help. Doesn't know if he has to testify.

Judge asks him if there is a criminal investigation....Crisp eventually catches on this is the basis for him to plead the 5th Amendment.

Crisp rests.

Cole rests (no witness except Cole).

State rests.

Closing arguments after this break.

— Gretchen Wenner

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Crisp to Cole:

Has the media been hard on you? 

Cole: Yes.

(They go into the job he got in Camarillo...media made multiple calls...they promised my broker they would be there with cameras and recorders [etc] the next day...]

By then the brokers had Googled Cole, Cole says, and he agrees to resign...they were going to ask him to resign anyway.

I had worked there for months...Press says: Cole finds and loses job...as if it was a one day thing...

I can't sell real estate in Bakersfield because of the negative press.

[edit from me: The Camarillo real estate agency told us he had worked there weeks, maybe, and had never had a listing...though their archived ads indicated otherwise. Story should be in our Crisp & Cole special section archives).

-- Gretchen Wenner

Crisp is now cross examining Cole...He has improved questioning tecnnique but it is still not always clear where line of questions is going.

I think: he is trying to show how charitable and thoughtful Crisp & Cole was.

He had Cole list off the things they sponsored: Lung Association and Heart Association fundraisers, $275,000 for a golf tournament at Cal State Bako.

Cole was on the foundation board for the Bakersfield Symphony's Performing Arts Center.

For 3 years, Cole was on the board of the Bakersfield Association of Realtors.

As Crisp, Cole & Associates, they were hired to sell tracts for Castle & Cooke, Brian Rice, HomeCrete Homes, etc..."not small homebuilders," Cole agrees to Crisp's prompt.

Prior to Crisp's questions, Michael Rich finished his cross exam with another document...this a board of directors of Crisp & Cole Real Estate...when they discussed Doremus taking over as vice president (unclear if also as designated broker). Date: Oct. 5 2006...shortly thereafter official paperwork went to DRE and state business regulators. No evidence anywhere of earlier transfer of duties from Cole to Doremus.

Rich asks about the jet and car leases in the LORE article...Cole can't remember figures...was Cole ever concerned about cost of jet lease?

Cole says he was...he checked accounts etc.

Rich asks how he could check the C&C account for these expenses and not notice any of the transactions he just testified to not noticing...Cole says there were lists of P&L, profit and loss...

Rich brings out documents submitted to DRE for new branch applications and other changes, all signed by Cole. He goes over each signature on each page: Is this your signature?

It appears to be, Cole says over and over. Later the judge asks if that means yes; he tells the judge it does.

Now we are on North Carolina..hang on...

OK, wow, the DRE's Michael B. Rich began the cross exam of Cole about 45 minutes ago...l can't scribble fast enough.

In brief, he has knocked down (on paper) the theory Jack Doremus was in charge of Crisp & Cole Real Estate as designated broker with submitted documents:

Cole was designated broker until Doremus took over in Oct 2006, DRE documents show.

Cole basically said he couldn't explain, in terms of the paperwork, how Jack Doremus was really C&C's designated broker since around May 2005, when Cole's attention turned to the Towers projects (he claims he was working 40-60 hours a week on that).

Cole was always designated broker at Tower Lending, they agree.

(The designated broker is legally responsible for the company's operations.)

Rich went through the list of commissions C&C and Tower received on each of the properties in the complaint.

He asked if C&C and Tower kept transaction logs showing properties, agents, prices, escrow and title companies etc for homes it sold. Both entities did, Cole testified.

Rich asked about details of the Crisp, Cole & Associates checking account...both Cole and Crisp had access to it...but claimed ignorance of individual transactions, including the half-million dollar transfers involving Sneha Mohammadi. He said he later learned the wire to her was made in error but the bank couldn't undo it so she had to write a check to pay C&C back (not verbatim but something to that effect).

Rich asked about what would have been Cole's commission on the Marseilles home...Cole replied as if he didn't know or pay attention to things on the individual level.

A slew of questions regarding Jayson Costa's employment...we didn't know he was unlicensed, Cole would say. DRE pulls up documents Cole signed showing he knew Costa was unlicensed earlier than he has admitted; also that Costa was paid...against real estate code...as an independent contractor with 1099 tax forms.

He reads into the record the DRE sections showing loan brokers can't work under the 1099 arrangement....they must provide their license to the broker before they can work at the agency, etc.

Cole says he had office staffers...Sneha Mohammadi, Julie Farmer, Jack Doremus...handling that...they told him they were working on it.

Why didn't they tell Cole they didn't have Costa's license, Rich asks.

Cole's voice cracks at one point. He is wearing a dark blue pin striped suit, white shirt, purple (dark dusty rose) tie.

Crisp is mostly staring at the DRE attorney as the questions unfurl. Rich is hammering...document after document.

I made a mistake, Cole admits from time to time. I should have done X Y or Z (checked Costa's license himself..and yes the info was online then as it is now...)

Rich gets back to the Marseille property, one Cole purchased. At least two documents in the loan file declare in bold type that it is to be his primary residence. Cole agrees these signatures are his. (He had a lease agreement with the sellers in place).

He doesn't know how a broker such as himself could sign these documents without knowing what they were...

Sandwich time. Rich's cross exam continues after lunch. 

-- Gretchen Wenner

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Mid morning update:

Kottcamp is now taking Cole through various files that have been entered as evidence.

In some, but not all, cases Cole has said: That is definitely not my signature.

Sometimes he isn't sure, but has said some appear to be his and he's not sure of others.

Another file, the Astoria Park bought by Leslie Sluga (David Crisp's mother-in-law) another CPA letter allegedly signed by Timothy Hubbell on California Business Solutions is in the file. We'll assume this is another apparently forged document bearing Hubbell's name. 

Regarding Cole's not-forged signature in some Marseilles Court documents indicating Cole bought it as his primary residence -- it was not to be his primary residence, he testified -- he admits he made a mistake.

"I was negligent" he said. There were a lot of files at Tower Lending when these came over, Cole said.

"I thought I knew what was in them and started signing them," he said, calling it a "big mistake on my part."

Later, he said he believed the lenders had been updated that Marseilles would not be an owner occupied property.

Cole used a different loan broker, not Tower Lending, on the Marseilles loan because he had such high ethical standards.

During the Marseilles testimony, he said:

"I've always tried to maintain the highest standards of integrity..I was always a stickler for that."

Now we are moving on the discuss the Towers project at Cal State.

In the meantime, for those who don't regularly check real estate licenses, it's extremely easy to do so online. It takes less than a minute to see if someone is licensed by the DRE.

Here's a link to the DRE online license check. I'm quite sure this was functional in 2005 if not long before, but I'll double check with the commissioner during a break.

 -- Gretchen Wenner 

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Good morning- it's Tuesday, must be basement in the Masonic Temple.

Carl Cole is on the stand testifying under direct from his attorney, Glenn Kottcamp.

So far he is going over employment history...nothing new (I"ll fill in details later).

If this is going anywhere, it might be to put more responsibility on Jack Doremus, the broker they once worked for under Kyle Carter then later hired as "designated broker" for C&C.

Cole said Jack's 30-plus years experience would be good in order to have "someone to check the files besides myself."

As an aside, Joe Carrillo of the Dept of Real Estate said Jayson Costa never had ANY license...not just lacking a broker's license, but also a real estate sales license.

More as this testimony develops.

Edit: They're discussing this article from LORE magazine; if you're interested it's an industry profile from the pre-heyday that reads quite differently now.

-- Gretchen Wenner

As David Crisp packed his car in the parking lot near the Masonic Temple Monday afternoon, a man approached asking for money.

It appeared Crisp gave him some change, and the man told Crisp: “Don’t be scared. Get right with God.”

“Amen,” Crisp replied, loud enough for a few of us reporters to hear.

While outside, former employee Jayson Costa said he was "probably the best loan officer in this town. I was fair," he said.

Costa caught the attention of investigators with the state Department of Real Estate because he wasn't a licensed mortgage broker.

— Jenny Shearer, staff writer
 

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Luke Martin of the Department of Real Estate is testifying again. We heard from him before lunch, and he shared how when he interviewed David Crisp in 2005, Crisp brought several magazine articles that detailed Crisp and Cole's success — the airplanes, the designer clothes, the fancy cars.

Martin talks about dealing with Jayson Costa, a former employee of Tower Lending, who wasn't a licensed real estate broker.

We just heard from Ruben Coronado, who was present when Martin interviewed Carl Cole. Crisp asked Coronado if he wore a wire during that conversation, and he said he did not.

Jayson Costa is about to begin his testimony.

— Jenny Shearer

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Our latest map for homes that sold in Bakersfield from June 9 to 15 is ready for a peek.

There’s no need to grab a map to find Leaf Valley and Pine Canyon drives because we’ve done the work for you.

We regularly publish single-family home sale transactions that occurred between individuals as well as foreclosures.

Check out what homes are going for, color-coded by price, with information from First American Real Estate Solutions compiled by reporter Jenny Shearer.

Highlights for June 9 to 15:

88 homes are new on the map.

Priciest? One sold for $576,000 in the 93311 ZIP code. (It was 2,849 square feet.)

Cheapest? One sold for $65,000 in the 93304 ZIP code. (It was 1,040 square feet.)

What do you think of the prices? Are you buying? Selling?

— Christine Peterson

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During questioning by David Crisp, Joe Carrillo, a senior deputy commissioner with the state's Department of Real Estate, said appraiser Gary Crabtree asked the department to investigate Crisp & Cole's dealings.

Carrillo interviewed the principals in this case, all except David Crisp. They had an appointment, but Crisp's attorney canceled it. When Carrillo interviewed Cole at Points West Realty, he wore a wire at the request of the FBI.

He interviewed Sneha Mohammadi about a property purchase at 11504 Haydock Court. She initally told him she intended to occupy the residence in a May 2007 interview. But an hour later, Carrillo testified, she informed him that she and David Crisp bought the property and would each pay half the mortgage. When the property sold, they would split the profit 50-50.

Carrillo testified she sold the property to Leslie Sluga and Mohammadi wrote Crisp & Cole and Associates a $517,579 check.

Former Crisp and Cole employee JJ Stockton was paid thousands by Crisp to use her name to buy several properties, Carrillo testified.

We're on a lunch break and will resume at 1 p.m.
 

— Jenny Shearer

Time was, local folks would make day trips to Los Angeles or Fresno to get access to stores that aren't located in Bakersfield. But with gas prices now upwards of $4 a gallon, are you giving Bakersfield stores a second look?

Yes or no, we'd like to interview you. Call reporter Courtenay Edelhart at (661) 395-7372.

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One staffer said he spotted gas for about $4.07 a gallon at the corner of California Avenue and Oak Street this morning.

He also said gas has hovered around $4.07 a gallon in Frazier Park for the past few days, too.

Have you spotted some gas deals? Where are they?

One of our reporters is planning to work on a story today about the current state of gas prices. Do you think things are getting better? Will the prices soar again? Is $4 a gallon still way too high?

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Good morning. Ron Guzman of Metro Cities Mortgage in Sherman Oaks is testifying about a property Carl Cole purchased in 2005 at 9619 Marseilles Avenue.

Cole indicated on loan paperwork that this was going to be his primary residence. He bought it for $1,528,000 from Alan and Marisa Cornejo.

Cole said he would live here while renting a property at 12504 Crown Crest Drive.

State's attorney Michael B. Rich asked Guzman if the loan for $450,000 hinged on Cole occupying the home on Marseilles. Guzman said it did. Rich asked if financing for owner-occupied homes involves less risk; Guzman said yes.

Cole's attorney, Glenn Kottcamp, asked Guzman to compare Cole's signatures, one notarized, one not, to see if they matched.

Guzman said they looked the same to him. "I'm not a handwriting expert," he said.

Rich objected to the line of questioning.

On cross-examination, Kottcamp asked Guzman about locked-in rates for financing. But Guzman said rates can change before escrow closes.

Next up were Alan Cornejo and his wife, Marisa Caruso-Cornejo. Marisa is a real estate broker and asked several local real estate companies about interest in the home.

They sold Cole the house on Marseilles and were in process of building another home. But the couple leased it back because Cornejo's father was ill.

They paid Cole about $3,500 in rent for about six months.

Rich asked Caruso-Cornejo if she knew if Cole ever occupied the house after they moved out. She said she didn't know.

David Crisp asked Caruso-Cornejo if Crisp & Cole and Associates did her a favor by buying the house and if she recalled being emotional at meetings in his office.

She agreed the purchase helped her family and recalled being emotional while meeting with Crisp because she was going through a lot with an ill relative.

The judge has called a break .... 

— Jenny Shearer

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Do you know what Bill Shipp, the man on the left, accomplished?

Read abou his achievements in business and those of many others living and working in Kern County in this week's People in Business column.

Then send your submission!

People in Business announces new hires, promotions, awards, professional achievements and other business “people news” in Kern County. Submissions can be mailed to The Bakersfield Californian, business editor, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302; faxed to 395-7519; or e-mailed to business@bakersfield.com. Sorry, photos that are submitted cannot be returned. For information, call 395-7345 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

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Need to get to a credit union on the Westside?

Kern Schools Federal Credit Union's newest location, an Express Branch, opened today in Taft. It's at 1056 W. Kern St., in the Albertsons Shopping Center. 

The office is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. An ATM offers service 24 hours a day, every day.

“We are proud to be able to provide the thousands of members who live in the Taft area more convenience in banking,” President and CEO Vince Rojas said in a statement from the bank.

A ribbon cutting and opening celebration is slated for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 22. There will be free hot dogs, Rocky Raccoon and a raffle.

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Here's a "raw report" press release from the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce:

Chamber hosts Congressman Kevin McCarthy for A Report from Washington
 
      On Monday, Aug. 11, the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, presents A Report from Washington luncheon forum featuring Congressman Kevin McCarthy, California District 22.

     McCarthy also will be presented with the Spirit of Enterprise award, which recognizes congress members who support the U.S Chamber's position on at least 70% of key business votes.

     Sponsored by Bakersfield Family Medical Center, the forum begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Four Points by Sheraton, Bistro Ballroom.

     Seating is limited. Cost is $30 per Chamber member; $50 per nonmember. Call 661-327-4421 to RSVP.