Qualified borrowers face credit squeeze

Qualified borrowers face credit squeeze

Lenders are rejecting more loan applicants with strong credit scores, the latest indication the nation’s credit crunch is deepening and further depressing the housing market and the economy.

Mortgage companies are growing more cautious and tightening lending standards for some of their most credit-worthy customers – from increasing down payments for home purchases to requiring higher credit scores for loan approvals.

An applicant has to be a prime borrower to qualify for a mortgage or to refinance a loan, said Thomas Marroni, president of New Boston Mortgage Corp., a loan brokerage firm. Two months ago, one out of every 15 of his top-rated loan applicants was turned down. “Now, it’s four out of 15,” he said.

Fifty-five percent of senior loan officers at US banks in January tightened lending standards to prime customers, up from 40 percent in October, according to the latest survey by the Federal Reserve Board. In recent weeks, the situation has deteriorated as mortgage companies worried about a recession have pulled back further on making new loans and refinancing existing mortgages, and have terminated home-equity lines of credit, said lenders, brokers, and borrowers.

Vacancies on rise at South Florida shopping centers

Vacancies on rise at South Florida shopping centers as economy worsens

The housing woes are spilling over to commercial real estate.

Cracks are evident in the office and retail sectors in South Florida and nationwide, according to real estate analysts and brokers.

“We’re definitely seeing things slow down,” said David Luther, a senior associate at Marcus & Millichap, a Fort Lauderdale-based real estate firm. “Homeowners’ concerns affect consumer spending, and that affects the stability of leases in the office and retail markets.”

Just last year, the office market here was hot, fueled by two megadeals.

Bear Stearns CEO Is Said to Rent House

Bear Stearns CEO Is Said to Rent House

Bear Stearns Cos. Chief Executive Alan D. Schwartz has taken off the market his suburban New York house, listed for $4.5 million, and is renting it, the real-estate agent who had listed the home says.

Meanwhile, Bear Chairman and former CEO James Cayne closed last month on a $27.4 million purchase of two adjacent apartments at the Plaza condominium in New York, according to public records.

Both moves came before Bear’s fire-sale deal Sunday to be acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase. Under the terms of that deal, Mr. Cayne’s Bear holdings, once valued at $1 billion, would total roughly $13.1 million, less than half the cost of the Plaza units.

In 2000, Mr. Schwartz paid $2.75 million for the newly built, 7,850-square-foot house in Purchase, N.Y. , overlooking the ninth green of the Golf Club of Purchase. The three-story home has views of Long Island Sound, six bedrooms, a playroom and a wine cellar. In 2003, Mr. Schwartz paid $10.4 million for a 17-room, 11,000-square-foot mansion on seven acres in Greenwich, Conn., records show, and he also owns a condo in Edwards, Colo. Susy Glasgall, of Houlihan Lawrence, had the Purchase listing.

Mortgage Mess Hits Home For Nation’s Small Builders

Mortgage Mess Hits Home For Nation’s Small Builders

In the first wave of the housing crisis, homeowners across the U.S. lost their properties to foreclosure. Now, many of the nation’s small and midsize home builders are on the ropes.

Bill Whitlatch, longtime owner of one of the leading home builders here in northeast Ohio, is among the casualties. Three years ago, he borrowed from regional banks to start six developments in the Cleveland area. Soon the region’s home market turned cold. Buyers vanished. Mr. Whitlatch drained his personal savings of $2 million to keep his company going.

It wasn’t enough. In September, the company filed for bankruptcy protection. Now owing about $1 million to dozens of subcontractors, and $8 million in debt to his banks, Mr. Whitlatch is selling the family home he designed.

“I couldn’t come up with any more money, and I couldn’t generate any more sales,” says Mr. Whitlatch, a tall, 68-year-old grandfather who says he had planned on selling his company and retiring.

Builder’s owner files for Chapter 11 [South Florida]

Builder’s owner files for Chapter 11 [South Florida]

The majority owner of Sunland Homes has filed for Chapter 11 protection in the Southern District Court of Florida, leaving the future of its local developments in question.

Craig Kelley, an attorney for the Palm Beach County-based Frank E. Young Family Partnership, which owns 51 percent of Sunland Homes, said the company was seeking protection from creditors and had ceased operations.

“Unfortunately, what was happening was that people who were in committed contracts weren’t coming to the table to close … people bought semi-custom models and Sunland ended up with a bunch of mortgage payments they never intended to have,” Kelley said Monday. “People were refusing to close on their purchase contracts.”

Sunland built the South Pointe development, consisting of 49 houses, in Martin County’s Port Salerno. The company was also building the massive Lexington Place subdivision in Indian River County, an 81.5-acre parcel slated for 256 homes east of 20th Avenue Southwest and north of Fifth Street Southwest. The gated community was put on the market for $13.5 million last year.

Agent: Foreclosures mean opportunities [Santa Cruz]

Agent: Foreclosures mean opportunities [Santa Cruz]

After a bank repossesses a home, Sebastian Frey often gets a call.

Frey, 37, works at Thunderbird Real Estate in Capitola. Last month, he invited a reporter to join him as he checked on two newly foreclosed properties in the Las Lomas area, just over the Monterey County line.

Number 60 Overpass Road, Watsonville, was vacant so there was no need to offer cash for keys.

A notice on the door indicated water service had been cut off.