Lost Sovereignity: Oil Rich Funds Eyeing Foreclosed US Homes.

[dkf]

By TERI BUHL
Click image to enlarge.
Click image to enlarge.

Posted: 4:19 am
August 10, 2008

There's a new land grab starting in America.

Foreign money, which up to now has focused its attention on investing in iconic commercial real estate - like Barneys New York and the Chrysler Building - is now moving to scoop up tens of thousands of discounted foreclosed homes across the country.

One sovereign fund, said to have earmarked $29 billion to purchase foreclosed residential real estate, recently hired a West Coast mortgage broker and is starting to search for bargains, The Post has learned.

The search, which is being carried out, in part, by Field Check Group mortgage consultant Mark Hanson, who was retained by the broker, Steve Iversen, is concentrating on single- and multi-family REO (real estate owned) homes, or homes that have already been taken over by the mortgagee.

Neither Iversen nor Hanson would disclose the name of the client, but sources told The Post it's a sovereign fund.

The unidentified fund joins individual US investors, hedge funds and Wall Street banks in kicking the tires of REO homes, which have fallen in value so much that they are now tempting investments.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08102008/business/lost_sovereignity_123879.htm

[SoCalDem]

1. Vultures always scope out a kill

This is precisely how some rich people get richer..

Examples abound on my block..

a house that sold last December for $393,000.00 was foreclosed on, and would probably sell for half that if a person had the cash.. The one next door (vandalized now:grr: ) would sell for even less.. The realtor told me they listed it for $145K, but the bank would probably take 90-100 for it because of all the damage..

Who HAS money?? The same people who scammed everyone with their previous ponzi schemes..They cashed out when the money was good, and left everyone else holding pretty packages all wrapped in shiny paper..but the boxes are full of shit..

[dkf]

2. We are going to be beholden to foreign landlords.

Its sick.

[FreakinDJ]

3. Don't worry its just a "Mental Rescission"

aka: "Depression for Mental Midgets"

[SoCalDem]

4. Whiner!

:)

[FreakinDJ]

7. No whining - I appreciate losing 150K off the value of my home

Just so some Chinese investers can become the next generation of "Slum Lords"

Can't wait until they start moving in "Drug Dealers and Gang Bangers" into all the Remtal Properties

[dkf]

9. We had a Japanese investor come to Hawaii years ago and buy up

a bunch of single family homes.

He never did any maintenance or upkeep and now his tenants complain about leaking roofs etc. You can tell which homes he bought, because they are the ones with the eyesore front yards.

His latest stunt was to rent out a house in the ritzy part of town, $1.5 million plus, to a needy family for $1 a year. I hope they take care of the house.

[FreakinDJ]

10. Think of all the countries Foriegn Nationals can Not buy property

Ya think there Might be a reason?

They have No commitment, socialy, morally, or otherwise - purely just for profit

[OmahaBlueDog]

5. DKF, in a lot of places, this will actually be viewed as good news

I'm thinking specifically of South Florida, where there is a huge inventory of unsold and foreclosed SFHs and Condos. Many people I know have had homes on the market for 3 years, and can't sell. To them, an article like this signals that the market bottom has arrived, and they can have some hope.

The problem of South Florida is that the property tax structure, soaring insurance, and the extreme loss of market value have made it difficult for all but the rich to, for example, move from a 3/2 to a 4/2 because additional children have arrived. I sold due to a job transfer in 2006; I was extremely fortunate (I aggresively priced my home and I'd taken a conventional mortgage I have co-workers who got job transfers the same time I did; they didn't drop their asking price in 2006 as much as I did, and by the time they figured out their mistake, it was too late. They either had to rent the homes, or they remain empty with for sale signs out front.

Do I like the fact that oil-fat hedge funds or that Chinese or European or Indian investors are going to buy these peoperties? Nope. But I'm pragmatist enough to know that if someone doesn't start buying and marketing these properties, it may be 5 years before these home values stabilize. The couple who bought my home arranged with their bank to take a 0% down, interest only loan (I saw the closing documents). I can almost guarantee they now owe more than the house is worth in the market.

[dkf]

6. Guess we have to realize we are a debtor nation and are owned by foreigners anyway.

[OmahaBlueDog]

12. I think most Americans are going to get a rude awakening

I don't think most of them realize what being a "debtor nation" means. I think they'll like it even less when foreign investors turn their attention to farmland and ranches.

[FreakinDJ]

8. Absentee Land Lords - Big Problems

All those "Aggressive" property managers that will be filling the neighborhoods with "Drug Dealers and Gang Bangers"

It has already started to happen in my formerly quiet neighborhood

My tires have been slashed, and Dog was poisoned because I called the cops

[OmahaBlueDog]

11. No doubt -- cash flow at any cost will be the order of the day

I'll be curious to see what happens to North Lauderdale, Florida. The town is the size of a postage stamp, but has one of the highest foreclosure inventory rates (possibly the highest rate) in Florida.

[dkf]

13. Wow that is bad.

We had renters up the street...two kids going to the local high school living without their parents.

Turns out they were selling drugs at the school. I guess they came to this area because we get all the private school rejects with money.

One of the neighbors called the cops and put together a neighborhood watch. Later we found out the cops had been watching the house of the person who called it in. What a bunch of screw ups.

Eventually, they figured out what was wrong and caught the kids.

[FreakinDJ]

14. It hasn't been very fun standing up for what is right

My hobby is restoring old machinery

Of course when I called about the Drug Dealers living in a house without electricity for over 1 month, Code Enforcement came out and cited me for having "Industrial Machinery" at my residence.

This all started because the "Druggies" had a gang fight in the street in front of their house

[dkf]

15. Its too bad the home ownership thing didn't work out very well.

It really does make people more reliable and conscientious.

The problem was the overpricing and pie in the sky estimates of future value.