Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.real From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: real Wed, Jul 15 1992 Date: Wed, 15 Jul 92 05:08:08 EDT Message-ID: 07-15 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update July 15, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network HOME REPAIR FRAUD RISES: The home repair industry ranks behind only the auto repair industry in consumer complaints, says a poll out Tuesday. Others in the top five: Mail order sales, auto sales and telemarketing scams. Frauds that prey on recession victims have seen a big jump, says the report from the Consumer Federation of America and National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators. (For more, see special Fraud package below.) JUNE STARTS PREDICTED: U.S. housing starts for June will likely show a 3% decline to 1.193 million units, according to the average of 12 forecasts in a Bloomberg Business News survey. May housing starts jumped 11% following a 17.3% drop in April. The Commerce Department is scheduled to report its June housing figures Thursday. INSURERS PROMOTE MINORITY FIRMS: Insurance companies have agreed to urge policyholders to use the services of local and community-based contractors to help them rebuild from the Los Angeles riots, California Commissioner of Corporations Tom Sayles announced Tuesday. Insurers will also provide state-prepared lists of firms owned by minorities, women and disabled veterans. OFFICE GLUT SLOWS HEALTH COSTS: The rise in medical costs has slowed partly because a glut of commercial real estate has held down office rents for doctors and clinics, economists say. Medical care costs rose just 0.4% in June from May, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its on consumer prices, out Tuesday. It was the smallest monthly increase since November 1988. LANDOWNERS FILE POLLUTION SUIT: Greeneville, Tenn., landowners have filed three more federal lawsuits against Champion International charging that the paper maker negligently pollutes the Pigeon River. Champion also is facing a $5 billion class-action lawsuit and a wrongful death lawsuit. The class-action trial is to begin Aug. 3. RECYCLER NARROWS SITES: The search for a place to build a $53 million paper recycling plant has been narrowed to four Maine cities: Portland, Lewiston, Auburn and Presque Isle. Stone & Webster, the project's majority partner, is also looking at two undisclosed locations in New Hampshire and one in Connecticut. The final choice should be made by Aug. 1. FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES HOLD: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 8.13% Tuesday, unchanged from Monday but down from 8.29% the week before. They were at 9.64% a year ago. For 30-year adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates were 5.56%, unchanged from Monday but down from 5.69% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.22%. ARM INDEXES STABLE: The one-year Treasury ARM index rates were listed at 3.64% Tuesday, unchanged from Monday but down from 3.96% a week before. A year ago they were at 6.30%. For the 11th District ARM index, rates were at 5.290%, unchanged from Monday and unchanged from the week before. A year ago they were at 7.329%. T-BONDS INCREASE: Treasury security rates for the 30-year bonds showed an increase Tuesday, listing at 7.69%. That's up 0.01 from rates of 7.68% Monday and up 0.09 from 7.60% the week before. A year ago T-bonds were at 8.45%. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON FRAUD: MORE MORTGAGE FRAUD REPORTED: Phony service firms that promise to fend off mortgage foreclosures are on the rise, according to a poll of consumer protection agencies. In a Maryland scam, one unemployed man who thought he was getting a $17,000 loan to pay off his home loan unwittingly signed over the deed to his $180,000 home. HOME REPAIR OFTEN NOT PROVIDED: Home repair fraud is also common, says Stephen Brobeck, director of the Consumer Federation of America. Typically, payment is collected for a service that is never provided, says Brobeck. If sued, they go out of business or move to a different state. Others, such as Maywood Builders of Aogota, N.J., overcharge for work and then get homeowners to sign second mortgages to pay the bill. CONSUMER PROTECTION FUNDS CUT: Another example of fraud: Helping Hands Co. of Detroit charged advance fees of more than $500 to assist homeowners facing foreclosure but never provided services. Despite the rise in rip-offs, budget cuts are forcing consumer protection offices to cut back, says Anna Flores, director of the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators. (End of package.) Real Estate Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM