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, May 20 1992 Date: Wed, 20 May 92 05:20:57 EDT Message-ID: 05-20 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update May 20, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network DISCLOSURES PREVENT PROBLEMS: Complete disclosure is essential to avoiding problems after sales, says Steve Stovall, president of Century 21 A Neighborhood Emporium, a Fountain Valley, Calif.,-based real estate brokerage firm. He advises disclosing all known problems, work done without permits or that is not up to code, zoning and transit issues, and environmental hazards, incluing radon gas and asbestos. WARRANTY CAN BE BEST DEFENSE: A home warranty plan can make property more attractive to buyers and resolve disputes that might lead to a lawsuit, says Steve Stovall, president of Century 21 A Neighborhood Emporium, a Fountain Valley, Calif.,-based real estate brokerage firm. Stovall says that, after the sale, the most common problems his firm sees are appliance failures such as water heaters and dishwashers. APRIL HOUSING STARTS FALL: Seasonally adjusted home starts fell 17% in April to an annual rate of 1.1 million, down from 1.3 million in March, the Commerce Department says. That follows two months of declining new home sales, and a March rise in unsold new houses - the first increase since 1989. Building permit applications fell 3.3% after a 4.5% drop in March, possibly signaling slower building in coming months. (For more, see special Starts package.) BANK OF AMERICA MAKES PURCHASE: Bank of America's Investment Real Estate Group has acquired the Sunset Esplanade shopping center in Hillsboro, Ore., for $21 million from an affiliate of the developer, Real Property Resources, Inc. The center is in Tualatin Valley Highway and Cypress Street in Hillsboro, located nearly 15 miles west of downtown Portland. FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES STABLE: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 8.64% Tuesday, unchanged from Monday but down from 8.75% the week before. They were at 9.50% a year ago. For 30-year adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates were 5.97%, unchanged from Monday but down from 6.02% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.23%. LANDLORD LOSES DRUG CASE: A judge in San Francisco ordered Albert Lew, a Berkeley apartment building, to pay $218,325 in damages to 75 people who sued to stop drug dealing on his property. The lawyer for Lew criticized the decision, saying that landlords should not be held accountable for society's failing. MISSOURI APPROVES BUYERS PLAN: Missouri has approved the sale of $75 million in tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds to finance first-time home purchases. The 30-year loans will be available at a fixed interest rate of 7.3%. The 1,500 loans may be taken for new or existing homes. ARM INDEXES UNCHANGED: The one-year Treasury ARM index rates were listed at 4.12% Tuesday, unchanged from Monday but down from 4.25% the week before. A year ago they were at 6.13%. For the 11th District ARM index, rates were at 5.611%, unchanged from Monday and unchanged from the week before. A year ago they were at 7.654%. T-BONDS DECLINE: Treasury security rates for the 30-year bonds showed a decline Tuesday, listing at 7.77%. That's down 0.04 from rates of 7.81% Monday and down 0.09 from 7.86% the week before. A year ago T-bonds were at 8.25%. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON STARTS: MIDWEST POSTS BIGGEST DROP: April housing starts fell 31% in the Midwest, 17% in the West, 11% in the South, and 9% in the Northeast, the Commerce Department says. Apartment starts plunged 43%. Starts of single family homes fell only 11%. A warm winter spurred building that would have been done in April, but the drop is bigger than expected says Mark Obrinsky, economist for the Federal National Mortgage Association. STARTS CAUSE ECONOMIC WORRIES: April's drop in housing starts, the biggest one-month drop in eight years, raises doubts about the economy's recovery. Further declines would spell big trouble for the sluggish economy. David Seiders, economist for the National Association of Home Builders notes that home starts accounted for 25% of all economic growth during the first three months of 1992, Seiders notes. EXPERTS CITE INTEREST RATES: Interest rates are chiefly to blame. After January's 18-year low of 8.25%, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage topped 9% in late March. Also cited: The failure of a proposed tax credit for first-time homebuyers. But economists aren't panicking yet. Home starts are still above last year's, and mortgage rates have fallen recently. Future drops may spur the Fed to lower rates further. (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