Greed and folly Nov 24, 2008
Little Lake Street in the Otay Ranch area of Chula Vista is a microcosm of all the fevered foolishness, not to mention avarice and stupidity, that propelled the region and much of the nation into the real estate crash that still reverberates across all sectors of the economy ... One buyer, since foreclosed upon and his credit ruined, says he was a strawbuyer hired by a real estate agent to use his name and credit to buy and flip a house for a fee of $10,000. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Opinion)
Schools, businesses feel effects of neighborhood's misery Nov 17, 2008
Over the past year, nearly three dozen sales in the area were of foreclosed homes, said real estate agent Sam Mendoza, who leads a "repo" van tour through hard-hit neighborhoods ... Those homes were completed and sold when prices were near their peak and risky, highly leveraged subprime loans were common, said Mark Carpenter, a real estate agent who specializes in foreclosures ... "Regardless of how many foreclosures there are on the street, it still shows pride of ownership," said real estate... (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Aguirre loss doesn't mean new stadium Nov 7, 2008
That's 166 acres of prime real estate. Todd Gloria, who will replace Toni Atkins in District 3, said his father is a Chargers fan who wants the team to stay in San Diego. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Control of Chula Vista council at stake in election Oct 15, 2008
Three changes could occur with the November election: Castaneda is being challenged by real estate broker Scott Vinson, who Cox has endorsed. Rindone is termed out, and Russ Hall, a special-education teacher's assistant, and Pamela Bensoussan, a certified appraiser, are vying for his seat. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Castaneda changes parties; now is Democrat Aug 24, 2008
In a November runoff election, Castaneda faces Scott Vinson, a real estate brokerage owner. Other endorsements include U.S. Rep. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Private session on plant expansion spurs outcry Aug 17, 2008
The state's open-meetings law, the Brown Act, allows closed-door meetings when public officials are going to discuss strategy for contesting a lawsuit or real estate transactions, for example. In this case, even though no lawsuit has been filed, the power-plant issue falls under a quasi-judicial administrative proceeding, Assistant City Attorney Mike Shirey said. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Piggy banks squealing Jul 13, 2008
4 million, with a vast majority related to real estate ... In addition to watching community banks build reserves, analysts will be looking to see if deadbeat loans now largely limited to residential development begin spreading to small-business lending and loans backed by commercial real estate, which are the bread and butter of such banks ... Construction loans make up half of the nonperformers, commercial real estate most of the rest, Van Doorn said. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Six in S.D. named in mortgage-fraud probeMore than 400 indicted in nationwide crackdown Jun 20, 2008
Six people from a downtown San Diego real estate firm are among more than 400 real estate insiders who have been swept up in a massive, nationwide crackdown on mortgage fraud ... In San Diego, prosecutors have charged six people associated with downtown mortgage broker and real estate firm Creative Financial Solutions ... Those named in the cases include housing developers, mortgage lenders and brokers, lawyers, real estate agents, and appraisers, said Sharon Ormsby, section chief in charge of... (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Boat Removal Costs Taxpayers $313,000 Jun 16, 2008
Looking to invest in foreclosed real estate. Find hundreds of locations including vacation hot spots here. (TheSanDiegoChannel.com, CA)
Chula Vista OKs 'green' building standards Apr 2, 2008
Three commercial real estate representatives also complained they had not been consulted about the rules. Councilman Rudy Ramirez argued for the council to make a bold move forward, having the moral courage to distinguish Chula Vista from here on out. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Banks Billed To Maintain Foreclosure Eyesores Feb 8, 2008
A local real estate company hired by the bank to manage the property said they've been out three separate times to secure it, but people keep breaking in. Related Story. (NBCSandiego.com, CA)
Councilman Facing Charges Will Run Again Feb 8, 2008
He pleaded not guilty in July to 13 counts of perjury and two counts of hiding real estate profits. The perjury counts against Castaneda involve his rental of a unit at the Sunbow Apartments in east Chula Vista. (NBCSandiego.com, CA)
Lake Elsinore grapples with fading landscapes Jan 5, 2008
The key is getting buy-in from real estate professionals and the banks and lenders that own the properties, Gibbs said. To that end, he invited Gene Wunderlich, president of the Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors, to speak at an upcoming council meeting. (North County Times)
Chargers weigh site options Dec 17, 2007
Real estate prices have gone down and construction costs have gone up. What's the breakthrough idea that makes that site work. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Protesting lender practices Nov 22, 2007
Countrywide, the nation's largest mortgage lender, has become a target for complaints about the risky subprime loans widely used in the nation's hot real estate markets during the recent housing boom. Protesters yesterday said Countrywide and other lenders had steered many borrowers into subprime loans when they could have qualified for cheaper, conventional mortgages. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Chula Vista dumps plan to close fire station Nov 3, 2007
Anybody wanna buy some cool real estate in this prime piece of Heaven. I'm fed up. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Calbreath: Plummeting home prices: Crash or correction? Oct 22, 2007
Homeowners thanks to years of coaching from the real estate industry are not used to the idea that their home prices will decline at all, especially in sunny California ... Since hitting a peak of $518,000 in November 2005, the median price of a home sold in San Diego County has tumbled to $470,000 as of last month, according to DataQuick, a real estate tracking agency in La Jolla ... San Diego real estate broker Robert Schwartz, who runs online real estate blog brokerforyou. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Financial Crisis Looming For Chula Vista? Sep 20, 2007
But he said the real estate bubble burst has hurt cities everywhere. "Chula Vista is at the heart of the sub-prime mortgage crisis right now. We have some of the top foreclosure rates in San Diego County. And San Diego County is the top 100 in the country.". (NBCSandiego.com, CA)
Nieto resigns regional airport board seat Jul 24, 2007
Nieto has been under fire recently for his alleged role in a questionable San Diego real estate deal. Earlier this month, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Nieto and developer Mike Madigan purchased a downtown San Diego duplex for 750,000 in January 2006 on the false pretense that they were representing San Diego Community College District. (North County Times)
Nieto quits airport panel Jul 24, 2007
SAN DIEGO Paul Nieto has resigned from the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority board amid questions about whether he misrepresented himself in a 2006 real estate transaction with the San Diego Community College District. Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox announced Monday in a prepared statement that she had accepted Nieto's resignation, effective immediately, as the city's representative. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Hardball politics head north Jul 17, 2007
The collapse of a real estate deal in the South Bay wouldn't normally be of concern to North County residents, but the decision of a Tennessee company to pull out of the 1 billion redevelopment of Chula Vista's bayfront could have ramifications as North County cities, such as Vista, plan large public works projects. On Wednesday, the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California filed suit against Vista to challenge the ability of charter cities to bypass. (North County Times)
No comments posted. Real estate scam emerges -- 'Crash and inflate' method generally leads to foreclosure Jun 3, 2007
Real estate scam emerges -- 'Crash and inflate' method generally leads to foreclosure North County Times - North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County News ... Real estate scam emerges -- 'Crash and inflate' method generally leads to foreclosure ... SAN DIEGO ---- Real estate appraiser Todd R. Lackner's second job as mortgage fraud investigator began when he stumbled onto a suspicious-looking transaction while online one day last March, he said last week. (North County Times)
San Diego, California's Chula Vista Welcomes New Borders(R) Store Apr 21, 2007
Source: Borders, Inc.. April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Borders, Inc. will open a new 23,000-square-foot Borders store in Chula Vista, Calif. (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Group would make C.V. attorney elected Apr 19, 2007
It is backed financially by real estate investor Earl Jentz, who owns dozens of properties in Chula Vista. It's the third completed petition drive in two years that has been funded by Jentz. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
An unsettling adjustment Apr 15, 2007
Now feeling trapped in a depreciating real estate market, many of these frightened homeowners are hoping to stave off foreclosure by taking whatever steps they can to remain financially stable ... But they also were banking on a real estate market accustomed to double-digit increases in appreciation. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
March home sales down, but prices go up Apr 13, 2007
Staehling, of the Realtors' association, said the number of problem loans may be rising here and elsewhere but that there aren't enough of them to appreciably affect the general real estate market locally. Still, Freddie Mac said in its April economic outlook that the problems in the subprime loan market could make it difficult for first-time buyers to qualify for a loan, since buyers with less-than-perfect credit can no longer get the favorable mortgages popularized by subprime lenders. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Real estate firm defaulting on naming rights Apr 7, 2007
The name says ipayOne, but the Carlsbad real estate company that bought the naming rights to San Diego's Sports Arena two years ago is not paying any longer, the arena's operator said Friday ... IpayOne, with offices on Palomar Airport Road, is a real estate brokerage and mortgage company that challenged conventional 6 percent real estate commissions by charging as little as 1 percent for selling homes ... Hahn said that his father, Ron Hahn, who is son of the late real estate magnate Ernest... (North County Times)
Duke co-conspirator sells corporate headquarters Feb 3, 2007
1 million real estate loan on the property and it had been scheduled to be auctioned Thursday to pay off the loan ... In addition, the online newspaper Voice of San Diego reported Thursday that Wilkes had received notices of default or preforeclosure notices on real estate loans for his primary residence ---- a 5,325 square-foot home in a gated Poway development ---- and on another home he owns in Chula Vista. (North County Times)
Wilkes staves off auction as more ills swirl Feb 3, 2007
John Gross, vice president at Colliers International, the real estate agency handling the sale, declined to discuss any possible deal because of the confidentiality agreement. In the meantime, Wilkes' financial woes are mounting. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Haves find border haven Jan 11, 2007
Josie Ortiz, a real estate broker who works in Chula Vista, sold about 20 homes last year to Tijuana residents, up from about 10 in previous years. One was a food distributor who moved here after a Mexican police investigator said his name appeared on a kidnapper's list of potential targets. (Washington Times, DC)
U.S. city is a safe haven for rich Mexicans Jan 10, 2007
Josie Ortiz, a real estate broker who works in Chula Vista, sold about 20 homes last year to Tijuana residents, up from about 10 in previous years. One was a food distributor who moved to the city after a Mexican police investigator said his name appeared on a kidnapper's list of potential targets. (The Miami Herald)
