hjmick
08-10-2008, 06:05 PM
Okay, maybe not one parcel at a time, but it is being sold nonetheless. The question is, who's buying it and why?
LOST SOVEREIGNITY
OIL-RICH FUND EYEING FORECLOSED US HOMES
By TERI BUHL
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...
A sovereign fund would have two distinct advantages over other investors - the depressed value of the US dollar makes the homes a bargain, and sovereign funds have deeper pockets...
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is expected to announce next month what type of US distressed assets they will be investing in and real estate is at the top of the list, according to a report in Financial Times last week...
So far, prices on bulk sales of REO properties vary based on location and are selling from 60 cents to 80 cents on the dollar. Hanson started out offering 40 cents on the dollar for about $2.5 billion worth of California properties owned by IndyMac and Washington Mutual but was turned down. The banks refused to comment.
Hanson is now willing to pay 50 cents to 60 cents on the dollar for a collection of California REOs worth at least $500 million.
In fact, this week Hanson's team negotiated a $2 billion package mixed with homes across the country for 31 cents on the dollar. While progress seems slow, Hanson reminds us this is only a nine-month old industry...
Full story... (http://www.debatepolicy.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=29)
I'm not sure how I feel about this, I mean, there is nothing illegal about it, but I think it is the idea that I don't understand what the ramifications for our country might be that concerns me.
LOST SOVEREIGNITY
OIL-RICH FUND EYEING FORECLOSED US HOMES
By TERI BUHL
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...
A sovereign fund would have two distinct advantages over other investors - the depressed value of the US dollar makes the homes a bargain, and sovereign funds have deeper pockets...
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is expected to announce next month what type of US distressed assets they will be investing in and real estate is at the top of the list, according to a report in Financial Times last week...
So far, prices on bulk sales of REO properties vary based on location and are selling from 60 cents to 80 cents on the dollar. Hanson started out offering 40 cents on the dollar for about $2.5 billion worth of California properties owned by IndyMac and Washington Mutual but was turned down. The banks refused to comment.
Hanson is now willing to pay 50 cents to 60 cents on the dollar for a collection of California REOs worth at least $500 million.
In fact, this week Hanson's team negotiated a $2 billion package mixed with homes across the country for 31 cents on the dollar. While progress seems slow, Hanson reminds us this is only a nine-month old industry...
Full story... (http://www.debatepolicy.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=29)
I'm not sure how I feel about this, I mean, there is nothing illegal about it, but I think it is the idea that I don't understand what the ramifications for our country might be that concerns me.