Dubai’s real estate market showed little signs of any imminent upturn in fortunes as it remained sluggish during the final quarter of 2009, with lease rates continuing to fall, CB Richard Ellis said.

According to the Dubai Land Department statistics, total transactions fell 17.7 percent to 520 in the fourth quarter from the year-ago period, the brokerage said.

According to CB Richard Ellis, lease rates for Dubai’s residential units may see a small contraction through 2010 as a substantial volume of new homes reach their final stage of construction.

Lease rates for Dubai’s commercial office space market have already bottomed out, with rents in some cases reflecting 2005 levels, the brokerage said, adding that rates in the central business district area are unlikely to see any marked shift given limited new supply over the short term. Still, newer commercial office areas that are already seeing high vacancy rates may see rates dip further as landlords continue to give greater incentive packages as they compete to woo tenants, CB Richard Ellis said.

Apartment rates are also likely to see a small drop this year, they added.

Ten inexpensive ways to wow buyers in Tallahassee!

10 cheap (mostly) ways to make a property more attractive to shoppers:

1. Improve first impressions. Touch up the paint on the front door and other areas that buyers see first.

2. Clean up the landscaping. Trim hedges and trees, and plant some annuals in the flowerbeds.

3. Paint the interior. A coat of light yellow or cream with contrasting white woodwork looks fresh and clean.

4. Refurbish the floors. Buff the hardwoods. Install new carpets – or at least get them professionally cleaned.

5. Take care of the big problems. If the house needs a roof or the front stoop is crumbling, get them fixed.

6. Buy warranties. Putting appliances under warranty gives homebuyers a secure feeling.

7. Improve energy efficiency. New windows or improved insulation tell a potential buyer that the seller is on top of things – plus they come with tax benefits.

8. Replace light fixtures. Updated fixtures, especially at the entrance way and in the foyer, create a good first impression.

9. Buy a stove. Homeowners whose kitchen isn’t top of the line can jazz it up for a few hundred dollars by buying a new stove, which gives the room a fresh feel.

10. Tidy up the bathrooms. Get rid of mildew, recaulk and replace stained sinks.

Source: U.S. News & World Report, Luke Mullins (01/21/2010)

A bitter fight is brewing in Tallahassee over whether banks should be allowed to bypass court hearings in foreclosures. According to reports, the Florida Bankers Association has offered up state lawmakers a new legislative proposal that would create nonjudicial foreclosure procedures in the state, thus allowing a financial institution or servicer to sell a foreclosed home at auction in as little as 90 days after a filing notice.

Currently, Florida is one of only 13 states where foreclosures have to go through state courts, a process that allows homeowners to stave off auction sales and evictions by up to 18 months, or longer if they successfully challenge bank actions.

Supporters of the idea think the foreclosure process is in desperate need of an overhaul: too many foreclosures are clogging up court dockets (23,000 cases alone in Lee County on the Southwest coast of the state), and are forestalling a market recovery by letting homeowners stay in their houses – when they could be out renting or buying. In a non-judicial process, banks could take over homes before they fall into neglect and get a chance to recover their losses more quickly through another sale or through rental income. As part of the change, the industry would be willing to give up recourse against outstanding debt.

Opponents, such as legal aid workers for homeowners, argue this could remove a valuable legal safeguard against lenders or servicers that may not have the legal authority to foreclose because they can’t prove they own the loans. Mortgage holders could also lose a negotiating tool to modify underwater loans with uncooperative lenders and servicers.

The FBA’s proposal would only be effective for new foreclosure filings after July 1, but that’s a ways down the road: FBA president Alex Sanchez says the group is still looking for a sponsor to introduce a bill when the legislature reconvenes in March.

TALLAHASSEE — A multibillion-dollar Manhattan development formally unwound this week after costing the state’s pension system $266 million and fueling a debate over oversight of the $113 billion fund.

The formal announcement by a group that includes Tishman Speyer Properties and BlackRock Inc., who made headlines with a $5.4 billion purchase of a sprawling property in Manhattan — at the time the largest real-estate transacting in the nation’s history — won’t have much effect on the state’s pension fund, which already wrote off its $250 million investment in the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, a massive apartment complex.

“This should have no bearing on us one way or the other,” said Dennis MacKee, a spokesman for the State Board of Administration, which oversees the retirement fund. “Right now, it looks like what we have on the books is what it’s likely to end up as.”

What the board has on the books is $0, after essentially conceding that the entire investment is gone.

In addition to the quarter of a billion dollars invested in the property, the SBA spent $16 million to cover costs associated with its late entry into the venture. Because the state held an equity position in the project and wasn’t a creditor, it won’t benefit from the group’s decision to turn the property over to its creditors.

MacKee said the investment was part of the state’s strategy to diversify its portfolio generally and within real estate in particular. He said the state invests largely in safe bets, but does take on some high-risk projects in search of the rewards that can follow.

But the investment has also helped fuel a political battle between Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican running for governor, and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the likely Democratic nominee for the state’s top office. The two sit with Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican running for Senate, as trustees of the SBA.

Asked earlier this week about the project’s collapse, Sink called attention to her proposal to expand the trustee group and include more members with financial expertise.

“That’s why I’ve called for pretty serious reforms at the Tallahassee State Board of Administration and I hope that my legislation gets passed,” Sink said.

McCollum has argued that adding members to the board would require a constitutional amendment and has countered with his own proposal to instead overhaul the Investment Advisory Council, which advises the pension fund on its decisions.

“I firmly believe these changes will provide the additional oversight the trustees are seeking, in an effort to protect the financial future of all Tallahassee Florida Pension Fund participants,”

Buyers Guide

Sellers Guide

When John Kanas arrived in South Florida last May as the savior of the state’s largest homegrown bank, the $12.8 billion-asset BankUnited in Coral Gables, he did so with a wad of private-equity cash in his back pocket, a cushy loss-sharing agreement with regulators and a healthy dose of realism that “even our worst fears about the Florida market would be overly optimistic.”

…

Identity Theft and the Elderly

Identity theft is the nation’s number one and fastest growing crime. On average, every 3.2 seconds someone loses their identity.¹ Seniors are easy targets for identity theft, and thieves even target the deceased. In 2007, 22% of victims were ages 60 and over.² According to the Social Security Administration, seniors, the critically ill, and the deceased are appealing identity theft targets because of their significant assets, including their good credit and federal entitlement checks.

Seniors can be more trusting and isolated, and less aware of the increasing number of identity scams. Dependent caregivers may take advantage of the situation. In 2005, 53% percent of identity theft victims had their identity stolen by a friend, a relative, an employee, or an acquaintance.³ Organized groups of identity thieves have been found operating in nursing homes.

Here are some common ways identity thieves target the elderly.

Telephone scams
Identity thieves call and pretend to represent charities, veterans and police associations, the AARP, and other well-known companies. No one should give out personal or financial information over the phone. If you want to donate to a charity or order a product, call the organization or company directly.

Snail mail scams
Be suspicious of snail mail from companies that asks you to send or call in your personal information, even if from your bank, charities, or well-known companies. Check the return address and verify the company through the Better Business Bureau, CharityNavigator.org, or other sources. Scammers often use PO Box addresses, and their phone numbers don’t work. If you can’t contact with the company, shred the mail or report it to your state attorney general’s office.

In-person scams
Some scammers show up in person and try to frighten people into sharing valuable information. Others pose as helpful strangers who are trying to protect the victim from financial harm or who have something the victim wants for an unbeatable price. Never give your personal or financial information to someone who comes to your door.

Theft of a deceased person’s identity
If you have lost a loved one, be on guard for identity theft. Thieves often search obituaries, death certificates, and genealogy Web sites for personal information. Consider these facts:

• The Social Security Administration (SSA) may not receive notice when someone dies.
• If notified, it can take a while for the SSA to update credit bureaus and for the bureaus to make the information available to creditors.
• Hundreds of thousands of checking accounts are opened each year in the names of deceased people.⁴
• Nearly 480,000 Medicare claims were made using the identities of deceased doctors according to a 2008 U.S. Senate report.

How to protect yourself or a loved one

• If an elderly relative dies, immediately call the Social Security Administration (800-772-1213) and notify the three major credit bureaus or creditors in writing.
• Review an elderly family member’s or a deceased person’s credit reports and credit card statements regularly. Make sure a deceased person’s accounts are all closed.
• Make a copy of your/their Medicare card that you can carry with you and blacken out the last four digits of your social security number. Keep the original in a safe deposit box.
• Verify any requests for donations that come over the phone or through the mail. Call the phone number listed, or check out the charity at sites like CharityNavigator.org. If the solicitor seems suspicious, report them to the police or your state attorney general’s office.
• Sign your loved one up on the Do Not Call Registry to prevent spammers from calling.
• Cut down on junk mail and pre-approved credit offers by calling 888-567-8688.
• Be sure to shred all mail with personal information on it with a good crosscut shredder.
• Replace an old mailbox with a locking one. Use public post office boxes for outgoing mail.

The most important thing you can do to thwart identity theft, besides vigilantly guarding your personal information, is to regularly review your accounts and your credit report. According to the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), identity theft is often discovered a year or more after the crime occurs.

¹ Javelin Strategy & Research, Identity Fraud Survey Report, February 2009
² Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC).
³ SeniorJournal.com
⁴ Identity Theft Resource Center, 2004.

Global financial services and asset-management firm Morgan Stanley (MS: 30.77 -1.25%) posted $413m of income from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with a loss of $10.5bn in the previous-year period.

Net revenue of $6.8bn in Q409 brings the full-year net income to $1.35bn, compared with a net loss of $246m in 2008.

Firm-wide results for the full year reflected $1.9bn of net losses on real estate investments “amidst the ongoing industry-wide decline in this market,” Morgan Stanley said in the earnings statement.

Investment gains in the firm’s institutional securities division were $61m in the quarter, compared with year-ago losses of $1.85bn, driven primarily by gains on real estate investments. The increased gains drove full-year 2009 investment losses to $900m, compared with $2.7bn losses in the previous year.

Morgan Stanley’s asset management division saw a pre-tax loss of $55m in the quarter, despite net revenues in the Merchant Banking unit of $153m, driven by principal investment gains the real estate business.

Despite the fragile progress made in the residential property market, real estate experts continue to predict a steep decline in the commercial real estate market.

“The last several years have seen liberal lending in the commercial market,” said Thomas Bible, Broker for VIP Executive Realty in Florida. “Though not as pervasive or severe as in the residential market, this reckless lending is possibly more threatening to our economy.”

Predictions for the commercial real estate market (which includes shopping centers, strip malls, apartment buildings, office buildings and warehouses) appear universally bleak.

The “Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2010″ report issued by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers acknowledges that most investors will recognize massive losses in the commercial real estate market. Value declines will eventually total 40 to 50 percent off market highs. This will likely be the worst registered since the Great Depression.

Surveys in the report also indicate that 2010 will be the worst time for investors to sell properties in the report’s 30-year history. According to the report, “A lackluster economic recovery characterized by problematic job growth will hamper the pace of any real estate market resurgence.”

According to Deutsche Bank commercial real estate analyst Richard Parkus, this is just the tip of the iceberg. He predicts huge losses and a huge number of banks failing as a result of the declining commercial real estate market.

As more commercial real estate property owners see tenants go bankrupt, downsize or invoke their escape clauses, they have begun to feel the serious effects of the economy. In fact, the national vacancy rate is expected to reach 18.5 percent to 19 percent by the end of 2010, the highest recorded since 1986. Without paying tenets, commercial property owners have little cash flow to make their impending balloon loan payments and may face foreclosure.

Some commercial real estate owners are taking a proactive approach to avoid foreclosure and protect their assets against financial decline and lowered property values. In fact, more and more real estate brokers are beginning to hear from their clients seeking help with a solution to turn their properties into viable assets.

“A few commercial property owners are beginning to look outside the relationship they have with their lender’s local representative, because the real decision making rarely happens at the local level,” said Mr. Bible “They want an equitable solution that maintains the relationship, so that everyone wins.”

Guardian Solutions, a commercial loan restructuring company based in Clearwater, Florida, has seen an increase in the number of real estate professionals contacting them in hopes of helping their clients.

“Property owners are increasingly feeling the stress of this down economy and can foresee only two viable options: holding on to a non-performing asset or foreclosure,” said Jeramie Concklin, Chief Executive Officer of Guardian Solutions. “Luckily, knowledgeable brokers have begun to realize the benefits of loan restructuring and are subsequently pointing their clients toward reputable loan restructuring companies like ours. It’s a win-win-win situation for the owners, the brokers and the lenders.”

“This recovery is going to take even longer than expected,” said Mr. Bible. “The commercial real estate market follows residential by about 18 months. I recommend that property owners seek assistance early in the game rather than wait for some sort of turnaround.”

According to Mr. Bible, commercial real estate professionals can serve their clients best by referring them to a reputable commercial loan modification company. Loan restructuring involves a multi-pronged approach to turn a failing commercial property into a viable asset. This may involve negotiating a modification to the original loan, revising an owner’s business plan, expenditure reductions, revamped pricing structures for franchise fees and legal maneuvers to protect assets.

“Having a third party loan restructuring company in your corner who is tenacious, a good negotiator and proactive is what every commercial property owner needs right now,” said Mr. Bible. “A good loan restructuring company can ease the entire process from the leasing and management of the asset, to the firm that will modify their debt structure.”

“Guardian Solutions can help commercial property owners restructure their loans by first evaluating an owner’s asset performance and market potential. From that type of information and other analytical data we compile, we can create a comprehensive restructuring proposal including strategies for modifying the owner’s current mortgage with the lender.” said Ira Friedman, Chief Operating Officer for Guardian Solutions.

Concklin added, “Armed with factual information and a realistic business plan, Guardian Solutions’ mediation staff enter negotiations with the lender to secure the most advantageous terms for the client, while addressing the concerns of the lending institutions.”

Forclosure is a word that often gives rise to negative feelings. What many people do not relize is that a rise in Tallahassee forclosures gives a rise in oppurtunities. If you feel like the escalating costs of investing in Tallahassee foreclosure real estate have priced you out of the market, think again. Investing in Tallahassee forclosures can…

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