Although one of the axioms of real estate is that it is valuable because you simply cannot make more of it, NYC would not be the first to try its hand at “island-building.” Dubai developer Nakheel has been doing it for years, creating palm-tree-shaped islands, a mass of private islands and now, in his latest project, a string of artificial reefs to attract more aquatic life[2]. While some of these projects have been more successful than others – his “World” creation of private islands is currently sinking back into the sea[3] – Nakheel’s work shows exactly how profitable building new real estate out of nothing can be. LoLo is being characterized as “the kind of big thinking that New York needs” by director of CURE Vishaan Chakrabarti. An alternative and far less-glamorous proposal involves altering zoning to better utilize the nearly four billion square feet of unused development rights already in the city.

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The members of the group estimated that allowing principal write-downs would reduce the risk of default for about a fifth of the GSEs’ portfolio[2]. The FHFA has voiced concerns that the benefits of write-downs would not outweigh the “moral hazard” that the move would create as more homeowners deliberately acted in such a way as to become eligible for the write-downs. Critics of the move have also argued that write-downs reward mortgage delinquency while punishing homeowners who have continued to make payments on underwater homes.

Do you think that Fannie and Freddie should be doing principal write-downs? If so, how can they be handled fairly?

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Recently, the Nevada Division of Housing (NDH) has begun awarding tax credits for developers to build new apartments and condominiums[2]. Critics of this move fear that this will artificially extend the housing crisis in the area because new construction will prevent existing properties from being effectively converted to rentals when individual ownership may not make sense. Do you think that Vegas is really on the way to recovery, or will government programs slow it down?

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For this reason, several groups of agents have formed pet rescue groups. Realtors to the Rescue was founded in 2005 in Chicago, while No Paws Left Behind was started in Houston in 2008. Both groups work hard to help the estimated 1 million pets left behind in foreclosed homes, shelters and outdoors find new homes and avoid death by starvation and dehydration[2]. Sometimes, report agents, someone returns to feed the animals or neighbors step in, but often the pets are simply abandoned during the eviction process.

Groups of local agents and realtors have banded together to handle the pet crisis in conjunction with local animal shelters. Have you encountered abandoned pets in your real estate dealings?

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Do you think Detroit can be saved? How?

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Google has, thus far, suspended 500 of its advertisers and helped uncover 85 mortgage fraud schemes. SIGTARP officials predict that now that the mega-search engine has a list of accused spammers and has agreed to no longer list their ads online that the move will “dramatically stem the flow of potential victims”[2]. Google paid $500 million to settle charges that it allowed Canadian online pharmacies to market drugs to Americans in violation of U.S. law via its online ads.

Do you think that Google should be regulating its advertisers more closely? Do you think this move will help prevent mortgage and foreclosure fraud?

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Allied has called the entire suit a “half-baked attempt to put another mortgage broker out of business so HUD can say it is cleaning up the industry”[2]. Do you agree or did the judge make the right decision by overruling the suspension?

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Curtis Hertel, the Ingham County Register of Deeds who has filed a class action against MERS for unpaid transfer fees, has been outspoken on the system and what he perceives as abuses of it for months. The reversal on the ruling has him outraged, and he has said that the reversal is “an embarrassment to those of us who care about the property records of this state and…the citizens who are affected by these foreclosures”[2]. Hertel has accused MERS of deliberately creating a “shadow registry system” to prevent effective and accurate mortgage ownership tracking.

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However, recent news that the FHA has far too few cash reserves to cover potential losses has some analysts worried and voicing concerns that the FHA may already be holding too great a market share. “One year ago, Americans sent a message that they wanted to end the subsidies and bailouts that have crippled our economy,” complained the Tea Party-Conservative Club for Growth, adding that “raising the FHA loan limits again is a step in the exact opposite direction”[2]. Professor of real estate finance Joseph Gyourko, who was involved in the independent audit revealing just how few cash reserves the FHA really has on hand, predicts that “unless the economy makes a swift recovery…FHA will need a massive taxpayer bailout – between $50 and $100 billion.” Gyourko blames low down-payment requirements and a high number of mortgages on homes with negative equity for the risky situation.

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The GSE is presently involves in launching a winter sales promotion through its real estate unit, Homesteps, which will involve Homesteps paying up to 3 percent of the final sales price toward buyer closing costs and throwing in a $1,000 selling agent bonus. Offers must be received before January 31, 2012 and escrow must close on or before March 15, 2012[2]. The promotion is available only on homes being purchase by owner-occupants. Homesteps winter sales promotion is available in Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Main, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware and Washington, D.C.

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