Real Estate News – October 9, 2012




This will likely be my last post until next week.  I am taking a one-week vacation “BOOTW” (By Orders Of The Wife).  It’s the first time I’ve taken time off, I think, in ten years of marriage and twelve years of practice, so I guess I’ve earned it (or should I say, she’s earned it). 


So, until next week, here’s the latest and greatest in real estate news:


Notorious HOA Board Removed by State (via 8newsnow.com): http://bit.ly/WNFBf8


A real-estate lawyer from Long Island was sentenced Tuesday on Staten Island to a year in jail and must pay a Tottenville woman $75,000 for stealing a down payment from her (via silive.com): http://bit.ly/Qb7Mlx


In what is probably going to be the largest U.S. office transaction of the year, Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest online retailer, has agreed to buy the 11-building complex where their headquarters is housed in Seattle for $1.16 billion (via RedOrbit.com): http://bit.ly/ThULdx


Neighborhood association sues homeowner who has water-conserving yard (via orlandosentinel.com): http://thesent.nl/PfD2Tn


New regulations governing interest-rate swaps have become an unexpected roadblock for federal officials looking to bring private money back into the U.S. mortgage market. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac missed a goal of issuing a new class of mortgage securities by the end of September, partly because the new regulations complicated the debt offering (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/VYR2AX