Real Estate Transactions

Biggest home sales of 2009 in the L.A. area?

2010-02-12 00:00:00

It's not always easy to pinpoint the biggest sale of the year. Mega-million-dollar transactions can take place outside of the Multiple Listing Service, with the homes marketed by agents as "pocket listings." Other times, the buyer and seller work...

Hanks thinks big. Make that 'biggest'

2010-02-20 00:00:00

There's "Big," and then there's big. Box office giant Tom Hanks has purchased the 14,500-square-foot Pacific Palisades home of veteran producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, according to area real estate sources. The sales price is listed at...

New HUD rules aim to get rid of closing cost surprises

2009-11-08 00:00:00

Remember the bad old days of 11th-hour mortgage cost shocks and mystery junk-fee charges? Remember when the "good-faith estimates" your lender gave you upfront said closing costs would be about $2,000, but somehow they ballooned to $3,500 on the final...

Legal battles over real estate transactions increase

2009-10-04 00:00:00

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves. But disgruntled buyers or sellers who believe they've been so wronged that they are willing to spend the time and money to take their realty professionals to court...

If offer to buy seems fishy, the money might be illicit

2009-10-18 00:00:00

If anyone approaches you with an offer to buy your house that seems even the least bit out of the ordinary, there's a possibility that the money for the deal is coming from illegal drugs, prostitution or some other aspect of organized crime. There are no...

Start house-hunting now to qualify for tax credit for first-time home buyers

2009-08-16 00:00:00

First-time home buyers had better get a move on if they hope to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit. The window of opportunity is closing rapidly. To qualify for the credit, any transaction involving a first-time buyer must close before...

Consumer agency could protect future home buyers and mortgage borrowers

2009-12-20 00:00:00

Had there been a federal watchdog consumer protection agency on duty during the early years of this decade, could it have prevented the housing boom and bust that put millions of homeowners into foreclosure and sucked trillions of dollars of equity wealth...

Complaints erupt about lowball home valuations

2009-07-05 00:00:00

It's by far the hottest controversy in real estate this summer, and it could directly affect the value of your house -- probably negatively -- by tens of thousands of dollars. The issue concerns lowball valuations and the new rules guiding appraisers...

HUD scrutinizes 'admin fees'

2010-03-21 00:00:00

Does it matter whether a real estate agent charges you a flat commission rate -- say 6% -- or quotes you a flat rate but adds hundreds of dollars on top of that as a separate charge labeled an "admin" or administrative fee? A top federal housing official...

Real estate agents: They aren't all the same

2009-08-02 00:00:00

When Bruce Hahn wanted to sell a portion of his Cedar Creek property in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley a few years ago, he listed the parcel with a local broker who offered his services as a "dual agent." And when the broker landed a would-be buyer, Hahn...

Sony Pictures to stay in signature Culver City offices

2010-12-10 16:33:32

CalPERS changes management of $724 million in real estate

2011-01-03 16:33:51

Jeffrey E. Kopiwoda has rejoined Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman & Dunn after spending nearly seven years as the global head of legal affairs for an international group of financial services companies.

2011-02-01 00:00:00

Robert E. Cronin has joined the Reznick Group, a top 20 national CPA firm, as a principal in the Valuation and Transaction Advisory Group.

2010-12-21 00:00:00

He has a particular expertise in ownership and management disputes. Holisky received his J.D.

2010-08-24 00:00:00