Economy
Pentagon admits savings unknown if JFCOM closed
Last week, several members of the House of Armed Services Committee voiced concerns that plans to close the Norfolk-based Joint Forces Command would deal a severe blow to collaboration within the military, three Hampton Roads lawmakers raised objections to the Pentagon's abrupt plan to close JFCOM.
During the questioning, it became apparent that even though the reason for closing JFCOM is to save money, it has yet to be determined how much money would be saved.
JFCOM is a vital part to the Norfolk area economy as it provides thousands of jobs.
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Community land trust forum coming October 26
On October 26, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond will host a one day forum on community land trusts. Targeted to affordable housing practitioners, financial institutions, foundations, and local and state policymakers, this forum will provide an overview of how shared equity models, and community land trusts in particular, can preserve long-term affordable homeownership and stabilize neighborhoods impacted by foreclosure.
To register, visit the Virginia Housing Development Authority. The deadline to register is October 18.
Existing-home sales plummet, big time
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Fastest (and slowest) short sale servicers
Lenders are taking heat from buyers, sellers and Realtors® for the length of time and complexity involved in going through a short sale. You've probably got your hunches about which banks are the worst to deal with and which ones take the most time to complete a transaction. Well, HousingWire magazine recently published a list ranking selected major mortgage servicers by how quickly they conduct short sales. Here's the scoreboard:
Buena Vista may lose city hall to repo man
The country's dire financial straits extend beyond homeowners, as one Virginia city's officials are learning. In the go-go days of 2004 and 2005, the city of Buena Vista in the Shenandoah Valley borrowed $9 million to build and refinance a city golf course. On the refinance application, they offered up two public buildings as collateral: the Buena Vista city hall and its police station.
Now, the bills are coming due and the city can't afford to make payments, making it quite possible that the financier, ACA Financial Guaranty Corp., will exercise its right to seize the buildings.
DoD's job and contracting cuts scrutinized
Virtually everyone agrees that reducing joblessness is key to the recovery of Virginia's economy and housing markets. Defense Secretary Robert Gates's recently announced reductions to the Pentagon's budget by dismantling the U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) in Hampton Roads and cutting spending on defense contracts by 10% annually for the next three years. These spending cuts would cost Virginia thousands of jobs (10,000 in Hampton Roads alone, by some estimates), jeopardizing the Commonwealth's economic recovery.
So it may come as welcome news to some that the Commonwealth's political leaders are undertaking efforts on several fronts to address this potential economic blow.
DEVELOPING: DoD seeks spending cuts in VA
Virginia's economy stands to take a heavy blow if Secretary of Defense Robert Gates's proposal to cut the Pentagon's budget goes ahead as planned. And there's little recourse for the Commonwealth's political leaders who are obviously concerned about the proposed cuts: Congress doesn't need to approve them. Here's what's at stake in the Commonwealth.
Pending sales up (!) in June
Obama policies to deemphasize homeownership?
A retreat in government programs and support for homeownership may be imminent according to an article published in the Washington Post on July 21, 2010.
The administration's narrower view of who should own a home and what the government should to do to support them could have major implications for the economy as well as borrowers. Broadly, the administration may wind down some government backing for home loans, but increase the focus on affordable rentals.
What Realtors need to know about Wall St. reform: August 26 webinar
Although Realtors® are mostly exempt from many of the provisions in the just-signed financial services reform bill, there are still a few things they need to know about. Always helpful and informative, NAR will host a webinar on August 26 to bring you up to speed on the changes.