Mr. Howard Liggett

GLG News by Mr. Howard Liggett, President and CEO

GLG News is now G+ Insights

G+ is a community for professionals, academics and entrepreneurs to connect through online discussions and in-person meetings. You will continue to see G+ Insights (formerly GLG News) here as well as on the G+ website, where you can share and discuss the G+ Insights you read.

Fractional Ownership Sales Key to Condo Market Revitalization

October 15, 2007

Analysis of:Report:Condo Market Cools | www.landscapeonline.com

Florida and Southeast  Alabama condominium sales are flatlined with bulging inventories that are losing value each day they sit idle. Investors are losing money,patience, and hope as this sector struggles for air. Builders are scrapping plans for new developments until the current inventories are reduced. Big question is--Who is going to buy under the current market conditions? Answer--Well financed private investors who are still awaiting the condo misery index to ratchet upward.

Luxury Homes and Home Buyers Stalled by Jumbo Loan Limits

October 2, 2007

Analysis of:Trapped by the Mortgage Meltdown | money.cnn.com

More and more would be luxury home purchasers are finding their dream cribs just that---dreams.  Two income families with stellar credit scores have discovered that homes exceeding the jumbo loan limit of $417,000 (The cap on what Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will underwrite.) are often out of reach due to the substantive down payment required to fill in the gap between the jumbo loan amount and the sales price.  In the last several weeks,the national mortgage crisis has metastasized into the high end luxury and custom home market. 

Short Sales Done Right Can Move REO!

September 24, 2007

Analysis of:Housing Slump Predicted to Last Til '09 | deseretnews.com

Defaulted mortgages that transform into REO will hemorrhage the budget of any lender or servicer who cannot liquidate the parcels with dispatch.  Short sales represent one more tool available to property managers,real estate professionals,and homeowners faced with must sell properties in an all but dead market.

Ohio's Bulk Tax Debt Sales Offer Large Dollar Volume Placement for Institutions

September 14, 2007

Analysis of:Lien Forward Ohio | www.vindy.com

On November 19,2005,the county treasurer for Montgomery County,Ohio auctioned nearly two thousand tax liens to one investor for $9.1 million dollars at a bid rate of 18%.  The following year on November 18,2006 another $6.8 million in tax liens was issued at  a 14% rate of return. This Fall the process will be repeated in counties across the Buckeye State with populations in excess of 200,000 inhabitants. Opportunities such as these for large dollar placements are cropping up across the United States as local governments examine the most efficient means available for collecting upon their delinquent property taxes---bulk tax lien sales. 

Speculative Investors Contribute to Rising Foreclosure Rates

August 31, 2007

Analysis of:American Home Mortgage Files For Chapter 11 Amid Turmoil | online.wsj.com

So called "unscrupulous" lending practices,ignorant borrowers,and unrealistic market appraisals have all been identified as sources responsible for the increased residential foreclosure figures.  Speculation has also contributed to the saturated market and stiffer lending guidelines. 

Fair Isaac Policy One of Many Culprits

August 28, 2007

Analysis of:American Home Mortgage Files For Chapter 11 Amid Turmoil | online.wsj.com

American Home Mortgage's entry into Chapter ll bankruptcy and the resulting workforce layoffs, reveal, again, just how severe the "gaping wound" to the subprime industry has become.  A total of three midsized servicing firms crumbled this August representing a combined total of $78 billion in residential loans.

SoCal Home Prices Will Travel South!

August 20, 2007

Analysis of:Sales down but prices, inventory rise in California | inman.com

The Inman News feature article was correct on the continued rise in lender and builder inventories due to spiked foreclosure numbers, purchase cancellations and borrower credit qualifiers. However,the small blip upward in median home prices for California to $594,260 (June 2007) from $592,780 (June 2006) was just that, a blip, which will be quite short lived. The lending industry's rush to "fix" the subprime problems of increased inventories, pricing declines, and new construction halts, by imposing  more  restrictive lending requirements,may very well exacerbate the situation if a "one size fits all" policy implementation is adopted without regard to geographical market conditions.  Government intervention supporting these credit restrictions may further disrupt the residential sales market, particularly in Southern California.

Buy 'Em,Hold 'Em,Sell'Em

July 31, 2007

Analysis of:Foreclosures Spread to Gulf Condos | www.al.com

In this consultant's analysis of February 23,2007 entitled "Vulture's Market for Florida Condos on the Horizon",the current purchasing opportunities described in the above referenced Mobile Press-Register story were accurately predicted.  As I stated in February,the condominium market for Florida, including Southwest Alabama and Coastal Mississippi, will not cease to exist because real estate developers have access to so much tropical-like landscape with prices well below comparable parcels in Southern California,the Bahamas,and the Virgin Islands.  Construction will continue,but ownership of condo units will change from that of indivduals who wanted vacation and investment properties,to that of commercial real estate investors.

The Next Miami Beach~Flagler County, Florida

July 20, 2007

Analysis of:Florida's Existing Home Sales,Median Price Down in May 2007 | www.floridarealtors.org

The Next Big Thing in Florida land development is quietly taking place along the pristine shores of Florida's Northeastern coastline.  Now is the time to buy into what has all the promise of becoming  Florida's new Miami Beach !

Real Estate Auctions Becoming Purchase Vehicle of Choice

July 9, 2007

Analysis of:Foreclosure Auctions Set For Northern California | www.dsnews.com

Profit in real estate is made on the buy and the opportunities present today in the most attractive residential buyer's market in decades are there for the bidding.  Yes,there for the bidding.  The sluggish home sales experienced across the nation due to stale inventory is getting a helping hand from auction companies who are drawing record crowds to move the REO of their lender clients.

Purchasing a Subprime Mortgage Portfolio~What CEOs and Board Members Must Know!

June 26, 2007

Analysis of:Oxford Funding Expands Reach Into Subprime | www.dsnews.com

The news surrounding the subprime mortgage industry,particularly that focusing upon improperly managed portfolios that has led some companies into bankruptcy or forced sales of their assets, points to the importance of prepurchase due diligence for any entity considering such a bulk purchase of nonprime paper.

Extracting Value From the Subprime Foreclosure Fallout

June 5, 2007

Analysis of:Lenders told foreclosure picture grim | www.signonsandiego.com

The San Diego Tribune story points out what many of us in the distressed real estate market have seen coming since the late fall of 2006---The recast of hybrid ARM loans decidedly upward;a surge in NODS filed by mortgagees across the nation;stricter credit controls issued in response to the defaults;  the inability of many homeowners with high interest ARMs to qualify for  refinancing these loans with the end result that many mortgagors are saddled with notes exceeding the market value of their homesteads.  The worst is ahead and 2007 will not be the end of it.  Researchers at Friedman Billings Ramsey recently reported that the subprime default rate in Florida hit 7.9% in January,up from 4% in January 2006,or 100%.  In California,the default rate was 8.3%  for January 2007,up from 2.3% in January 2006 for a staggering 260%! So,where are the opportunities for real estate investors amidst all this gloom?

Brownfields Offer Greenfields for the Research Centered CRE Investor~Distressed Real Estate Consulting Services,Inc.

May 29, 2007

Analysis of:Why Investors Should Consider Real Estate | online.wsj.com

While many developers have avoided brownfields because of the necessary environmental clean-up and liability risks, these sites are prime real estate redevelopment opportunities. Available funding and insurance that reduces the risk of lawsuits and cost overruns are making revitalization of these blighted properties even more ideal. For 10 years, the EPA has encouraged and empowered developers and communities to work together to revitalize contaminated properties nationwide. Funding is available through the agency’s Brownfields Program. The EPA’s Brownfields Assessment Grants and Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grants can help with the costs of environmental assessment and clean-up. New York State's Brownfield Cleanup Program can be a real ally to the commercial real estate developer.

Distressed Real Estate Offers Profitable Alternatives

April 27, 2007

Analysis of:Why Investors Should Consider Real Estate | online.wsj.com

A twenty percent (20%) ROI is still considered strong by most portfolio managers.  Jeff Opdyke's WSJ article is on point to wisely caution investors about a sudden exodus from real estate.  Opportunities abound for investors willing to consider alternative routes to their desired returns. Tax liens,public sector bulk sales,brownfield reclamation and redevelopment possibilities underwritten by state,local and even federal agencies are out there for the investor willing to conduct the requisite due diligence.

Florida's Great Migration

March 7, 2007

Analysis of:Still No Shortage of Capital Chasing Real Estate | www.globest.com

The Sunshine State exodus of families with children depicted in the Wall Street Journal article is reflected starkly in Florida’s 2006-2007 public school enrollment figures. Statewide, 48,400 new students were expected in 2006-2007, but only 477 showed up. South Florida public schools saw 15,000 fewer students than expected. This same trend of lowered new enrollees was identified in five of seven South Florida counties. Broward County experienced the biggest difference between expected and actual new enrollments – 6,000 student desks went empty! Palm Beach administrators expected an increase, albeit modest; but instead saw a 3,000 pupil loss. The continued flight of families with children is predicted to continue through the 2010-2011 school year.

Vultures' Market for Florida Condos on the Horizon

February 23, 2007

Analysis of:"What's Become of the Condo Conversion" | www.investors.com

The Investors’ Business Daily article by David Devoss accurately notes that condominium conversions are on the wane. Many apartment owners have made the decision to either not move forward with the legal reclassification of condominium; or, in many instances, to actually revert the status of their units back to that of apartment.

What has not slowed is the construction of new condo developments up and down Florida’s peninsula coastlines despite the sluggish sales figures. According to the Florida Association of Realtors, condo sales for the month of October 2006 fell a staggering 31 percent from the same month a year earlier.

After the red hot years of 2000~2004, inventories of unsold condominiums, nationally, began to climb during 2006. Result – a glut of unsold units in formerly healthy markets. Those developers who paid heed to the unfolding scenario applied the necessary corrections by canceling many planned condominium projects, but Florida is quite a different story.

Nation's Foreclosure Spike Creates Myriad Business Opportunities

February 15, 2007

Analysis of:Foreclosure rates up big in December | money.cnn.com

 "One man's misery is another man's good fortune." This maxim from a 20th Century agronomist lamenting the Oklahoma drought of the 1930's continues to hold true today.  Les Christies' January 17, 2007 piece for CNNMoney.com places blame for the dramatic rise in mortgage foreclosures upon the adjustable rate mortgages. Especially at fault are those mortgages catering to the higher credit risk applicants.  Correct on both counts and the fallout is making headlines. 

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