Industry News
Conn. Seeks Wages for MLN Employees
By Jeff Haynes | Reporter | February 29, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe state has filed a $2.6 million claim for more than 100 workers seeking unpaid wages from the bankrupt Mortgage Lenders Network USA.
Former employees have been waiting for money they say MLN has owed them since the Middletown-based lender filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 5, 2007. The first signs of trouble appeared just a few weeks earlier, late in 2006.
Woodgreen Racking Up the Sales
By Jeff Haynes | February 29, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkTrumbull-based Woodgreen Management has sold School Street Square in East Hartford for $19.2 million, marking the firm’s third retail property sale in as many years.
“It’s based on market conditions. Right now real estate is going for a premium,” said Allan Bernheimer, president of Woodgreen Management. “We felt it was a good time to cash out.”
Feeling the Heat of the Subprime Crisis
By Jeff Haynes | Reporter | February 29, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkRescue efforts are struggling to slow the fire consuming subprime mortgages.
So the architects of both the $50 million Connecticut Fair Alternative Mortgage Lending Initiative & Education Services (CT FAMLIES) Program and the $125 million regional Mortgage Relief Fund are now looking for more ways to lend a helping hand to more borrowers.
BREAKING NEWS: Changes to Flagging State Mortgage Rescue Program Approved
By Jeff Haynes | Reporter | February 28, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkBREAKING NEWS: One Year After Bankruptcy, State Seeks Wages for MLN Employees
By Jeff Haynes | Reporter | February 25, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe state has filed a $2.6 million claim for more than 100 workers seeking unpaid wages from the bankrupt Mortgage Lenders Network USA.
Former employees have been waiting for money they say MLN has owed them since the Middletown-based lender filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 5, 2007. The first signs of trouble appeared just a few weeks earlier, late in 2006.
Zorich Earns Midd-Shore Production Award
February 21, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkDiane Zorich of Weichert Realtors Shoreline Properties has earned the highest production award from the Midd-Shore Board of Realtors for the Shoreline and through Middlesex County for the third quarter of 2007.
SBT Bancorp Reports Earnings Increase
February 21, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkSimsbury-based SBT Bancorp, the holding company for The Simsbury Bank & Trust Co., has reported net income of $1.1 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, compared to $716,933 for the prior year. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2007 totaled $485,201, compared to $119,016 for the fourth quarter of 2006.
South Norwalk Retail Portfolio Purchased
February 21, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkJeffrey Dunne, Dean Matus and Matthew Innes of CB Richard Ellis’ New York Institutional Group represented Madison Tower Main Street LLC, an entity controlled in partnership by Blackrock Inc. and Madison Marquette, in the recent $24.75 million sale of the South Norwalk Retail Portfolio. The team also lined up the buyer, TR SONO Partners, an entity controlled by F.D. Rich Co.
Vacation Market Turning Up the Heat
By Jeff Haynes | Reporter | February 21, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe saying “my house is your house” has gained new popularity in a tough economy.
Program’s ‘Lifeline’ Too Short?
By Aglaia Pikounis | Reporter | February 21, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkLocal foreclosure prevention specialists say a new federal program that gives homeowners who have fallen behind on mortgage payments a 30-day reprieve doesn’t go far enough.
Solving the Loan Servicing Puzzle
By Amy Wyeth | Reporter | February 21, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkTry harder.
That was the message Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and her counterparts in 36 other states put out to the mortgage industry earlier this month, in a report they said showed “much more” needs to be done to help distressed borrowers catch up on their loans.
Giordano Joins Page-Taft GMAC in Essex
February 14, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkGigi Giordano has joined Page-Taft GMAC Real Estate’s Essex office. The full-time agent previously worked in the financial and restaurant industries.
Gibbons Joins Bankers’ Bank Northeast Staff
February 14, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkGlastonbury-based Bankers’ Bank Northeast has hired Geoffrey S. Gibbons as a relationship coordinator in client services.
Gibbons is responsible for processing various account-opening documents for new services, along with tracking and follow-up. He also coordinates client training, client and vendor billing processing, and the monitoring of client inquiries.
Hartford’s Twain Apartments Sold for $3.3M
February 14, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkSteve Pappas and Rick Chozick of Chozick Realty have brokered the $3.3 million sale of the Mark Twain Apartments in Hartford.
The buildings contain 65 units located adjacent to the historic Mark Twain House and Museum. The site, which once encompassed the grounds of Mark Twain’s estate, was developed in 1931.
Post-Eviction Changes Eyed
By Jeff Haynes | Reporter | February 14, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkProposed changes to post-eviction cleanup duties could bring relief for municipalities statewide.
Newspaper Wins Award From NEPA
February 14, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe Commercial Record received its first-ever award from the New England Press Association during NEPA’s 2007 Better Newspaper Contest. The prizes were presented at the association’s awards banquet in Boston on Feb. 9.
The newspaper garnered first-place honors in its weekly circulation class for the Local Ad (Black & White) category.
Breathing Life Into the Market
By Jeff Haynes | Reporter | February 14, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkNew loan limits could breathe new life into the state’s housing market – particularly in Fairfield County.
BREAKING NEWS: Stimulus Package to Boost Housing Market
By Jeff Haynes | Reporter | February 8, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkNew loan limits could breathe new life into the state’s housing market – particularly in Fairfield County.
Delvecchio Installed as CAR’s 2008 President
February 7, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe Connecticut Association of Realtors recently installed Ken DelVecchio as its 2008 president.
At the same ceremony, held at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale, DelVecchio also received the association’s State Realtor of the Year award for 2007. He has been active in the real estate business since 1991 and is a broker and associate with RE/MAX Heritage in Westport.
NewAlliance Nets $10.9M in Fourth Quarter
February 7, 2008 | Reprints | Unlock LinkNew Haven-based NewAlliance Bancshares, the holding company for NewAlliance Bank, has reported net income of $10.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2007, which is level with the company’s fourth-quarter 2006 income.
Core earnings, which are exclusive of merger-and-acquisition charges and a tax-reserve adjustment, were $12 million, up 6 percent from the prior year.
