The Joint Center for Housing Studies  at Harvard University and the Center for Workforce Preparation of the United States Chamber of Commerce convened to speak about the role of affordable housing and community vitality. “Affordable housing is necessary to sustain economic competitiveness,” said Nicolas Retsinas, director of the JCHS.

To assist business and housing advocates, the JCHS and the Center for Workforce Preparation produced a report titled “Strengthening Our Workforce and Our Communities Through Housing Solutions.” It highlighted remarks, papers and conversations from the forum and includes action items and next steps.

"Affordable housing can't be built without public intervention. That's tough for the business community to accept," said Shekar Narasimhan, managing partner at Beekman Advisors, LLC. in McLean, Va.

Retsinas, however, said many business leaders have come to realize that the rising cost of housing is increasingly a bottom-line concern and like transportation and education, the availability of affordable workforce housing directly affects the ability to attract and retain a skilled labor pool at competitive wages.

The Center for Workforce Preparation said business groups, such as local chambers of commerce, can play a leadership role in addressing workforce housing needs. “Chambers of commerce, with their abilities to mobilize small and medium sized businesses and convene diverse groups, are beginning to be a powerful force in this arena at the local level,” said Todd Cohen of the Center for Workforce Preparation. “The business community recognizes the positive economic impact of workers living close to their places of employment and local chambers are prepared to support and help implement affordable workforce housing initiatives.”

The report said chambers of commerce in other areas of the nation are concerned that high housing costs are not only making it more difficult for employers to compete for employees but they are making it difficult for some cities to compete for businesses. Jaime Rossi, a public policy consultant for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, noted the case of Chevron, which relocated its headquarters to San Ramon, 30 miles from San Francisco. “Instead of the people following the jobs, the jobs are following the people,” Rossi said.

The businesses and housing advocates had many goals in common, according to the JCHS. They were unanimous in their belief that the forum clarified the links among high housing costs, workforce development, business opportunity, and the competitive landscape. The two groups also shared concern for community.

"Many occupations that directly serve our communities cannot afford to live in [them]," said Richard Syron, CEO of Freddie Mac . "For instance, teachers, nurses and police officers cannot afford a median-priced home in most cities."

“When I moved my business into Brooklyn 20 years ago, 20 percent of my workers were from the neighborhood,” said Norman Brodsky, president of Citistorage, Inc. in Brooklyn. “Now less than two percent are, and it’s because of the cost of housing. We have had to shorten our working hours due to commuting times. The situation hurts us.”

Forum participants detailed efforts that the housing community could undertake to involve businesses in an effective manner and secure the needed tools through advocacy and support in local efforts. 

“Strengthening Our Workforce and Our Communities Through Housing Solutions" is now available online on the Joint Center for Housing Studies website or click here. It is also at the Center for Workforce Preparation website at www.uschamber.com/cwp.
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The survey also found that 27 percent of respondents reported that a family member's credit card, or their card, was fraudulently used to charge purchases, up from 19 percent in 2000. Meanwhile, 27 percent reported that they or a family member experienced the theft of a purse or wallet, while 8 percent experienced fraudulent checks written on their or a family member's checking account.

In addition, 87 percent of respondents think that companies fail to adequately protect the confidential information they have on customers and others should be required by law to pay to restore consumers' credit ratings. While 65 percent surveyed said they would like to see these companies fined, 63 percent want these companies charged with a crime.

Although 78 percent of respondents would give their Social Security number to a credit card company when applying for an account, 54 percent of people surveyed would give their Social Security number to an auto dealer when establishing credit, 37 percent to a phone company when establishing service, and 53 percent to a college or other educational institution.

The survey also revealed that 64 percent of respondents disclosed confidential information online or by telephone in the past six months. "People need to be more protective of their personal information, particularly with whom and how they share it, whether online, over the phone or in person," said Dan McCabe, vice president of Chubb & Son and marketing manager for Chubb Personal Insurance.

Regarding pre-approved credit card solicitations, 28 percent of people surveyed throw them away without shredding them or tearing them up. With 28 percent of people surveyed believing it would take more than a year to regain their identity and clear their credit, 40 percent of respondents think it would cost $1,000 or more to regain their identity and clear their credit.

"The survey demonstrates not only the increased threat of identity theft but also the increased concern felt by consumers." McCabe said.

Los Angeles–based Impulse Research conducted the survey in May for Chubb.
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A central area of concern for institutional investors is the quality of companies' disclosure. Nearly one-third (31 percent) of the survey respondents indicated that the level of information they receive on underlying assets in REIT portfolios is insufficient to develop an accurate valuation.

Almost half of the survey respondents said that REITs are not forthcoming with sufficient information to value certain income streams, such as those from joint ventures or partnerships, compared to other business segments.

Survey respondents said there is a communication disconnect between investors and REIT management. Half of the analysts and portfolio managers surveyed thought REIT CEOs and their boards understand the investor base, and what drives their share valuation.

These concerns about transparency come at a time when investors, while generally positive on the REIT sector, do not view it as cheap since 10 percent of the survey's respondents think that REIT shares are undervalued.

Nearly 60 percent of the survey respondents viewed the direct participation in real estate of alternative investors such as private equity firms and hedge funds as an opportunity—possibly for co-investment.

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Fidelity Information Services, Jacksonville, Fla., a division of Fidelity National Financial, Inc., will introduce a customer data integration product—the Universal Customer System (UCS). UCS is a real-time system that includes an integrated view of customers across the enterprise. UCS is pre-integrated with other existing Fidelity customer and core banking systems.

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M/I Homes Inc., Columbus, Ohio, acquired the operations of Shamrock Homes, Tavares, Fla., for an undisclosed purchase price.
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For more information, visit www.mortgagebankingmagazine.com.
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Located in San Diego, Pacific Southwest Realty Services is a full service commercial mortgage banking firm. Pacific Southwest Realty Services is one of the largest privately held commercial mortgage banking firms in the Western U.S., specializing in placement of mortgage and equity financing with major life insurance companies, capital market CMBS lenders and other institutional lenders. It has been servicing the real estate finance industry since 1972.

MORPAC will continue to encourage company campaigns in an effort to reach its 2006 Election Cycle goal of $1.2 million.

(This article is not intended as a solicitation of funds. For more information, visit the MORPAC Web site at www.morpac.org.)
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Bulls Capital Partners LLC

“It was one of our first transactions completed under the Fannie Mae DUS program," said Herman Bulls, president and CEO of Bulls Capital Partners.

Villas at Pebble Creek, completed in 2003, is a garden-style apartment complex that consists of one and two bedroom units. It includes stone veneered exterior and a man-made pond and gazebo. An adjoining fitness club is available to the tenants as part of their rental package.
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No. According to a new national survey of real estate agents and broker-owners conducted by Campbell Communications, what profoundly  irritates real estate agents are lenders—mortgage lenders, to be specific.

According to Campbell’s “Annual Real Estate Agent Survey on Mortgage Lending,” real estate agents are increasingly distressed by the unreliability of pre-approval letters from mortgage providers. And they overwhelmingly support the idea of a standardized form that would improve the mortgage process for their homebuyers.

The finding demonstrates a “sharp rise in anxiety” on the part of real estate agents, raising it to number two on the agents’ top issues, with 51 percent of respondents listing it. Still Number One with a bullet among their irritations 9 at 55 percent) is the HUD-1 Statement—or rather, its lack of availability one day before closing.

The survey results showed that problems with pre-approval letters varied considerably by the type of mortgage originator. Respondents were asked to come up with the approximate percentage of pre-approval letters that turn out to be invalid because homebuyer income, credit, or assets were not correctly verified. According to the survey, Internet lenders were cited as the worst offenders with 39 percent of their pre-approval letters considered invalid. Mortgage brokers came in second with 27 percent, followed by national lender 19 percent, local bank 14 percent, credit union 10 percent, and mortgage partner at 9 percent.

“One reason that mortgage brokers have higher reported percentages of invalid approval letters may be their greater use of subprime and low documentation loans, which have inherently more challenging underwriting processes,” said Tom Popik, a principal at Geosegment Systems Corp. in Nashua, N.H., and the designer of the survey. 

Popik noted, however, that even with the relatively high dissatisfaction with their pre-approval letters, mortgage brokers were most likely to be recommended by real estate agents to homebuyers with credit problems.

By a huge margin, agents said they would favor a standardized form that would improve the mortgage process for their homebuyers. Asked if they would be more or less likely to recommend a mortgage provider that used some sort of industry standardized mortgage pre-approval letter, an overwhelming share of respondents – 80 percent – said that they were either “somewhat more likely to recommend” or “much more likely to recommend.” Under this scenario, a national organization such as a trade group or even a government agency would develop a model pre-approval letter.

The survey, sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance , took place in May and involved more than 1,700 respondents. The report will be released next week.
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