• Take all financial papers with them. This includes the title and/or deed on their house; recent bank, mortgage and investment statements; credit cards, checkbooks, debit cards and recent tax filings.

• Have the name and phone number of their mortgage lender and/or servicer.  As with Hurricane Katrina, mortgage lenders are working with residents to discuss payment options and grace periods if their homes are damaged or destroyed.

• Make sure they have all their insurance information. This includes the name and contact information of their insurer(s) (i.e., property, flood), as well as their policy coverage agreements. If photos of belongings exist, those may help when filing a claim with insurer(s).

• Take all legal documents. This includes originals or copies of wills, living wills, birth and marriage certificates, social security cards, passports, driver's licenses, military records, naturalization papers, vehicle titles and any other papers documenting important legal rights or interests.

Following Hurricane Rita, MBA and its members urge consumers affected to call their lenders as soon as possible. While policies may differ from company to company, should Hurricane Rita cause extensive damage similar to Hurricane Katrina, most mortgage bankers will offer extended grace periods and will postpone foreclosure action. This means that any borrower who lives within the zip codes published by FEMA as being federal disaster areas will not—during the lender's grace period—be charged late fees nor have late payments reported to credit agencies which can negatively impact their credit scores.

Most lenders have toll-free phone numbers for consumers to call. A list of major mortgage servicers that are servicing loans in the affected areas are posted on MBA's Web site at www.mortgagebankers.org and www.homeloanlearningcenter.com.
(Back To Top)

Before co-founding Meridian Realty Investments in 1998, McCabe served for 15 years as president of Providian Capital Management Real Estate Services, the real estate investment arm of Providian Corp. In addition to traditional commercial real estate lending, McCabe emphasized opportunistic investing and established programs in affordable housing, agricultural lending and residential mortgages.

McCabe was a graduate of Indiana University and attended the executive development program at Dartmouth College’s Amos Tuck School of Business.

CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., Los Angeles, announced that former Sen. Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., joined the company’s Board of Directors. Daschle is special policy advisor in the Washington, D.C. office of law firm Alston & Bird.
 
Daschle served in Congress for more than 25 years. He was elected to the House in 1978, where he served four terms, and to the Senate in 1986. He was re-elected in 1992 and 1998.
 
Fred Bolstad has been named managing director of wholesale lending for CitiMortgage , St. Louis, responsible for the company's wholesale business, which currently serves more than 6,500 mortgage brokers in 12 locations.

Bolstad joined CitiMortgage in 2001 as national sales director for the Smith Barney and Employee channels. He has more than 15 years of experience in the mortgage and finance industries, serving previously as national sales director for portions of CitiMortgage's retail lending business. 

CitiMortgage also announced that Robert Bates, who has served as the wholesale Midwest regional director, will expand his duties to cover the Southwest region. He currently manages production and operations for broker-originated loans in Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Southern Illinois; the Midwest region hub office is located in St. Louis.  With his additional duties, Bates will manage the Houston regional hub office and oversee loan production in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
 
Bates joined CitiMortgage earlier this year with more than a decade of experience in the mortgage business including positions at Countrywide and Wells Fargo. 

Secured Funding, Costa Mesa, Calif., appointed Michele Moses as director of capital markets and Tom White as director of risk management. Moses will be responsible for developing new relationships with investors and warehouse lines, expanding origination volume, and creating new home equity lines of credit (HELOC) products for both Retail and Wholesale customers; White will analyze production to assess the value of Secured Funding’s loans and risk profiles.

Moses brings more than 23 years of experience in the mortgage banking industry and possesses diverse industry expertise in the servicing, wholesale and secondary markets. Prior to joining Secured Funding, Moses held executive positions with Fort Worth, Texas-based Amaximis Lending and Richmond, Va.-based LandAmerica Financial Group.

Prior to joining Secured Funding, White held positions with Citigroup and Amaximis Lending, among others, and gained industry experience in diverse areas including risk management, development and pipeline management.

Master Financial Inc., Orange, Calif., hired Sheri Harvey as its northern California regional manager. She will lead the company’s new regional sales team, hiring and training staff, building broker relationships and overseeing loan origination. 

Prior to joining Master Financial, Harvey was wholesale regional sales manager at The Mortgage Store Financial, where she was responsible for loan origination in the northern California region.  In this position, she recruited, trained and managed sales staff while creating and maintaining strong broker relationships. She has more than eight years experience in the real estate and financial service industries, working for a variety of institutions including Chase Home Finance, Oakmont Mortgage and Hilltop Financial.

Aegis Mortgage Corp., Houston, appointed John Jukoski as executive vice president and director of capital markets, responsible for capital markets strategy, nonprime and prime secondary marketing operations, product development, interest rate risk management and loan sales and securitizations.

Prior to joining Aegis, Jukoski served as senior vice president and director of capital markets at GMAC Mortgage Corp.  Before that, he held executive positions at First Nationwide Mortgage Corp. and California Federal Bank.

MortgageHub, Des Moines, Iowa, announced that its chairman, Bill Adamowski, will reassume the active role of president and CEO.  Prior to founding MortgageHub, he was the chief technology officer for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and chief information officer for GMAC Mortgage.
 
Mortgage Cadence, Greenwood Village, Colo., named Peter Carter vice president of marketing, responsible for developing and establishing overall strategy and tactics for Mortgage Cadence, including branding, advertising, corporate communications and product marketing.

Carter joins Mortgage Cadence from ILOG Inc., where he established and ran the company’s alliance marketing program, primarily targeting mortgage banking and financial services firms. He also played a major role in building a new industry-wide enterprise software category, BRMS (business rule management systems), through strategic marketing programs. Carter has 14 years of domestic and international high-tech marketing experience during his tenure at Computer Associates and Novell. 

EBI Consulting, Burlington, Mass., announced that Susan Chase was promoted to program manager for EBI's Real Estate Services Group. 

Chase has more than 20 years of experience specializing in environmental investigations and site assessments. She has completed more than 500 environmental site-acquisition assessments/due diligence assignments for a wide range of properties throughout the U.S. 

Paul Fried joined AFC Realty Capital, New York, as a principal and director of high-yield and structured finance, responsible for strengthening and expanding the firm’s advisory and principal activities in the structured finance and equity fund arenas.

Prior to joining AFC, Fried was counsel at Herrick, Feinstein.  He was also a principal of Allegiance Capital Partners, a real estate structured finance company, and a director of Deutsche Banc Mortgage Capital.

Gershman Mortgage, St. Louis, announced Jemma Archibald has joined the company as a loan officer in Gershman’s Clayton, Mo., office. She originates and closes residential mortgage loans in addition to working with builders and realtors in the community.
(Back To Top)

Based on the model, risk of terrorist activity continues to increase globally, but the risk of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil slightly fell because of counter-terrorism security improvements. The new RMS model suggests that although the probability of a CBRN attack remains small, biological attacks make up an increasing share of the CBRN risk, likely resulting in more deadly attacks.

"The improvements in U.S. security are making it harder to carry out big attacks, but as we've seen in the attacks in London and Madrid, the terrorists are now using smaller-scale attacks on soft targets to cause civilian casualties," said Andrew Coburn, director of terrorism research at RMS. "The threat of a mass-casualty attack by a determined group remains a real possibility."

The latest view of terrorism risk was presented at an RMS seminar, "Terrorism Risk: The Five Year Outlook," for 200 insurance industry clients in New York City. The seminar included speakers Bruce Hoffman of RAND Corp., Gayle Nix, lead partner at Accenture and Maurice Greenberg, chairman & CEO of C.V. Starr & Co.

Greenberg said the federal government should extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), and proposed a temporary tax holiday on insurance reserves to enable the industry to build the capacity required to provide some terrorism coverage without a government backstop. Greenberg, however, said the government must always be the insurer of last resort in the event of a chemical or biological attack.

The Mortgage Bankers Association favors extension of TRIA’s provisions and a permanent solution to a federal terrorism insurance backstop. MBA said that while terrorism insurance coverage assures stability and continuity for the commercial real estate industry, TRIA and terrorism insurance defends the U.S. against physical and economic consequences. MBA is an active participant in the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT) http://www.insureagainstterrorism.org/. MBA sits on CIAT’s 10-member Steering Committee and plays an integral part in leading the coalition’s 75 member organizations in the quest to renew TRIA.

RMS said that TRIA offers protection in the case of extreme losses because it provides the insurance industry with solvency, not subsidy, and in doing so enables the conduct of a viable market for the provision of terrorism insurance.

The RMS updated terrorism threat level analysis was developed using recent and historical events, along with input from specialists in counter-terrorism intelligence, including Jane's Information Group and experts from RAND, the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at St. Andrew's University in Scotland, and the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore.
(Back To Top)

Guidelines for the CBAC Authorized Lender Program include small balance multifamily, commercial and mixed-use mortgage loans in the $100,000 to $3 million range, according to William Komperda, chairman and CEO of CBA Commercial.

The program includes multifamily, office, retail, light industrial and mixed-use property types; full and stated documentation; average FICO scores of 675; 2-, 3-, 5-, 7- and 10-year ARM products (fixed period – then resets to 6 month LIBOR); 30-year final maturities and 30-year amortization. Financial institutions and mortgage lenders interested in learning more about the CBAC Authorized Lender Program can submit a request for more information via the CBAC Authorized Lender section of the company's website, www.cbaloans.com.

Andrews noted that the number of completed loans can dramatically increase through its standard and simplified process. “At the same time, we've made it easier for the banks, mortgage brokers and mortgage bankers by offering table funding,” he said. “Whether buying or funding the loan, the CBAC Authorized Lender Program offers flexibility to the lender. With the table funding option, an originator can reduce risk by limiting the required loan level representations and warranties. This provides an incentive for the originator to seek out more of these...difficult to originate loans."

*****
An ApartmentRatings.com study said that while stable and tight large metros had more competition among renters for prime properties, large apartment supply in lower populated mid sized cities is especially favorable for renters" because "the communities are extremely livable," said Bencken. "For many, havign a home does not necessarily mean owning a house.

The study ranked 95 cities, with New York, San Francisco and Boston near the bottom of the list, Raleigh, N.C.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Grand Rapids, Mich. and Kalamazoo, Mich. ranked one through five, respectively, on the list.

*****
Property & Portfolio Research Inc. (PPR), Boston, and Algorithmics Inc. released an enhanced version of  COMPASSCRE, a risk management model in which users directly address key risk factors for construction and non-stabilized loans. George Pappadopoulos, director of risk management and debt research at PPR, said banks and insurance companies use COMPASSCRE to manage more than $250 billion in commercial real estate mortgages. Some COMPASSCRE clients use COMPASSCRE to rate loans while others use the model to regulate lending institutions.

*****
The Hilton Pittsburgh is up for sale as Hilton Hotels Corp. and Hertz Investment Group appointed Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, Chicago, to sell it. Jones Lang LaSalle said the hotel is being offered for sale at a significant discount to replacement cost.

The 713-room upscale meeting and convention hotel is the largest in the city and faces Point State Park and the city’s three famed rivers. The hotel hosted every U.S. President, from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush, in its ballroom. The Hilton Pittsburgh will be the official host hotel for the 2006 Major League Baseball All Star Game.

“Given the major push to enhance downtown living, we are receiving strong interest from investors who are appraising this for its real estate value, with thoughts of repositioning and/or adding a residential component,” said Melinda McKay, a senior vice president for Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. “And since the hotel is being offered free and clear of management and brand, investors have the opportunity to realize their own vision for this asset.”
(Back To Top)

The seven-year fixed rate loan amortizes on a 25-year schedule and carries a note rate of 5.56 percent. The borrower on the loan, originated by John Edwards, director at Arbor and underwritten in Arbor’s Boston office, was a repeat client at Arbor. “We were able to rate lock this transaction shortly after application, enabling us to capture a very attractive interest rate,” Edwards said. 

Arbor Commercial Mortgage funded an $824,800 loan under Fannie Mae’s 3MaxExpress product line to provide supplemental financing on a 58-unit complex known as Whitney Manor Apartments in Hartford, Conn.  The seven-year fixed rate loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule, and carries a note rate of 6.06 percent. The financing, also originated by Edwards, was underwritten in Arbor’s Uniondale office.

Arbor also used Fannie Mae’s 3MaxExpress product line to fund a $2.5 million loan under to refinance the 257-unit cooperative complex known as Three Fountains of Fort Wayne, Ind. The 30-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a note rate of 5.95 percent. 

Michael Jehle, regional director in Arbor’s Bloomfield Hills office, originated the loan that was underwritten in Arbor’s Chicago lending office. “The loan proceeds will fund many significant improvements to the property to directly benefit the members,” Jehle said.
(Back To Top)

Hear from a diverse group of leaders who understand the intricacies of the real estate finance industry.  These sessions focus on government housing programs, diversity, emerging markets, and key legislative and regulatory issues.
  
Monday, October 24, 2:00 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
What's Going on with the Government Housing Programs?
Hear from and ask questions of program leaders as they work to create more affordable housing opportunities for all Americans while protecting consumers from mortgage fraud and abuse.
 
Mortgage Fraud Against Lenders: The Growing Threat to Lenders and Homeowners
The real estate finance industry has proven to be a backbone of the U.S. economy and homeownership is one of the keys to wealth for American families. Yet the fraudulent acts of a few can threaten the stability of the system for all. Mortgage fraud against lenders can be financially devastating to lenders and to consumers-putting the American dream of homeownership at risk.  This roundtable discussion focuses on the status of mortgage fraud and where the industry and government need to go next in combating this threat.
 
3:30 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
Why Diversity Matters: Important Business Rules and Reasons
Educating managers and staff on working effectively in a diverse environment helps everyone prevent discrimination and promote inclusiveness. There is evidence that managing a diverse work force well can contribute to increased staff retention and productivity. Join us for this roundtable discussion as we examine the issues surrounding diversity and share ideas that work.
 
Tuesday, October 25, 2:45 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
Customer Retention in a Shrinking Marketplace
As the refinancing tide has ebbed lenders have begun the search for new ways to increase production volumes and retain customers. Some of today's successful lenders are focused on effectively reducing portfolio runoff while others are adding multiple channels to capture greater market share. If lenders wish to hold on to profits generated through a healthy portfolio, figuring out ways to retain those borrowers should be a core initiative.

Emerging Markets Lending: Best Practices and Challenges
As population demographics change, the understanding of emerging markets plays a more vital role in the mortgage industry. Join our panel to learn about developing and executing effective strategies. Better understand challenges and best practices for reaching this increasingly important segment of our population.

Legislative and Regulatory Update
This panel session addresses the latest developments facing the industry on Capitol Hill and in the Bush Administration such as oversight reform of the Government Sponsored Enterprises, revitalization of the Federal Housing Administration, greater consumer protections to combat predatory lending, simplifying the mortgage process through RESPA reform, and other pressing legislative and regulatory issues.
 
11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Differentiating your "On-Brand" Experience for Improved Margin and Market Share
The greatest profitability in any industry comes from differentiation of services from those of your competitors. A buyer advocacy marketing and fulfillment program can bring greater market share, better consumer branding and higher quality margins. Panelists discuss innovative solutions for balancing the need for safety and soundness of valuation systems and at the same time addressing the profit and expansion of the mortgage lending business.

Register Today to hear about the latest Business Strategies
Join the largest gathering of residential real estate finance professionals at MBA's 92nd Annual Convention & Expo 2005.  The convention offers you strategies so you can adapt and adjust your business to thrive in a constantly changing marketplace.  While providing opportunities to network with your peers, the convention also offers the opportunity to gather valuable information on innovative business practices, learn about winning products and services, get updates on the latest technology, and to meet and exchange ideas with industry leaders.

For more information, visit the Convention Web Site at http://events.mortgagebankers.org/92nd_Annual/default.html.
(Back To Top)

The seminar will be located in The Pavilion and is co-sponsored by Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. (MERS), the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) and Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll L.L.P. Keith Mullen, a shareholder in Winstead’s Real Estate Finance Practice Group and a leading adviser on the legal aspects of eMortgages, is scheduled to speak. 

The seminar is designed for decision makers in the commercial real estate finance industry, including attorneys, presidents, vice presidents, loan officers, controllers, accountants, technology executives, mortgage bankers and commercial real estate owners and brokers. To register for this complimentary event, send an email to eMortgage@winstead.com. Provide your full name, company, work title, address and phone number. You can also call 214/745-5298.

"We'll discuss how eMortgages can help businesses become more efficient, productive and profitable; how to navigate through the eMortgage process; the differences between eMortgage and paper processes; and how eMortgages will affect the commercial real estate finance industry," Mullen said.

The seminar is part of an industry-wide effort to support and promote the adoption of eMortgages, led by MBA.  "The development of open, voluntary e-commerce standards is a key part of a broad technology platform that MBA provides for the mortgage industry," said Daniel Szparaga, MBA’s senior director with the Commercial/Multifamily Business Group and a panel speaker for the seminar.  "Use of the eMortgage standards established through MISMO will ultimately reduce costs, streamline processes, improve accuracy, increase data transparency and boost investor confidence in mortgages as an asset class.”

According to Mullen, companies that use eMortgages will enjoy greater functionality and flexibility in completing commercial mortgage loans, including reducing the time and cost of the entire commercial mortgage processing system. "Companies will be able to capture, store and record data in a reliable electronic format and reduce manually intensive processes involved in loan origination, processing and closing," he said. "In addition, they will be able to provide convenient electronic access to accurate and reliable information in commercial mortgage documents."

The panel of speakers includes Dan McLaughlin, executive vice president and product division manager with MERS, and Jim Cooke, a lawyer with Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll and co-chair of MISMO's Commercial eMortgage Work Group. 

Mullen, who is highly active in the promotion of eMortgages, is a member of MBA and a member of MBA's Technology Initiatives Committee and MISMO's Commercial eMortgage Work Group. He has extensive experience in representing regional and national clients in a variety of complex real estate transactions. He is a frequent speaker and panel member of conferences and forums covering commercial real estate issues.

Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.C. is among the largest business law firms in Texas. With more than 300 attorneys, the firm provides regional, national, and international clients access to a broad range of business legal services representing more than 30 practice areas. Winstead has offices in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and The Woodlands, Texas; and Washington, D.C.  For detailed information about Winstead, visit www.winstead.com. 
(Back To Top)

"The HPCI reinforces what we have been saying all year—the real estate market remains strong," said Jim Gillespie , president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp, Parsippany, N.J. "Millions of consumers are on the move, trading up and seeking new opportunities."

The  National Association of Realtors predicts that more than seven million homes will be sold in 2005, making this the top year on record. And the Census Bureau reported that 12 of the nation’s 20 fastest growing metropolitan areas are in the West. Greeley, Colo ., and its surrounding communities is the fastest growing community with a growth rate of 16.8 percent, to 211,000 people between 2000 and 2003.

Likewise, the Census estimates that urban population growth shows New York, northern New Jersey and Long Island area with a population of 18.6 million. The nation’s largest are was up by 1.7 percent from three years ago. Los Angeles, Long Beach and Santa Ana area population hit 12.8 million while the Chicago, Naperville and Joliet area population was 9.33 million.

Nine of the country's top 10 most expensive markets in Coldwell Bankers HPCI are in California. Greenwich, Conn., rounds out the top 10 list. Other high-ticket areas outside of California are along the East Coast, including Boston ($1,260,000), Rye, N.Y. ($869,125), and Bethesda/Chevy Chase, Md.  ($829,750).

The cumulative average sales price of the 319 U.S. markets surveyed in the Coldwell Banker HPCI was $401,767 up by 13.3 percent from $354,372 from the same period last year. Markets that come closest to the national average sales price of $401,767 are Minneapolis, Minn. ($397,133) and Edina, Minn. ($404,150).

Of the markets surveyed, 52 percent have an average home price of less than $300,000. The average sales price in the most affordable market, Killeen, Texas, was $1,028 more expensive than the most affordable market in 2004, Minot, N.D .

Among the top 10 most affordable markets, three are in Texas (Killeen, Arlington, and Fort Worth) and two are in West Virginia (Beckley, Parkersburg).
(Back To Top)