Rainbow City Real Estate Realtybid.com

Rainbow City-based RealtyBid.com, an online real estate auction company, said it saw sharp increases in the number of online listings and sales during the third quarter. "Our third quarter saw the largest number of homes that have ever been offered for auction on our Web site - well more than 4,000," said Chief Executive Tony Isbell. "That number is a more than 136 percent increase over the third quarter of 2006." Meanwhile, the number of homes sold through the company's online auction system increased 145 percent during the period.

Minorities get more 'high cost' loans

A disproportionately large percentage of mortgages made to blacks and Hispanics last year met the government's definition of "high cost" loans, a new study said.
The report, released Thursday at an industry conference in Arlington Va., analyzed nationwide mortgage data for 2006 and reached conclusions similar to those of another study published by the Federal Reserve last month.
Advocacy groups say mortgage discrimination has contributed to the current crisis in lending to borrowers with weak, or subprime, credit, in which a growing number of families are losing their homes.
The study, sponsored by Richmond, Va.-based mortgage insurer Genworth Financial, concluded that 48 percent of home loans given to blacks and nearly 42 percent of loans given to Hispanics last year met the government's definition of "high-cost "loans. That compares with 18 percent for whites and more than 24 percent for the overall population.
The analysis, which excludes refinances and second mortgages, uses the Federal Reserve's definition of high-cost loans: mortgages whose rates are at least 3 percentage points above comparable Treasury securities, a category that includes most subprime loans given to people with weak credit records.
Subprime lending among blacks nearly doubled from 2004 to 2005, and it more than doubled among Hispanics, according to data from the study.
"Some of those consumers could have been in prime loans with lower interest rates if they had been given the proper education about their options," said Lori Jones Gibbs, vice president for affordable housing industry affairs at Genworth.
Consumer advocates say low-income borrowers and minorities are intentionally steered by unscrupulous lenders toward subprime loans. But Jones Gibbs instead stressed that consumer education is crucial for borrowers.
Total lending dropped nearly 12 percent in 2006 from a year earlier as the housing boom ended, the study found. Even as that happened, the number of home loans to blacks actually grew by 0.6 percent, while loans to Hispanics fell by more than 5 percent.
The Mortgage Bankers Association couldn't be reached for comment on the study, but mortgage lenders generally say they examining borrowers' debt levels and the amount of money they can provide as a down payment, rather than race.
Source: Huntsville Alabama Real Estate

Firms join to help fix homes

Wednesday, September 05, 2007
By JOHN PECKTimes Staff Writer john.peck@htimes.com
Professionals to aid volunteers in city's repair plan
A volunteer-based emergency home repair program in Huntsville is getting some expert help from the construction industry, a move that should boost the number of homes getting repairs.
Turner Universal, along with M&D Mechanical in Decatur, agreed to join hands with Huntsville's Community Development Department by providing skilled laborers at company expense.

Mayor Loretta Spencer visited a northwest Huntsville home-repair job Tuesday to thank Turner workers and commend program organizers for their outreach. Workers were installing siding on a house owned by an elderly person on Del Norte Street.
The emergency home repair program in Huntsville began in 2004. Community Development partners with local churches and volunteer groups and uses grants and other resources to obtain building supplies. The program is for low income, elderly and disabled homeowners aimed at removing health and safety hazards.
"I have had the opportunity to see first hand many of the repair projects and visit with the homeowners and volunteers," Spencer said. "We are very fortunate to have so many people in our community who are willing to invest their time and hard work to benefit others."
The emergency home repair program has completed 108 exterior home repair jobs this year using 900 volunteers.
Rosa Wade and Rodney McCallie with the city's Community Development Department said having skilled help will help tackle larger jobs and those requiring specialized skills such as steep roofs and handicapped features that must meet federal standards. The program has a target of 200 homes this year.
Lorraine Lee, president of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., of which Turner and M&G are members, said more contractors may furnish laborers as word of the partnership spreads.
"Not only are we able to help individual homeowners by bringing the structure from substandard to habitable condition, we're also able to give back to the community," she said.