May 6, 2009

After a 41-0 vote, the foreclosure plan, Assembly Bill 149, is now on its way to getting passed to the Senate where it is expected to pass and be signed by the governor. This bill would allow for home owners who are delinquent in their mortgages to ask for a mediation hearing to help them with the possibility of staying in their homes.  This would allow buyers who have adjustable rate mortgages that have now become unaffordable to ask the lender to give them a more manageable payment schedule. Unfortunately, it does nothing to address the 40% decline in home value that a lot of owners face.

This bill may help 17,700 Nevadans who are on the brink of losing their homes. It will not help everyone though. Banks will not be obligated to change loan agreements but due to the declining market and the fact that they can’t sell the homes for the price of the current mortgage, they are in a highly motivated position to show homeowners a little flexibility in their payments.

This bill wouldn’t take effect until July 1, 2009 so many home owners will probably lose their homes before the effective date.

May 6, 2009

 The Las Vegas condominiums project, Streamline Tower, located downtown continues to have problems. When it opened in 5/2008, it was a full year and a half behind its scheduled opening. Two years ago it was worth about 300 million and today it is part of a bankruptcy hearing involving the 3 firms that helped build it. To date, only about 10% of Streamline Tower’s 275 Las Vegas condominiums have been sold.