<< Return to Real Estate News main menu LA TIMES REALTY NEWS L.A. Times - Real Estate News KB Home says SEC investigation over The home builder's stock soars 11% after an announcement that there will be no action taken as result of an investigation into the company's accounting procedures. Shares of Los Angeles-based KB Home soared on Wednesday after the home builder said an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into the company's accounting and disclosure procedures had concluded and no enforcement action would be taken. Index of pending home sales rises 5.2% July's increase from June in the National Assn. of Realtors' gauge for previously owned residences follows two straight months of declines and a report that sales of such homes dived 27.2%. An index of home purchase contracts for previously owned dwellings unexpectedly increased 5.2% in July over June, the National Assn. of Realtors said Thursday, a modest note of good news for the U.S. housing market. Hot Property: Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Reynolds buy Los Feliz house for $2.9 million The 1960s Buff & Hensman-designed Wong House has a pool, a walled garden and downtown and ocean views. It seems as though actress Scarlett Johansson had no sooner sold her old place in the Hollywood Hills than she and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, closed on a house in Los Feliz for $2.9 million. Locking out tenant is probably illegal Keeping tenant out over concerns of illegal activities may be viewed as a 'constructive eviction.' Such moves as changing the locks to prevent access can bring significant penalties. Question: I own a couple of houses that I rent out for extra income. Unfortunately, they are not in the best part of our town. I have a tenant living in one of them who may be dealing drugs or doing something else illegal because the police have arrested him several times. Every time he is arrested he makes bail and returns to the house in a day or so. Even though he pays the rent on time, I realize that I can't continue to allow him to live in my house. My plan is to change the locks the next time he is arrested, so he can't come back into the house. I know that I need to protect his property inside the house if I do this, but my plan is to move his belongings into a storage locker. I can't afford a lawyer to file an eviction case, so this is my only alternative. Will I be OK if I do this? Mortgage rates set new record lows, might hold steady next week Treasury bond yields, which influence the home-loan rates, have surged since Tuesday. Mortgage rates fell for the 10th time in 11 weeks, setting fresh record lows, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. But a rebound in Treasury yields in the last two days raises the possibility that home-loan interest costs won't fall again next week. Short-sale 'flopping' may be next big housing scam Lenders lose an estimated $310 million annually in undervalued short-sale transactions, according to a study released in August. Fannie Mae tries to stimulate market for foreclosed homes The mortgage giant quietly launches the HomePath program, which offers subprime-era terms for buyers: minimal down payments, no appraisals, no mortgage insurance and lower minimum credit scores. If you're a buyer with little cash or a small-scale investor looking for a deal on a foreclosed house, a little-publicized national lending program could be just what you need this fall. ART MORENO, JR. A.S.P.™ A.B.R.®, REALTOR® Texas Real Estate Broker Telephone 915.532.5353 Mobile 915.490.3444 Fax 915.317.6027 Contact Us 121 Country Club Lane Anthony, NM 88021

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