http://cupertinohousingblog.com Tracking housing in Cupertino and its vicinity Sat, 21 Aug 2010 21:35:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en California lost close to half of its construction jobs when the housing bubble burst. The nation's most populous state was an epicenter of the national housing bust. From June 2006 through last month, it lost 43% of its construction jobs, or 401,900 positions. That far outpaced a 28% decline in total ... http://cupertinohousingblog.com/?p=4049 Interesting report from the 2008-2009 SANTA CLARA COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY . A tidbit is the Six-figure dismissal buyouts for Fremont Union High School District presumably referring to 2006 replacement of Superintendent Dr. Stephen R. Rowley with Superintendent Polly Bove; the former filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the district subsequently. ------------------------------------------------------------- WHO ... http://cupertinohousingblog.com/?p=4044 Definitely a well paying job. So are Cupertino School Superintendents who are paid close to $300M per year, more on this later. At a time when California school board members were agonizing over laying off employees, slashing programs and imposing furloughs, the man who was the boards' public face earned $1.61 million ... http://cupertinohousingblog.com/?p=4039 Is the mini rebound over ? San Mateo County saw 463 sales of single-family resale homes, the lowest for a July in 20 years. In Santa Clara County, the 1,159 single-family resale homes that closed escrow represented a drop of 24.3 percent from the 1,531 sold a year earlier, making this ... http://cupertinohousingblog.com/?p=4037 This didn't take long to return. Mortgage fraud takes many forms, but a well-organized scam frequently involves a limited liability company (LLC) or a "straw buyer." In this scheme, fraudsters use a fake identity or that of someone else who allows them to use their credit status in return for a ... http://cupertinohousingblog.com/?p=4035 Certainly bad news for the city's tax revenues, but this could lead to more development. Several thousand are employed in HP's Cupertino campus, these jobs will be relocated to Palo Alto. Both facilities are only half occupied as the local tech sector stalls. http://cupertinohousingblog.com/?p=4033 Of all the lots in Cupertino, this one has to take the cake for oddest of them all. 10081 PENINSULA Ave Cupertino, CA 95014 Beds: 3 Baths: 2.5 Sq. Ft.: 1,525 $/Sq. Ft.: $616 Lot Size: 8,504 Sq. Ft. Property Type: Detached Single Family Style: Mediterranean Stories: 2 Year Built: 1997 On Redfin: 84 days http://cupertinohousingblog.com/?p=4030 Commercial real estate loans are being extended as the financial industry refuses to accept reality. When banks are allowed to mark to imaginary, this is what ensues in a repeat of Japan's debacle. A big push by banks in recent months to modify such loans—by stretching out maturities or allowing below-market interest ... http://cupertinohousingblog.com/?p=4025 The PACE "Green home" program is dealt a fatal blow. It's interesting to note the Inland Empire municipalities in So Cal have been leading the nation in driving this program. PACE lets homeowners use special property-tax assessments to pay off, over 15 to 20 years, the cost of new improvements. Local ... http://cupertinohousingblog.com/?p=4023 These cases are a glimpse into the world of mortgage fraud. [i] Some of the significant federal prosecutions filed as part of Operation Stolen Dreams include the following: United States vs. Anthony Symmes On May 28, 2010, Symmes pleaded guilty to mail fraud conspiracy and money laundering in connection with a large-scale builder-buyout mortgage fraud scheme. ... http://cupertinohousingblog.com/?p=4021