the wasserblawg

Last week, I wrote about defaults resulting from Occupancy Fraud (obtaining a mortgage loan based on a false promise that one will live in the unit as a principal residence) This morning I wrote about a developer who is being sued for trying to cancel (discounted) pre-construction contracts in an effort to pocket the profits he was originally willing to forgo to get secure those buyers in the first place. His margins are getting so close that he need cannot afford to let those buyers proceed on their speculative contracts. Now this: Toll Brothers, the country's biggest builder of luxury homes reports that included among the 28% of all buyers who canceled their purchase contracts in the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2008, is the co-founder / vice chairman's own daughter ! Reportedly, she signed the contract to buy a Florida condominium for $2.5 million (on the friends and family discount plan) but will not proceed to closing. How bad is the marketplace, that the firm lead...

I posted last week about folks who buy condos at discounted rates, before construction starts in on the speculation that they can sell the finished product at a profit. The market downturn has soured those speculations and some of those buyers are defaulting on their contracts (not closing) or on their mortgages after closing (since they cannot sell or service the interest payments). Today, we look at a developer who wants to cut the speculators out of his project, hoping to maximize his revenues unit sales in the slow marketplace. The Trump Organization caused many eyebrows to rise last year when they announced they were canceling several purchase contract at Trump Towers. Certain "friends and family, including many of the sales agents and construction contractors were given the opportunity to buy condos at Trump Tower at discounted, pre-construction prices. Last year, when the Condo market slowed, Trump changed his mind, sending notices to those buyers announcing that they ...