TRIBUTE TO

Ray Manzarek,  Keyboardist and a Founder of the Doors

Foreclosure Activity Dips to 74 Month Low Georgia inTop

Foreclosure Activity Dips to 74 Month Low   Georgia inTop 10 States With High Foreclosure Activity   RealtyTrac , the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties and real estate data, has released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for April 2013, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 144,790 U.S. properties in April, a decrease of 5 percent from the previous month and down 23 percent from April 2012. Total foreclosure activity in April was at the lowest level since February 2007, a 74-month low.   Despite the nationwide decline, 22 states reported increasing foreclosure starts from the previous month, including New Jersey (138 percent increase), Connecticut (46 percent increase), Texas (37 percent increase), Georgia (35 percent increase), Oregon (16 percent increase), and California (13 percent increase). Foreclosure starts reached a 36-month high in Connecticut, a 27-month high in New Jersey, and were up on a monthly basis for the third consecutive month in California after hitting a 90-month low in January, when new legislation impacting the foreclosure process took effect.

Foreclosure Activity Dips to 74 Month Low Georgia inTop

Foreclosure Activity Dips to 74 Month Low   Georgia inTop 10 States With High Foreclosure Activity   RealtyTrac , the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties and real estate data, has released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for April 2013, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 144,790 U.S. properties in April, a decrease of 5 percent from the previous month and down 23 percent from April 2012. Total foreclosure activity in April was at the lowest level since February 2007, a 74-month low.   Despite the nationwide decline, 22 states reported increasing foreclosure starts from the previous month, including New Jersey (138 percent increase), Connecticut (46 percent increase), Texas (37 percent increase), Georgia (35 percent increase), Oregon (16 percent increase), and California (13 percent increase). Foreclosure starts reached a 36-month high in Connecticut, a 27-month high in New Jersey, and were up on a monthly basis for the third consecutive month in California after hitting a 90-month low in January, when new legislation impacting the foreclosure process took effect.

Ecommerce Payments

Entrepreneur just released an article about Ribbon, a new service designed to eliminate the problems that result in roughly two-thirds of consumers abandoning shopping cards prior to completing the online purchase.  Ribbon allows merchants to take payments via links inserted into websites, email, Facebook pages and Twitter.    Ribbon works with all major credit cards and processes purchases over a fully encrypted, SSL-secure payment system. Ribbon takes 5 percent of the purchase price and a 30-cent transactions fee.  San Francisco rock trio Cloning Dolly utilized Ribbon to sell tickets to a recent concert.  ”People told us buying tickets was easy and fast.  The way it’s presented is very intuitive.” says singer/guitarist Alejandro De Simone.

Jobs Are Moving To The Suburbs: Atlanta One Of Top Five Regions

          Although job expansion to the suburbs slowed down during the recession, the overall numbers increased over the last decade. This trend was studied and just released by The Brookings Institution. 

          The Brookings Institution report indicates that jobs within three miles of a city center fell from 24.5% of overall positions in 2000 to 22.9 % in 2010.  In the same time period, jobs within 19 to 35 miles of the city center grew from 40.9% to 43.1%.

           Two possible consequences of this trend are increased clogging of the roads and decreased job access for the poor.

          “Where the jobs are matters to the overall development of a region,” said Elizabeth Kneebone, a fellow at Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy Program. “It can impact long-term productivity.”

          Although many metro areas throughout the country have been revitalizing the city centers, Kneebone said the jobs are not necessarily following the shift of residents toward downtown districts. In many places, these new urban dwellers end up reverse commuting to the suburbs for work.

          The Brookings report was based on a study of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, which accounts for approximately two-thirds of the country’s population and its jobs.

 

 

More Jobs Are Moving To The Suburbs

Atlanta: One of the top five regions

          Although job expansion to the suburbs slowed down during the recession, the overall numbers increased over the last decade. This trend was studied and just released by The Brookings Institution. 

          The Brookings Institution report indicates that jobs within three miles of a city center fell from 24.5% of overall positions in 2000 to 22.9 % in 2010.  In the same time period, jobs within 19 to 35 miles of the city center grew from 40.9% to 43.1%.

           Two possible consequences of this trend are increased clogging of the roads and decreased job access for the poor.

          “Where the jobs are matters to the overall development of a region,” said Elizabeth Kneebone, a fellow at Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy Program. “It can impact long-term productivity.”

          Although many metro areas throughout the country have been revitalizing the city centers, Kneebone said the jobs are not necessarily following the shift of residents toward downtown districts. In many places, these new urban dwellers end up reverse commuting to the suburbs for work.

          The Brookings report was based on a study of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, which accounts for approximately two-thirds of the country’s population and its jobs.

 

 

Randy Blythe: In His Own Words

http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/randy-blythe-court-verdict-expected-today-read-randys-latest-post-inside/

Georgia: One of Top Five States Contributing to Increase in Mortgage Fraud

Throughout 2012, we have written articles related to various types of scams, primarily in the mortgage industry.   Unfortunately, according to Interthinx, in the fourth quarter of 2012, the risk of mortgage fraud elevated to its highest level since 2009.

Key to this increase is property valuation fraud. Property valuation fraud occurs when property values are manipulated to create equity.  Presently, investor activity in recovering metropolitan areas (metros) creates rapid price changes and opportunities for value manipulation.  It rose 25 percent in the third quarter.   

Other types of fraud Interthinx tracks are identity, occupancy, and employment/income.

Reflecting the national trend, the number of “very high risk” metros spiked from 70 in the third quarter to an unprecedented 125 this quarter, as reported by Interthinx.

Georgia is in one of the top five states that has contributed to the increase by adding 6 more high risk metros.

 “Clearly, this report illustrates the reality that the mortgage industry is driven by trends at the state and metropolitan levels and that the will to commit mortgage fraud is not abating – it is simply shifting strategy to meet opportunity,” said Jeff Moyer, president of Interthinx.