| Some entrepreneurs prosper during U.S. housing slump
The housing slump in the United States has exacted its toll on everyone from banks and Wall Street firms to builders and mortgage brokers. But there are the exceptions - the entrepreneurs who either have long experience in real estate or have carved out a special niche. So far, they have been able to ride out the worst. HouseRaising of Charlotte, North Carolnia, a custom builder that caters to the rich, is one of them. It makes sales on the Internet and often closes deals with prospective customers in a single day of "one-stop shopping" at one of its two design centers, for everything from doors to, literally, the kitchen sink. Since mid-2006, when it began using a patented computerized system for overseeing every aspect of the building process, has completed 12 houses and has 30 more in the works, as well as a $16.3 million project to develop a residential community in Lake Norman, North Carolina, just north of Charlotte.
Bloggers Wanted
We are now taking applications for blogs. The Spring 08 semester will feature personal blogs by five students of the University of Oklahoma. We are looking for students from any area to provide a weekly insight into the topic of your choosing. That could include a field specific to your area of study (i.e biochemistry, music, politics, etc.) or any other area of interest that you wish to explore. This invitation is extended to all students of the University of Oklahoma, undergrad, graduate or doctoral at any of the OU campuses. In order to apply, please send a writing sample along with an outline for the subject you'd like to address. Links to current blogs are encouraged. Please send all applicable materials and your name, phone number, and current year and area of study. Contact Info: Nicholas Tankersley Sr.
Bill adds jail time to driving without license penalty
People who are in this country illegally will recognize the increased penalties and look for a more hospitable place to live," bill supporter D.A. King testified at a Senate hearing Tuesday. King is president of the Dustin Inman Society, a group opposed to illegal immigration. .
Myrtle Beach condo project languishes
Investors' money is missing from a second failed condominium project here, and a familiar story is emerging of an elusive financier who local developers say took off with millions of dollars in condo deposits, never to be heard from again. About $600,000 in deposits for the oceanfront Crystal Palace condo project has disappeared, according to court and S.C. Real Estate Commission documents. Tommy Hix and Jeff Shoup, the would-be developers of Crystal Palace who live in Briarcliffe Acres, say purported financier Duwayne Woods took that money and $5.1 million in deposits from another project. Hix and Shoup, who do business as T&J Development, say Woods promised his Atlewa Trust company could finance the condo projects. Hix and Shoup gave the deposit money to Woods, but Woods never funded loans for the projects, Shoup said.
Fighting Foreclosure
New figures out today show the foreclosure rate in Ohio jumped 88 percent in 2007. That means almost two percent of homes entered into some stage of the foreclosure process. In tonight's Money Alert, Local 12's Paula Toti says there are some steps homeowners in trouble should be taking right now. The group Realty Trac says Ohio had the sixth highest foreclosure rate in the nation in 2007. Many homeowners started to default on payments near the end of the year, setting the stage for a high number of foreclosures again this year. The problem is worse in northern Ohio, but lawyers in the Tri-State say phones are ringing off the hook with families in trouble. More than 150 homes were sold at a foreclosure auction this past weekend in Cleveland, a sad sign of the times. The banks dumped some at 70 percent less than their value.
Muslim Bakery head wielded political clout
Elihu Harris, mayor before Brown, made the same pilgrimage to the bakery during his campaign. Among others seeking audiences with Bey over the years were City Council members Nate Miley, Ignacio De La Fuente, Larry Reid and Dezie Woods-Jones, according to Saleem Bey and John Bey, so-called "spiritual sons" of the bakery founder. U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and state Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, each wrote testimonial letters for the bakery. Former Police Chief Joseph Samuels depended on Yusuf Bey to help improve police relations with the neighborhoods. After the slaying in August of journalist Chauncey Bailey, allegedly killed by a bakery handyman, the story of city leaders genuflecting at the door of the now-disgraced bakery seems troubling.
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