John Gittelsohn

June 11, 2010 | Daily Report Online

Two Connecticut real estate agents found a way to profit in the U.S. housing bust: Buy low, sell fast. Their tactic was also illegal. Sergio Natera and Anna McElaney are scheduled to be sentenced in Hartford's federal court in August after pleading guilty to fraud. Their crime involved persuading lenders to approve the sale of homes for less than the balance owed-known as a short sale-without disclosing that there were better offers.

By John Gittelsohn

7 minute read

August 26, 2010 | Daily Report Online

Housing led the U.S. out of seven of the last eight recessions. This time, it may kill the recovery. Home sales collapsed after a federal tax credit for buyers expired in April. Since then, the manufacturing-led expansion, which began in the second half of 2009, has been waning, with jobless claims rising and factory orders falling.

By John Gittelsohn and Bob Willis

6 minute read

February 21, 2012 | Daily Business Review

Twenty-four states, including Florida and New York, require court approval to foreclose on delinquent homeowners, giving borrowers a legal forum to demand proof that lenders have the right to foreclose while extending the process.

By John Gittelsohn and Dan Levy Bloomberg News

10 minute read

June 17, 2013 | Daily Business Review

The surging buyer confidence underpinning the year-old rebound in U.S. property prices is spilling into seasonal communities from Lake Tahoe in California to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts.

By Prashant Gopal and John Gittelsohn Bloomberg News

10 minute read

October 22, 2010 | Daily Report Online

Shoddy mortgage lending has led bankers into a two-front war, pitting them against U.S. homeowners challenging the right to foreclose and mortgage-bond investors demanding refunds that could approach $200 billion. While federal regulators and state attorneys general have focused on flawed foreclosures, a bigger threat may be the cost to buy back faulty loans that banks bundled into securities.

By John Gittelsohn and Jody Shenn

8 minute read

November 03, 2009 | Daily Report Online

Billionaire investor Wilbur L. Ross Jr., said the U.S. is in the beginning of a "huge crash in commercial real estate." "All of the components of real estate value are going in the wrong direction simultaneously," said Ross, one of nine money managers participating in a government program to remove toxic assets from bank balance sheets.

By John Gittelsohn and Thomas R. Keene

4 minute read