In this week there is many actions been in real estate word, read some interest topics:

Freddie Mac lost $480 million in 4Q
Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company, reported a $480 million net loss in the fourth quarter as bond guarantee fees fell and it lost money on derivatives. The loss compares with net income of $684 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, the government-chartered company said yesterday. Freddie Mac and the larger Fannie Mae own or provide guarantees on about 40 percent of the $10.5 trillion U.S. residential mortgage market.
Freddie Mac’s results show that the company “is becoming a lower margin, lower volume, lower risk and higher capitalized” business, wrote Jim Vogel, head of agency research at FTN Financial in Memphis, Tenn., in a research note. “That formula means it is going to have to streamline costs and become still more aggressive when odds are in its favor.”

Stock down 8%
Freddie Mac stock has declined 8.1 percent this year amid investor concern that instability in the subprime mortgage market - higher-priced loans targeted to borrowers with tarnished credit or low incomes - may spread to the broader economy. Late payments on subprime loans reached a four-year high of 13.3 percent in the fourth quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported….

Small unpaid bills put residents at risk
Homeowners who owe just a few hundred dollars in municipal debts - including Baltimore City water bills - often are hit with thousands of dollars in fees from private debt collectors and can lose their homes if they don’t pay up.
Rather than trying to collect back taxes themselves, many Maryland counties and cities sell the collection rights to investors in annual auctions. Those investors buy the right to charge interest and fees that often amount to thousands of dollars, and the right to sue to seize the homes. Rising property values have made the properties worth far more than the debt owed in most cases.
Howard went to court in October to dispute the fees that had accrued - particularly the $2,500 in attorneys fees.
She asked Burgunder, who represented 2005 Baltimore City LLC, to account for his expenses. Burgunder did not respond, saying he was waiting for a court ruling. Howard said she did not have the money to keep pursuing the matter and paid the $4,600 last November…

Odenton push urged
“In Odenton, the County has been presented with an extraordinary opportunity for growth,” according to the January draft prepared by ZHA Inc., an Annapolis real estate consultant. “The extent to which the County can capture that growth will depend upon whether the County responds to the challenge by making the required investment in infrastructure improvements. Without that investment, much of the potential growth will be lost to surrounding counties or will fail to materialize altogether.”

Maple Lawn grows to add more business
Maple Lawn development wins approval to add businesses. The evolution of Maple Lawn, Maryland into a mini-city will be furthered by additional development of the business component of the luxury planned community near Fulton.
The buildings, each of which will be one story, will be on 7.3 acres and located on the southeast side of Maple Lawn Boulevard and Johns Hopkins Road, according to a staff report by the Department of Planning and Zoning.
In late October, approval was obtained for 75 more housing units and four office buildings. And in January, the Planning Board approved an amended sketch plan that will greatly expand the development by increasing the number of acres restricted to residential development from 251 to 266; permitting 1,340 housing units, an increase of 224 units; expanding permitted business uses from 77 acres to 122 acres, and increasing the square footage by 684,552 square feet to 1.86 million square feet. It also increased land reserved for open space from 179 acres to 217 acres.

House OKs developer fees
The bill passed 96-41 in the House, mostly along party lines, and it has the support of Gov. Martin O’Malley. But it appears to stand little chance of being enacted this year because Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller has said he will reject revenue-raising bills this year unless they are part of a comprehensive solution for next year’s projected $1.5 billion budget shortfall.
A self-employed gospel pianist who had never made more than $35,000 a year, McCloud had just gone on disability for a variety of ailments, including congestive heart failure that often requires him to use oxygen. But he figured he could meet mortgage payments that were 2 1/2 times his disability check by taking in friends and relatives as boarders, and no one disabused him of the notion.

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