Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Real Estate Appraisal, Los Angeles, California, Mary Cummins.

Mary Cummins is a real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California with 38+ years of experience. Cummins provides real estate appraisals for banks, lenders, mortgage brokers, Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs), lawyers, Courts, factors and private parties for lending, lawsuits, probate, estate planning, divorce and all types of litigation. Cummins provides 1004, 1073, 1025 and other form reports, narrative reports and historical appraisals besides real estate research and appraisal advice.

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Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Rent Control Causes Rent Increases, Loss of Housing and Costs Cities Billions by Mary Cummins

rent control, rent increase,homeless, mary cummins,real estate appraiser,real estate appraisal, los angeles, california,eviction, decontrol, affordability

Rent control causes rent increases, loss of housing and neighborhood degradation. It also causes the public and cities to lose billions of dollars every year for the sake of a select few who would normally have just moved to a less expensive area. I'm writing an in depth article about the problems with rent control but in the mean time here's a very good article on the subject. Rent control harms the people it's supposed to help. It also hurts everyone else.

"Rent control appears to help affordability in the short run for current tenants, but in the long-run decreases affordability, fuels gentrification, and creates negative externalities on the surrounding neighborhood. These results highlight that forcing landlords to provide insurance to tenants against rent increases can ultimately be counterproductive. If society desires to provide social insurance against rent increases, it may be less distortionary to offer this subsidy in the form of a government subsidy or tax credit. This would remove landlords’ incentives to decrease the housing supply and could provide households with the insurance they desire."

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-does-economic-evidence-tell-us-about-the-effects-of-rent-control

#housing #rentcontrol #marycummins #realestateappraiser #affordablehousing #rent

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

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Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate Services has been in real estate since 1983, over 35 years. She is licensed by the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers. Mary Cummins was an agent and broker licensed with the California Department of Real Estate selling residential income, commercial buildings, raw land and homes for Merrill Lynch Realty in Beverly Hills and Westside Properties in Los Angeles before concentrating on appraisals. Mary Cummins currently provides real estate appraisals, expert witness testimony, historical research, legal real estate research for mortgage brokers, banks, lawyers, factors, insurance companies, financial consultants and private individuals. Mary Cummins was born and raised in Southern California. Cummins attended Beverly Hills Good Shepherd Catholic School and Beverly Hills High School. Besides being on the Dean's list, Mary Cummins was a top ten national swimmer and competed on the men's water polo team. Mary Cummins began college at the age of 15 attending the University of Southern California on scholarship, majoring in Psychology/Sociology. http://www.animaladvocates.us http://www.facebook.com/AnimalAdvocatesUSA

Friday, April 12, 2024

Bias Against Real Estate Appraisers by Mary Cummins

appraisal bias, cindy chance, ceo appraisal institute, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, confirmation bias, loss aversion, anchoring bias,

Interesting letter from Cindy Chance CEO of the Appraisal Institute. Basically people who automatically claim appraiser bias are they themselves biased. This is why the false narrative of the "racist white male appraiser" has gained so much traction in the media and with the public. It's gotten to the point that the government made up a fake solution to the fake appraisal bias problem to satisfy the public and garner votes for the upcoming election i.e. PAVE report. What we appraisers actually do is unbiased. We rely on data, numbers and facts only. Appraising is a math formula.

When I see some lay people claim appraiser bias I feel that they believe this 100% even though AEI's research based on government data proved this is not true. Racism and bias definitely exist. Sadly blacks, Latinos and others have been and continue to be discriminated against in our country. It appears to be human nature or confirmation bias to assume that past biased behavior will always be repeated. They will assume anything they don't like MUST BE the result of racism, discrimination and bias. They will falsely assume any phrase must be code for a discriminating term like "Marin City" in the Marin case. It was just the name of the subject's city.

I've seen this in many areas besides appraisals. A black woman said a white man told her to smile. She claimed he was racist wanting her to smile like old black minstrels to entertain him. I told her that all men tell all women to smile. I've been told the same in the past and my skin is white. It's not about racism but control, harassment, flirting... Because the woman was black she automatically assumed it was only because she was black.

Now that we know that the public is biased against real estate appraisers what do we do about it? Hopefully the next parts of this letter will answer those questions. We know Automated Valuation Methods AVMs are not the answer. They are more biased than human appraisers because they don't have all the information needed to do a full valuation. They don't know condition, upgrades, lot type, view, specific location in a neighborhood or if the home even exists. Zillow doesn't even use nearby comps if there are no recent ones of a similar size. They'll go two miles away into a neighborhood worth twice as much to find recent, similar sized homes. I have my own suggestions that may help a little.

Write your appraisal report knowing biased lay people will be reading and sharing it publicly. Don't use abbreviations or subjective terms. Explain everything in clear simple language at a fifth grade reading level like most newspapers. Show your math. Include your regression charts if necessary. This is especially important if the subject doesn't conform to the median home in the area. I've noticed most of the big media cases of alleged appraiser bias were nonconforming homes with major issues on the edge of two very different neighborhoods. Of course they wanted their home to be worth as much as the larger, upgraded homes with views in a different neighborhood that sells for twice as much even though they initially bought it at a huge discount.

If you are given comps and they are not comparable, mention all of them in your report. They'll end up in a Reconsideration of Value ROV anyway. Specifically state why they are not comparable. State why they are worth more than subject, i.e. larger, fully remodeled, full ocean view, cul-de-sac, different neighborhood...

If anyone has any suggestions on how to counter bias against appraisers and their reports, please, leave a comment. This is a huge problem that affects us all.

"From Cindy's Desk

I’ve heard from many appraisers, particularly residential appraisers, that the Appraisal Institute should have done better at standing up for them by making the public aware of their skills and professional discipline. I agree. Sweeping, sensationalized claims of “bias” about our profession ignore appraisers’ core skills, ethical standards and professional disciplines. The valuer is the only party to a real estate transaction without a financial interest in its outcome; moreover, the appraiser’s duty is to uphold the public trust, by providing an unbiased, impartial opinion of value based on a rigorous process that is continually refined and improved by the profession. Appraisers are heavily regulated to ensure quality standards, held to a rigorous ethical professional code of conduct, and our SRA and MAI designations reflect the profession’s highest standards. Why then has it been difficult for appraisers to respond effectively as a profession to unfair accusations of bias?

One reason is that claims of bias are antithetical to what appraisers do. (In case you’re interested, philosophers and linguists call this a “failure of presupposition,” and it is hard to address because it assumes something that is not actually the case.) As of now, the public is hearing from the media and politicians about a certain terrible kind of bias. What they need to know is that professional real estate appraisal has long been built on eliminating all kinds of irrational bias. Appraisers, ironically, have been ahead of the curve in working continuously to identify and eliminate every kind of bias from their professional analysis.

Thanks to Daniel Kahneman, who died recently at the age of 90, and his partner Amos Tversky, the scientific community has recognized for over half a century that there is a normal human tendency toward bias, which they termed “cognitive bias.” Their research showed that cognitive bias is part of the way all our brains work normally. In fact, our survival depends upon it.

These Nobel Prize winners (followed by several more in the following decades) demonstrated that our rationality is a myth and bias is the norm, and it has been a good thing for humans, evolutionarily speaking, because bias allows us to not have to think too much in cases where a quick judgment increases our odds of survival. Roughly defined as “any predictable error that inclines your judgment in a particular direction,” bias is a natural feature of the way humans think.

It’s easy to recognize some of our most common biases that reflect what is “normal.” We are naturally more averse (two times more!) to negative consequences than we are attracted to positive consequences. This is called “loss aversion,” which helps explain why we don’t like to change, even when things are going poorly. Being twice as likely to avoid downside as to pursue upside helped kept us away from poison plants and cliff edges, but it also often keeps us from pursuing the best courses of action. There are many, many such examples of normal (not good, but normal and understandable) cognitive bias, including “anchoring bias,” the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information one receives, “availability heuristic,” our tendency to overestimate the importance of information we remember easily, and “confirmation bias,” the tendency to focus on information that confirms our pre-existing hypothesis.

Cognitive bias is powerful and can only be managed through the application of methodologies and procedures that require disciplined analysis of data and information (sound familiar, appraisers?). In fact, cognitive bias is why we depend on professionals trained to be unbiased specifically where our proneness to irrationality could create serious problems, such as science, finance, and economics. Appraisers’ impartial analysis protects the public from our hard-wired, everyday biases that would undermine the healthy function of the real estate industry.

Appraisers are essential to a healthy economy because there are all kinds of opportunities for cognitive bias to infect real property valuation; real estate is a context ripe for “loss aversion,” “anchoring bias,” ”availability bias,” “conformity bias” or “conflict avoidance,” to name a few. Appraisers are trained not to fall into these irrationality traps. Appraisers are continually trained to adjust their opinions of value based on data and professional discipline, precisely to avoid cognitive biases to which homeowners, loan officers, and all of us are susceptible. And in case you think machine learning and AI will save us, it is worth noting that AVMs and AI-generated results are not more rational; on the contrary, machines proliferate biases reliably, that is, unless there are educated appraisers who are regularly producing inputs to correct them.

In reality, appraisers have a great story to tell, but we have a long way to go to refocus the terribly flawed “appraiser bias” narrative onto facts and science. With facts, fairness and science all on our side, and with your help, my team and I have committed to advocacy and communications built on each member’s commitment to doing the right thing, the right way.

There’s more to say about bias. That’s why this is part 1 of a 3-part series on bias…next up…the normal biases of homeowners and loan officers, “noise” and bias, cultural bias, the GSEs, and “banned words”…

Cindy Chance, CEO of the Appraisal Institute"

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Mary Cummins

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

NAR Sitzer-Burnett Settlement FAQ, National Association of Realtors, by Mary Cummins real estate appraiser

nar,national association of realtors,mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, los angeles, california, realtor, settlement, commission, buyer,seller

Notice I just received from NAR on the National Association of Realtors Sitzer-Burnett settlement. Key points: It takes effect mid July 2024. Sellers can't offer buyer commission in MLS offerings. They can still offer buyer concessions in MLS but buyer commissions must be negotiated off MLS. Put it in the contract. Buyers must have agreements with buyer agents before showing properties.

My comment. Don't expect total price or total commission amount to go down. They've always been negotiable. Sellers can pay a one time fee of $500 just for an agent to list the home in MLS. They can pay to stage a home, professional photos, sign, flyers, CMA, BPO... separately. Or they can pay a commission which was generally 5-6% of home sales price split 50/50 buyer/seller agents. With full commission sellers agents show the home, do open houses, speak with buyers, present offers, take photos, make flyers... and help negotiate the best price and terms. If the listing expires, agent eats their invested costs. Most sellers paid 5% offering 2.5% to buyer's agent. There may be some buyers agents who will write, present, negotiate an offer, order escrow, check documents, help with inspections...for a fee but most want 2.5%. The seller will be keeping price the same. They won't be getting an extra 2.5-3% to keep. It will end up on the buyer side in one way or another as a cost. Buyers most likely won't be paying the buyer's agent commission along with down payment. That would be stupid and expensive as it's already incorporated into the price. Buyers will just add it to the offer, contract, escrow in price then loan funds it. We'll see how this shakes out after a year but I think it's just an MLS technicality for now.

#NAR #NARsettlement #marycummins #realestateappraiser #realestatecommission #realestate #commission https://forms.themls.com/forms/NAR-Settlement-FAQ.pdf

"NAR Settlement FAQ
Understanding Broker Commission Changes

Q1: What is the NAR agreement regarding home seller class action lawsuits? A1: The NAR has reached a proposed settlement agreement to resolve litigation related to claims brought on behalf of home sellers regarding broker commissions. This agreement aims to end disputes against NAR, over one million NAR members, state and local REALTOR® associations, association-owned Multiple Listing Services (MLSs), and certain qualifying brokerages.

Q2: What prompted the need for this agreement? A2: The Sitzer-Burnett verdict and subsequent similar cases raised concerns about real estate practices and consumer compensation in the industry. NAR has been working to address these concerns and provide a resolution for its members and the broader industry.

Q3: What are the main goals of this proposed settlement? A3: The settlement aims to secure a release of liability for as many NAR members, associations, and MLSs as possible, and to maintain consumer choice regarding real estate services and compensation.

Q4: What are the significant changes proposed by this settlement? A4: In the proposed settlement, NAR agreed to put in place several practice changes, including: ● Prohibiting offers of compensation on the MLS. Offers of compensation could continue to be an option consumers can pursue off-MLS through negotiation and consultation with real estate professionals. This rule will not prevent sellers from offering buyer concessions on an MLS (for example – concessions for buyer closing costs). ● Additionally, NAR has agreed to require MLS participants working with buyers to enter into written representation agreements with their buyers before touring a home.

Q5: What is the timeline for implementing these changes? A5: The new rules regarding offers of compensation and written agreements are set to go into effect in mid-July 2024.

Q6: What are the next steps in the settlement process? A6: The settlement is subject to court approval, which is expected to take several months or more. Interested parties may raise objections during this process. NAR will provide updates as the settlement process unfolds.

Q7: How does NAR justify settling these claims? A7: While NAR continues to deny any wrongdoing, settling the lawsuits aims to provide closure for over one million NAR members and other parties involved. Exploring other legal options like appeals or reorganization could have prolonged uncertainty for members and consumers.

Q8: What is the MLS's role in the real estate market moving forward? A8: Despite these changes, the MLS will remain a vital resource, providing accurate and timely information for professionals and consumers alike. It will continue to serve as the foundation upon which housing decisions are made, offering clarity and insight into the market.

Q9: What is the outlook for the MLS and its members amidst these changes? A9: While NAR’s announcement marks the beginning of a period of change, we are prepared to respond and adapt. The MLS will remain a cornerstone of the real estate market, facilitating transactions and ensuring its continued functionality. The MLS will uphold its mission to make the real estate market work. It will continue to provide essential information and support transactions, fostering transparency and competitiveness in the housing market.

Additional Resources: See NAR’s full announcement March 15, 2024 NAR Provides FAQs and Resources Regarding Settlement March 19, 2024

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Mary Cummins

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Old Inglewood Board of Realtors MLS Listing Pages, Flyers by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser

inglewood board of realtors, nar, national board of realtors, mary cummins, real estate, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, mls, flyers, los angeles, california, inglewood

I was walking down the street and found these on the sidewalk. I followed the literal paper trail to a trash can full of Inglewood Board of Realtors MLS listing sheets from 1950-1990. Anyone need some historical Inglewood comps? :-D I took a huge bag full of them for historical reference.They now fill a large shoe box. They're also from the Southwest Branch of the Los Angeles Board of Realtors. Click image to see larger.

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Mary Cummins

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Why Did Marcia Fudge "Resign" from HUD? by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser

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*This article has embedded linked research and articles which support the statements. You may not be able to see the links based on your browser settings so hover. Everything in this article is backed up with independent research based on government data.

Today March 11, 2024 Marcia Fudge announced her resignation as the head of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department via email. Her resignation will be effective March 22, 2024. Below is Marcia Fudge's press release about her departure as the Secretary of Housing in President Joe Biden's White House cabinet. The press release also includes a list of her alleged achievements. https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_24_048

The New York Times posted an article about Marcia Fudge's departure. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/us/politics/marcia-fudge-hud-resigns.html The article stated that President Joe Biden told his Department heads last fall that he wanted them to either leave quickly or stay on until after the election. Marcia Fudge promised she would stay then all of a sudden she "resigned" with "mixed emotions." Just March 7, 2024 the White House stated they had a cabinet in place that will stay for the election then four days later she resigned. Many question giving only 11 days notice to leave a cabinet position. One other cabinet member Eric Lander stepped down due to reports of bullying staff. Maybe that was also Fudge's issue. Fudge stated "I do believe strongly that I have done just about everything I could do at HUD for this administration as we go into this crazy silly season of an election." "Silly election season" makes one thinks she believes her departure is politically motivated. Maybe her ouster has to do with the Dept being audited and/or the campaign and election. In the NY Times article she stated she wants to spend more time with her 92 year old mother. If that were true, she would have left a while ago. I saw her at the State of the Union address happily shaking everyone's hands. No one knows the real reason but some have possible explanations for the quick unexpected departure.

As a real estate broker, appraiser I have been following Marcia Fudge very closely ever since she was nominated to be the head of HUD. She had no background in real estate, housing, economics yet she was confirmed to be the head of the Housing Department. Many believe she was appointed because of Joe Biden's diversity promises. He promised to appoint black women to positions of power. I'm all for diversity. We all know Biden's predecessor's cabinet was as white as a sheet and almost all male. We desperately need more people of color and women in the upper echelons of government. They just should be qualified, honest and able to get along with people for the greater good of the nation. As a Representative Fudge was never on a housing committee or involved in any housing organization. Fudge herself even mentions the concept of tokenism by stating to Politico November 2020 “We’re going to have to stop looking at only certain agencies as those that people like me fit in. You know, it’s always ‘we want to put a Black person in labor or HUD.’” Sounds like she didn't even want to be at HUD.

My personal issue with Marcia Fudge is the outright lies she told the American people. Fudge's lies hurt everyone in the US because millions were diverted to "fix" a problem that doesn't exist. That money should have been used to fix the real problem which is income inequality which doesn't even fall under her department. She also defamed and attacked real estate appraisers in the process.

Fudge promoted the false narrative of the "old white racist male" appraiser low-balling blacks and Latinos without any proof whatsoever. I believe it's because she is racist. She promoted the false and totally misleading paper from Andre Perry's book "Know Your Price." Fudge insisted on stating the lie as fact that live appraisers "low ball" the appraisal values of blacks and Latinos and caused them to lose $156,000,000,000 in home equity. American Enterprise Institute AEI proved that Andre Perry's paper was totally false.

The real issue is income inequality among whites, blacks, Latinos. People who make more money buy more expensive homes. They also buy more expensive cars. Whites make more money than blacks, Latinos so they buy and own more expensive homes in more expensive areas. The correlation between value of white and black homes is income and not race. Appraisers have nothing to do with income inequality. We appraisers didn't even make the appraisals used in Perry's paper. Perry used totally inaccurate robot Zillow values! Appraisers generally don't even know the race of the homeowners or borrowers.

Perry's paper was based on Zillow robot Automated Valuation Methods and not appraisals made by live appraisers. Fudge didn't care and lied stating "old white male" appraisers were responsible for the differences in value. The narrative fit her racist agenda. Those statements were proven to be totally false by independent research by American Enterprise Institute. There is no racism in real estate appraisal values. Fudge then used this fake paper and false facts to write the Biden ordered PAVE Task Force report. AEI has refuted the report in their reply to the government. Fudge wasted millions in resources to write a fake report about a fake problem then stated she alone could fix it then she didn't. Nothing has changed! Fudge didn't fix anything and definitely not the real issues which don't even fall under her department. The real issue is income inequality which falls under the department of labor. Fudge just wanted the extra funding and attention to her department. The entire PAVE report was based on Fudge's lies and wasn't even needed.

Fudge also promoted her fake story about the home across the highway from her home being worth twice as much as her home "only" because a white person owned it. In fact this lie may have finally been part of her undoing. Late January 2024 Joe Biden told this crazy fake story which is based on Marcia Fudge's outright lie. "Today, a home owned by a Black family on one side of a highway, built by the same builder on the other side of the highway and a white guy living in it, the white guy's home is valued more than the Black guy's!," he said. "I know you know it. And guess what, that's how you build generational wealth."

I debunked Marcia Fudge's big lie here in this blog by valuing her home and the ones across the highway. You can't find the article via Google search because someone (Marcia?) complained and it was removed from search results. The home across the highway from Marcia Fudge's home is newer luxury quality built in a new private community built way off the highway on private streets. Fudge's home is much older, lower quality, fairer condition built on the main highway. The homes are totally different in very different locations so of course they would have different values. This shows that either Fudge doesn't understand the basics of property valuation and is incompetent to be the head of HUD or she's just a racist liar promoting her own agenda. I doubt she even knows the color of the people who own the homes across the highway from her. Race, color isn't listed on ownership deeds. The tenant isn't always the owner. On top of this Fudge is complaining about their inaccurate Zillow values. She's not talking about their actual market or appraisal values. There are no appraisals of Fudge's home and the homes across the street to compare. No appraisers were involved.

Many real estate experts, agents, appraisers have sent in many letters to HUD about Marcia Fudge's many lies. I've sent in a few. Nothing happened except Fudge repeated the lies. Maybe this story making Biden look like a total blithering idiot was the final straw. Many media sites picked up on the crazy nonsensical story. Fudge has stated this same fake story all over the media. Here I debunk her false CNN presentation. I'm pretty sure these false stories by Fudge would have been used against Biden during the campaign. Clearly Biden believed her bullshit until he repeated her fake home story and everyone called him a crazy idiot. I doubt he'll repeat that story.

Fudge also got way too cozy with lenders, AMCs during her tenure at HUD. They pitched her the idea of getting rid of appraisers/appraisals to save consumers money and time. They lied and supported her lie that appraisers are biased so they could make more money while allegedly reducing bias. They asked to use appraisal waivers, AVMs, drive-by appraisals and hybrid appraisals done by non appraisers. HUD agreed and consumers didn't save any money. Instead lenders, AMCs keep the valuation fee in house for reviewing an AVM. Not only that but waivers, AVMs, drive-by appraisals and hybrids have real built in bias by their very nature. No one really knows the true market value of all those homes. Maybe there was insufficient equity or the homes never met loan requirements. Many of these loans are sold and resold as investment vehicles. Many could go bad and they actually have.

Another issue I have with Fudge is her giving government money to her friends. Fudge gave grants to her friends at private fair housing organizations. These organizations promoted Fudge's false narrative of the racist white appraiser. They stated their research, legal actions against innocent appraisers are the "solution" to US's housing issues. Government money was wasted and lives were destroyed in the process while no racial bias was found. They supported and widely shared the fake paper by Andre Perry. Maybe she was finally caught giving contracts to close, close friends. Her cronyism at HUD was definitely off the charts.

Another issue though minor is Fudge violating the Hatch Act. In March 2021, during a White House press conference, Fudge made comments on the upcoming Senate election in her home state of Ohio suggesting that Democrats could win it. As a result, she was accused of violating the Hatch Act of 1939. After an investigation, the Office of Special Counsel determined she had violated the Hatch Act. Fudge received a warning. Not a big deal really but still.

Another point "in 2015, Fudge wrote a letter asking for leniency in the sentencing of Cleveland politician Lance Mason on felony assault and domestic violence charges. Fudge described Mason as "kind", and wrote that "Lance [...] has assured me that something like this will never happen again." Mason subsequently attacked and killed his ex-wife, in 2018, stabbing her 59 times. After the murder, Fudge released a statement saying she condemned the crimes committed by Mason."

On top of all of this Fudge is extremely abrasive and abusive. She truly enjoys attacking, degrading appraisers and others in public meetings. She has a huge race, wealth chip on her shoulder which she doesn't hide but proudly flaunts. She wanted to be the head of Agriculture Dept so that may be part of it. Almost every meeting she starts in the same way walking to the podium and stating "Good afternoon." If everyone in the room does not loudly say "Good afternoon, Madam Fudge!" she will put her finger in her ear, shake her head at the audience negatively like she didn't hear their response and say it again to force people to respond as if the audience were in the army or prison. She clearly has major personal insecurities to feel the need to treat people in this manner. One example here https://www.instagram.com/p/C4Y8FhuOiu_/

If you search this blog, you will see the other articles I've written about her insulting, harassing, demeaning behavior in government meetings. I highly doubt she wanted to leave this position on her own as she clearly enjoys and relishes being abusive. I believe she was pushed out which is why she has "mixed emotions." Maybe the campaign audited her department and realized she was wasting funds and not accomplishing the goals of HUD. This will be used against Biden in the campaign and election by the GOP.

I personally feel Marcia Fudge was probably asked to resign because she's a liability in the upcoming election. The lie she told to Joe Biden about her home value which he repeated was the wake-up call for Biden's campaign. The lies she told in the PAVE report and government money she wasted on worthless "solutions" were probably other factors. Her cronyism and giving money to friends also hurt her. Lastly her horribly abrasive, abusive personality and media appearances harm Biden and his campaign.

Fudge's press release about her departure reads like a golden handshake. She mainly touts a few odd suspect accomplishments resume style. I think she saw the end coming because of an investigation into her actions because she released something similar in February which I thought was odd. It wasn't end of year reporting. I'll be writing another article about her housing "accomplishments" during her term but a few notes. Don't get me wrong. She was 1,000x better than Ben Carson. I just think Trump probably told him to run the Dept into the ground. Even I could have done better than Carson.

"HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all." Our housing crisis is much worse since she was head of HUD. Per HUD homelessness is way up and housing affordability is way down. Things haven't improved. Here's just one fake accomplishment from her list "Ensuring that people who have paid their debt to society can get a fair shot at a second chance and have a home;" Fudge proposed changing a rule to allow convicted criminals convicted of fraud or perjury to do work for HUD in relation to fair housing investigations. Why would someone hire someone convicted of lying and committing fraud to do legal investigations which could possibly end up in a court of law? Their testimony could be easily tossed because they are convicted liars. Comments were due 01/11/24. I don't know if it became law.

Fudge's replacement will be Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman. Joe Biden will not nominate a new head until after the election. They'd never be confirmed in time before the election. Todman is just like Fudge so nothing will change until they find a new head. I can only hope they find someone who is qualified who won't lie and can actually improve housing for our country. We don't have enough housing which is one cause of the homeless and affordability issues. It's also an issue for our economy especially because of recent rate hikes. We also have an income inequality issue.

@secfudge @hudgov @mary_cummins

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Mary Cummins

Friday, February 16, 2024

The End of Buyer's Broker's Real Estate Commissions in Multiple Listing Services? by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser

The 2020 Nosalek lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Boston alleged that MLS PIN, Keller Williams, RE/MAX, Anywhere, and HomeServices of America colluded to inflate real estate agent commissions. The suit claimed that the defendants agreed to rule changes including allowing compensation offers of $0 to buyer agents and proactively informing consumers that commissions are negotiable.

The Department of Justice is examining whether the commissions system violates antitrust law. Today the DOJ stated sellers shouldn't offer any commission to buyer's brokers in the MLS. This will allegedly bring down the price of real estate commissions.

I personally feel buyer's agents will just include a 2.5% commission in the offers. It will be paid by proceeds of sale. Buyer, seller still paying a commission fee one way or another. Homes will be listed for the same prices. Commissions have always been negotiable. Appraisers have to read sales contracts for purchase appraisals. We see the negotiations all the time. I doubt things will change much unless flat fee buyers agents start popping up like flat fee selling agents who only list the property on the MLS.

#realestatecommission #marycummins #realestateappraiser #realestatesales #realestateappraisal #realestate

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/justice-department-says-settlement-too-lax-real-estate-commission-case-2024-02-16/

DISCLAIMER: https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/p/disclaimer-privacy-policy-for-blogs-by.html

Mary Cummins

Saturday, February 3, 2024

Status of Oceanwide Plaza aka Graffiti Towers in downtown Los Angeles by Mary Cummins real estate appraiser

oceanwide plaza, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate, los angeles, california, flower, figueroa, oceanwide holdings, rtkl, construction, graffiti

UPDATE 030624 Seems City Council had to make a motion to amend the city code to allow them to secure the property. https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2024/24-0114-S2_CA.pdf

022824 The city wants to restore the right of way on the sidewalks around the project. Right now it has fences, scaffolding, covers... They can't remove that without first securing the site with interior fencing and such. They need to change city code to be able to do that work. https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2024/24-0114-s2_misc_2-28-24.pdf

02/16/24 Result of hearing today. Motion was amended, approved by City Council as follows. It was sent to the Mayor to approve. The changes are the removal of transferring money to cover repairs item 2. City will now confer with other departments about costs and work to be done.

https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2024/24-0114-s1_misc_amend_kdl_blu_2-16-24.pdf

02/13/2024 There are now two separate LA City Council motions about the site. Hearing tomorrow 02/16/2024. I drove by and none of the graffiti has been cleaned. Leave it to say it will not be cleaned up by 02/17/2024 per the 01/31/2024 City Council Motion and order.

My estimates for cost to clean and secure Oceanwide Plaza were way too low. City will be transferring $1,100,000 to secure the site then $2,700,000 to remove graffiti and provide security.

From the motion,

On February 9, 2024, the Los Angeles City Council adopted a motion (Council File No. 24-0114) to instruct the relevant City Departments to take the necessary steps to prepare for abatement of the Oceanwide Plaza property in the event the owners of Oceanwide Plaza failed to heed the abatement order issued by the Department of Building and Safety on January 31, 2024. The motion directed the City Administrative Officer to identify front funding sources to pay for this work and the CAO has done so. Now, the City of Los Angeles must transfer this funding to pay for the work needed to abate the property so abatement may commence on February 17, 2024 if the Oceanwide owners indeed fail to comply by the deadline.

MOTION PLANNING & LAND USE MANAGEMENT

"I THEREFORE MOVE, subject to the approval of the Mayor, that $1,100,000 be transferred / appropriated from the Building and Safety Fund 100/08, Account No. 001010, (Salaries, General) to the Repair and Demolition Fund No. 346/08, Account No. 08108Y to fund fencing and secure the ground floors to comply with department orders at Oceanwide Plaza.

I FURTHER MOVE, subject to the approval of the Mayor, that $2,700,000 be transferred / appropriated from the Building and Safety Permit Enterprise Fund No. 48R/08, Account 08Y204 (Reserve for Future Cost) to the Repair and Demolition Fund No. 346, Account Name Oceanwide Plaza (Account No. TBD), as a loan, to fund security services, fire safety upgrades, graffiti abatement, and any other measures needed to comply with department orders at Oceanwide Plaza."

https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2024/24-0114-S1_misc_02-13-24.pdf

Just FYI I've lived in Los Angeles my entire life. I've been a broker, appraiser in LA over 40 years. I appraise this exact type of project. I've been in most of them. I lived in South Park for years.

02/12/2024 Arrests made by LAPD in graffiti of Oceanwide Plaza. Originally there were two arrests then four more. They just arrested 12 more.

https://lamag.com/crimeinla/lapd-arrests-dtla-high-rise-graffiti

DeLeon stated the graffiti was the "fault" of the developer because they didn't have the place locked up tight with security. What about the trespassers, vandals? Don't they have any culpability? What about the rest of LA that gets tagged? Should we all be forced to add huge expensive walls, gates and security teams to protect our property or else it's our fault? Ridiculous argument. While everyone should lock up their property and protect it, there's no way to fully protect against taggers.

02/09/2024 Item was adopted by City Council to force Oceanwide Plaza to clean up the mess. Vote was unanimous but Soto-Martinez was absent.

02/16/2024 I was in the area and took some pics. The trespassers, vandals, taggers also tagged the inside of the building. There is a fence company there today along with lots of police presence. Click thumbnails below to see larger.

02/07/2024 More taggers have tagged the building. One article stated "After a similar project in December for Art Basel in Miami Beach, artists were inspired “to do an L.A. version,” the artist Merch told Hyperallergic." The building they graffiti'd in Miami Vitas Healthcare Center was an abandoned, 19-story building which was about to be demolished. It wasn't a new luxury building like Oceanwide Plaza. They didn't have permission to trespass or tag either building. It's like tagging a car at a junkyard destined for scrap metal versus a new Rolls Royce that's about to roll off the assembly line.

"The artists also placed blame on the developers, Oceanwide Holdings of China, who stopped construction on the project in 2019 when they ran out of funding and have since been accused of not paying the security guards for the site." Their rationalization is sickening and infantile. Does that mean people can break into the taggers, their mothers, grandmothers homes and destroy it because they don't have security guards? Can the taggers legally kill and rape people on the street because they don't have security guards? Blame the victim. A crime is a crime.

Taggers with graffiti gang tag signatures Merch, Akers and Hopes have commented about their vandalism. These people are all known. You can search the tags on the buildings and know the taggers. I searched the graffiti tags in my area and knew exactly who did it. They have names, photos, addresses.

Merch stated “With all due respect, s— is abandoned, doing nothing." "Let’s put some color on this b— and do what we do if they ain’t gon finish the job,” the artist Hopes said. “This building has needed love for years,” artist Aker added. “If the owners aren’t doing anything about it, the streets of LA are happy to make something out of it.” These people call their tagging "putting in work" like it's a noble job or something. It's not.

Another thing to consider is the cost and waste of all that spray paint and the cans. It's bad for the environment and human health besides a total waste. The paint is still there so it's not water based eco-friendly. It's not guerrilla art which washes away and causes no permanent harm. These people are criminal vandals. I wish they'd charge some of them. These people even post videos of themselves doing these criminal acts on their Insta, TikTok and Facebook pages. They comment on newspaper articles. Throw them in jail and fine them for cleanup. When they're released make them do graffiti cleanup for a few years. They are not artists.

02/02/2024: LA City Council made a motion to force Oceanwide to clean up the project by February 17, 2024. 1101 South Flower Street / Oceanwide Plaza / Trespassing / Vandalism / Nuisance Abatement

https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2024/24-0114_misc_02-02-24.pdf

Main file https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=24-0114

MOTION

FEB 0 2 2024

For the last few years, the unfinished Oceanwide Plaza property at 1101 South Flower Street has been a blight on Downtown Los Angeles’ South Park neighborhood. Started in 2015, the project’s construction was abruptly halted in late 2019 after funding for the project was cut off. Since then Oceanwide Plaza has sat half-finished and abandoned - a black eye on an otherwise vibrant part of DTLA.

Oceanwide Plaza has experienced trespassing and vandalism over the last few years however criminal activity has increased exponentially over the last month, peaking over the last several days. Neighbors report trucks ramming into the gates and driving into the building to facilitate copper wire theft and vandalism. Dozens of videos posted to social media show people breaking into the property on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, climbing hundreds of feet up the unfinished towers, and tagging the windows on at least 30 of the building’s 53 floors with graffiti. It is abundantly clear that Oceanwide Plaza has become a hazard to surrounding residents, businesses, passersby, and to the criminals recklessly breaking into the property and it must be dealt with immediately.

I FURTHER MOVE to instruct the Department of Building and Safety (DBS), the Bureau of Street Services (BSS), and the Bureau of Engineering (BOE) to order the permittee to secure the site, remove all encroachments from the public right of way, and restore the public right of way to its original condition or const..."I FURTHER MOVE to instruct the DBS and BOE, in coordination with the City Attorney, to recover all city costs consistent with applicable law. In light of the property becoming a nuisance, the Department of Building and Safety issued an abatement notice to the owners of Oceanwide Plaza on January 31, 2024. The property owners have until February 17, 2024 to remove all graffiti and debris and securely fence the property or the City will begin its own abatement process.

I FURTHER MOVE to instruct the City Administrative Officer to identify front-funding for the securing of the site, removal of obstructions, and restoration of the public right of way should the permittee fail to comply with department orders.

I FURTHER MOVE to instruct the DBS, BSS, Department of Transportation, and General Services Department to secure the site and restore the public right of way to its prior condition should the permittee fail to act within the time allotted to them by law."

See link above because the copy/paste wasn't working that well. Motion made by Paul Krekorian and Kevin DeLeon.

Some people have said that the graffiti "artists" added "meaning, art, a message to the vacant building contributing to the city in a positive way." I don't agree at all. They trespassed, vandalized and did tens of thousands in damage to the property. They rammed trucks through the gates and broke down doors. They stole property. The developer now has to clean up all their mess by February 17, 2024 in two weeks or face a huge fine and cleanup fees. Look at what the people did. It's not graffiti art but tagging. They just wrote their graffiti gang tag initials in big letters. That's not art. Tagging isn't art. It's like a dog pissing on a tree except worse because it serves no purpose at all. It's a kid defacing a public school desk by carving their initials in it. If you think it's art, post your family's home address so people can go ram their truck through their fence and paint their initials and gross shit all over the interior and exterior of their home and all their possessions. Below are up close images in case people couldn't see what they did. It's only tagging.

ORIGINAL: January 30, 2024 an organized group of graffiti taggers vandalized the now vacant construction site of Oceanwide Plaza at 1101 Flower St in Los Angeles, California. It was a partially-completed residential and retail complex composed of three residential towers across the street from Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center. The owner developer is Oceanwide Holdings. "The CallisonRTKL-designed complex will feature a five-star Park Hyatt hotel with interiors by Studio Munge, 504 residences and a collection of retailers and restaurants."

The site was originally an auto store in 1924 which was eventually replaced with a parking lot. Construction began in 2015 for the main development. The three towers were built starting in 2018 but not finished. Construction stalled in 2019 but restarted months later. Construction stalled again in October 2020 due to financial restructuring. "The towers were an example of Chinese reductions in capital and investing in US real estate because of the country's ongoing trade dispute with the US and a Beijing crackdown on credit and capital flight."

After failing to pay its debts, the project was foreclosed on by China-Oceanside in June 2023 and listed for sale. In filings with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, China-Oceanwide said that more than $1.2 billion was needed to finish the project and that they had already spent $1.1 billion." It would take two years to finish the project. The project was also involved in a bribery scandal involving local politicians and the LA City Building and Safety department.

Basic property information

Address: 1101 S Flower St, Los Angeles, California 90015
Assessor Parcel Number APN 5138-015-045
Lot dimensions, irregular: 316' x 535' x 342' x 703'
Area: 199,803 sf
Owner: Oceanwide Plaza LLC
Legal description: TR=69414 EX OF ST LOT 1
Census tract: 2079.01

Current liens on real estate records only: 05/18/2023 pre forclosure by Oceanwide Plaza LLC,
Lots of mechanic liens. Property taxes delinquent and due.

All of the permits are at ladbs.org under 1101 S Flower.

Property taxes https://portal.assessor.lacounty.gov/parceldetail/5138015045

There have been lawsuits involving the project. Oceanwide hired Lendlease as a contractor to build the project. Lendlease hired Webcor as a concrete subcontractor. Neither were fully paid. There were arbitration agreements in the contracts. Webcor didn't want to honor the arbitration agreement and sued. Trial and appeals court ruled Webcor is subject to arbitration agreement with Lendlease. This stems from a mechanics lien filed 2018 and lawsuit filed 2019.

https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/B299310.PDF

Lendlease sued in order to have a higher claim than the visa holder investors.

More legal documents at lacourt.org You have to pay for them and I don't want to pay.

The official website is gone but here's a webarchive version.

http://web.archive.org/web/20200621165019/https://oceanwideplaza.com/

The company behind the project from the archive

http://web.archive.org/web/20190305105332/https://en.chinaoceanwide.com/

Video of the main areas of the project. Reminds me of Metropolis but bigger and nicer and Metropolis is huge and luxury quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omOXWBc9w1c

Contractor made a video of progress on the building

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGKIuAkaXV4

RTKL site about project

https://www.callisonrtkl.com/projects/oceanwide-plaza/

Below are some marketing photos, plot plan, parcels... I was really looking forward to this development and have written five posts/articles since 2017. Chinese developers have built some beautiful and amazing projects in downtown Los Angeles. I've appraised a few and they are very high quality luxury properties. I really hope they get this back on track. I absolutely disagree with people who think it should be torn down. That would be an incredible waste of materials and manpower. Maybe they should re imagine some of the retail area and make it creative or experience space.

oceanwide plaza, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate, los angeles, california, flower, figueroa, oceanwide holdings, rtkl, construction, graffiti

Below are ladbs.org plot plans and permit sheets for the first permit in 2015 and the last in 2019 in chronological order. Click to see bigger. Originals at ladbs.org under address 1101 S Flower St. The permits list owner, builder, engineer, architect...besides specs.

2015 permit

2019 permit

Building and safety reports complaints. They're only recent. Amazed there are no previous ones.

1/31/2024 ABANDONED OR VACANT BUILDING LEFT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC UNDER INVESTIGATION

1/31/2024 ABANDONED OR VACANT BUILDING LEFT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC CLOSED

1/31/2024 GRAFFITI ON THE BUILDING, FENCES OR WALLS CLOSED

1/31/2024 ABANDONED OR VACANT BUILDING LEFT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC CLOSED

Other addresses associated with the project. 1133, 1155, 1130 Flower and 600 W 11th, 1130 Figueroa.

Some of the Park Hyatt penthouse units will be larger. "The condo options include everything from one- to four-bedrooms units, plus additional choices for luxury penthouses and estate-style residences that range from 5,585 to 8,775 square feet in size and come with private outdoor space. An additional 340 residences, not under the Park Hyatt brand, are planned for the remaining two towers."

"Oceanwide is a privately held, family owned international financial holding group founded by LU Zhiqiang. Headquartered in Beijing, China, Oceanwide’s well-established and diversified businesses include operations in financial services, energy, technology information services, culture and media, and real estate assets globally, including in the United States.

Oceanwide is the controlling shareholder of the Shenzhen-listed Oceanwide Holdings Co., Ltd. and Minsheng Holdings Co. Ltd.; the Hong Kong-listed China Oceanwide Holdings Limited and China Tonghai International Financial Limited (formerly known as Quam Limited); the privately-held International Data Group, Minsheng Securities, Minsheng Trust, and Asia Pacific Property & Casualty Insurance; and it is the single largest shareholder of Australia-listed CuDECO Ltd. China Oceanwide also is a minority investor in Shanghai-listed China Minsheng Bank and Hong Kong-listed Legend Holdings. In the United States, Oceanwide has real estate investments in New York, California, and Hawaii. Businesses controlled by Oceanwide have more than 10,000 employees globally."

LA City has contracts with the project to guarantee it.

http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2016/16-0408-S1_misc_1_10-05-2016.pdf

DISCLAIMER: https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/p/disclaimer-privacy-policy-for-blogs-by.html

Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Animal Advocates, Los Angeles, California

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

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