A report from the Baltimore Banner in Maryland. "F.A., a 41-year-old Edgewater resident, dreamed his whole life of going into public service. 'I got into student debt for it. I have a big student loan to prove it,' said the man, who asked to be identified by his initials for fear of retribution for speaking out. His seven-year run with the federal government, beginning with a five-year stint at the Federal Emergency Management Agency ended recently along with scores of his colleagues abruptly fired from his contract job the U.S. Agency for International Development. 'I have a wife. I have a mortgage. I have a 3-year-old. I have day care,' F.A. said. 'I’m starting to apply to everything and anything because none of us have the luxury of time to wait on the judicial system to fix our problems. We’re not rich; we’re public servants. None of us do this for the money, obviously. So here we are, with the rest of America, applying to jobs.'"

"Merissa Mirani, a 29-year-old who lives in Cape St. Claire, worked for a company in Bethesda that contracted with USAID. She and her colleagues knew they’d be impacted when Trump suspended foreign assistance for 90 days, but it soon became clear the company would struggle to pay its employees. Then came furloughs and the ensuing emotions. 'Just helpless, really,' Mirani said. 'In particular for this sector, foreign aid, it’s like the whole sector was just wiped out.' Only back from maternity leave for about three months, she now was frantically applying for jobs. Out of 150 job applications, Mirani estimated, she got just three calls. 'Because I’m not seeing any leads, I’m having to accept that I might have to be a stay-at-home mom, which is not necessarily what I wanted. I have a career that I worked very hard for,' Mirani said. 'That’s where I’m at, and just constant anxiety because my husband also works for a government contractor, so he might also be let go.'"

The Star Tribune. "Just after Nancy Brand secured a seat on the resident-led board at Edina’s Windwood Condominiums, the property manager revealed that after years of single-digit increases, their property insurance rates would increase — by 400%. 'It was hard to choke down, and we spent a lot of time searching for alternatives,' added Larry Struck, 76, Windwood’s HOA president. The episode provided Brand and Struck front-row seats to a topsy-turvy property insurance market in Minnesota. Living in HOA communities has become more expensive in recent years, and insiders say rising property insurance costs are a major reason why. 'In virtually every HOA, we’re hearing the same story,' said Lynn Boergerhoff, president of the locally based educational and advocacy organization HOA Leadership Network. 'It’s either been very difficult to get insurance, or the insurance they are able to get has reduced coverages and increased costs. That’s certainly going on very broadly throughout our metro area.'"

My 13 News in Florida. "Condo owners the past two years say they are shocked by the fees they now pay monthly or quarterly. Whether it’s money going in to the operating budget or reserves budget, the two can add up to a mortgage payment. That cost just on fees to a condo association alone has condo owners across the state asking for help. 'It was in fact a good idea,' Marbella Condominiums condo board member Tom Baker said. 'The problem was it was poorly executed.' Following hurricane Ian and Nicole in 2022, Tom Baker’s Marbella Condo in Daytona Beach Shores was hit hard."

"It wasn’t covered by property insurance. Property insurance didn’t pay out a dime to the association or owners according to Baker. Because of that Baker and his 23 other owners in his building were each hit with an $80,000 assessment. Following the storms, his monthly dues went from $850 a month to $1,350 a month. 'People generally do not want the dues to go up,' Baker says. 'They want the cheap way out, which is a mistake. The idea is you should be fully funded, always.' Next on Baker's to-do list for his building is improving the elevators. They work now, but like everything with a building, it all has a life span. He estimates the project will cost $200,000. 'We are going to wait until one of them breaks, and then we will fix it, and we do,' Baker states. The can do that with funded reserves. Otherwise that would be a $200,000 bill assessed to 24 owners."

WOAI in Texas. "February saw a slowdown in the real estate market, with almost a 10% drop in sales, compared to the same time last year. One study found San Antonio has the third longest listing times in the country. 'It's really a buyer's market right now,' said Reagan Williamson, Chair of the Board of the San Antonio Board of Realtors. 'We're seeing more houses on the market. As a matter of fact, I believe that right now, we are up from last year, about 3000 homes, on average, that are on the market to sell.' When there are more houses on the market, Williamson said, sellers are more likely to start giving incentives. 'Maybe they're doing a price correction, or maybe they're offering an additional amenity or service, or they're including a really nice refrigerator with a sale, whatever they're doing to try to make their house stand out from the competition,' said Williamson."

From KESQ. "Just like everything, real estate in the Coachella Valley all seems to be going up in price, but if you are waiting to buy, the wait might cost you. 'What steps would you tell them to have the best chance to be able to end up in a home?' Jeff Stahl asked Stephenie Zinn, California Desert Association of REALTORS's President. Zinn said, 'As someone looking to get in the market, we heard that the best time was 10 years ago, the next best time is now.' The statistics don't lie. Gone are homes in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range from 2014. Now, median prices are near $700,000 in the Coachella Valley, a 133 percent increase since 2014. In another five years, realtors say they expect minimum prices to top a million dollars. But there is some good news."

"The current housing inventory is at 5.6 months. Where to buy? Palm Springs and Palm Desert have the most homes for sale. Coachella and Bermuda Dunes have the least. Zinn said, 'It's allowed those first-time buyers to pick up properties again.' 'If it's overpriced, it's sitting,' local realtor Stephen Powell said, adding, 'If it's priced right, it's still moving.' And back to getting financed. There is help, even with a down payment. Zinn said, 'A lot of the times when a buyer comes to me wanting to get into home ownership, the first conversation we have is with one of our lender partners to see how they can get qualified.'"

Bisnow New York. "Desperate to rid itself of a rent-stabilized apartment building, L+M Development Partners is suing its lender for refusing to take the keys. The Westchester-based landlord filed a complaint against Santander Bank in New York County Supreme Court Thursday alleging that the lender has improperly declined to accept the deed in lieu of foreclosure at 320 St. Nicholas Ave. In court records, L+M said that the option to walk away from the Harlem property is in loan documents, while Santander is looking to seize other assets to recoup possible losses from the mortgage. L+M isn't alone in asserting that the legislation intended to protect low-income tenants has quickly backfired, making the upkeep of rent-regulated units an economic challenge that could drain housing stock and spark foreclosures. The Securities and Exchange Commission has already begun examining the impact of the resulting distress on banks, according to a Bisnow analysis of public records."

"As the value of rent-stabilized buildings in New York plummets, the scramble among owners and lenders to minimize losses has spread. Lenders have previously said that newly originated loans are structured around personal guarantees and other recourse provisions to ensure that borrowers can't offload their underwater assets on their financiers. Signature’s loan book is also causing tension elsewhere in the city. A venture called Community Stabilization Partners, which bought a stake in a large portfolio of rent-stabilized loans, recently filed its first foreclosure actions against its borrowers, with more expected."

The Real Deal. "A bank that financed the value-add plans of Sun Belt syndicators faces allegations it failed to disclose the default risk of bridge loans it made to those green operators, many of whom are struggling to hold on to their failing deals. Shareholders smacked the lender — The Bancorp — with a class action weeks after it told investors that two years of financial reporting 'should not be relied upon,' according to the complaint. The suit is among the first, if not the first, to tie a bank to the syndicator distress story. From 2020 through 2022, hoards of inexperienced operators seized on record-low interest rates and rising rents, snapping up fix-and-flip apartment properties across the Sun Belt. As rates rose and renovations subsequently stalled, default and foreclosures have stained the space."

"Arbor’s lending practices have drawn the most attention. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations launched a probe into the publicly traded REIT last summer after multiple short sellers accused the firm of 'vastly' overstating the value of its allegedly distressed loan book. Since then, Arbor’s quarterly reports have shown more cracks. Claims against The Bancorp also stem from a short seller report. This time last year, Culper Research found the bank’s books were allegedly 'rife with unsophisticated syndicated borrowers' drawn to investing by 'get rich quick' dreams, according to the complaint. 'TBBK’s Reserve Levels Don’t Pass the Laugh Test,' one heading in the Culper report reads."

Bisnow Boston in Massachusetts. "The 36-story One Lincoln office building was sold to its lender at a Friday foreclosure auction that illustrated the despair of Boston's office market. The auction took place at the corner of Kingston and Bedford streets in front of a closed exit to the 1.1M SF office tower. It was a particularly windy and chilly morning, and the auction drew roughly 40 onlookers — and no bidders. After a legal notice was read, bidding began at $500M. With no takers, auctioneer Samantha Saperstein dropped the starting bid down to $200M. 'You got to start somewhere, folks. You're not going to get it for that much of a steal,' she told the crowd. Even at that price, no takers emerged, though a $400M bid was submitted from one of the lenders on the property. Saperstein pushed for $450M, but no further bids presented themselves."

Global News in Canada. "The last 14 months have been tough for Anuratharan Nallathamby of Brampton, Ont. In December 2024, the 49-year-old experienced chest pains, was admitted to hospital and was subsequently diagnosed with blockages to his heart. Then, in January, he underwent triple-bypass surgery from which he's still recovering. 'My doctor said, 'You have so much stress,' said Nallathamby, who describes his tenants in one word. 'Scammers,' Nallathamby told Global News in a television interview in the park across from where he lives in Brampton."

"Nallathamby says the five tenants occupying the Swans Acre Trail rental property purchased in 2021 completely stopped paying rent at the beginning of 2024, leaving him responsible to cover the monthly mortgage bill and many utilities. 'I'm struggling with the house. I need to sell the property; I can't manage,' he said. To date, Nallathamby says the tenants owe him about $60,000, including back rent and unpaid utilities, which he's been required to cover or risk foreclosure. Global News went to the house occupied by the five tenants listed on the lease: Jashandeep Singh, Rabalpreet Kaur, Kunwar Sher Singh, Karanbir Singh and Manpreet Kaur. None of the tenants answered the door or responded to a written request for comment by Global News taped on the front door of the home more than a week ago."

The Hindustan Times on India. "Navi Mumbai: Aspiring home buyers from the economically weaker sections (EWS) and the lower income group (LIG) categories are up in arms against the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) over the pricing of its mass housing scheme. They are also upset that the area of the homes mentioned in the intent letters issued after the lottery draw was less than what Cidco had stated earlier, a charge denied by the government agency. The buyers, who have conducted a signature campaign and are exploring legal options, announced on Friday at a press conference that they will organise a human chain protest in Vashi on Tuesday."

"As part of its much-hyped My Preferred Cidco mass housing scheme, the agency had in October last year initiated online registration for 26,000 homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the central government’s affordable housing scheme. They were placed in two categories: EWS (income up to ₹6 lakh per annum) and LIG (income over ₹6 lakh per annum). However, most applicants were left aghast when Cidco announced the home prices under these categories in January. In the EWS category, homes ranged between ₹25 lakh and ₹48 lakh, while those in the LIG category were from ₹34 lakh to ₹97 lakh. The buyers were further upset that the home size mentioned was 27.12 sqm (290 sqft), instead of 29 sqm (322 sqft) advertised in the letter of intent. According to Cidco, this was the carpet area of the house, excluding the balcony area, as required under Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act."

"The buyers claimed that Cidco had misled them. 'The dream homes of the poor have turned out to be homes for the rich,' said Dada Padalkar, one of the applicants. 'We can somehow manage to pay for the ₹40-50 lakh homes with the help of loans, but not those priced over ₹85 lakh. How can auto drivers, hawkers, mathadi workers, maids, etc., afford them?'"

"Vijay Mane, another applicant, said, 'For the last year and a half, we collected and submitted volumes of documents asked for, incurring huge expenses and time. We took loans to pay for the registration and booking amounts. Now, we realise we have been defrauded in terms of price, area and even location.'"