Real Estate

the president of an albuquerque realty company that filed for bankruptcy is arrested. doug vaughan was taken into custody this morning for driving on a revoked license …but it appears that’s the least of his problems. austin reed is live in the newsroom with tonight’s top story. according to county jail records… doug vaughan has been released on his own recognizance. but earlier he wabeing held at m-d-c. meanwhile, the new mexico licensing and regulatory division tells us it has been investigating vaughan for a few months because he has potentially been violating state security laws. when investigators arrived to his home earlier this morning to gather information about that, they say they observed him driving his car, which they say was against the law. they knew from previous research that his license was either suspended or revoked and they are certified law enforcement, so they were obligated to arrest him court records show vaughan was charged with a d-w-i last year…that’s why his license was suspended. as we reported yesterday, the vaughan company filed for chapter eleven bankruptcy. the lawyer handling that case says the housing cris — is to blame for the bankruptcy filing — but we’re told business will continue as normal.

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Mortgage rates have hit an all-time low, which is causing many to call it a buyers’ market— but experts say it’s more complicated than that.
On Thursday, mortgage rates were about 4.7%, but on Friday, they rebounded to nearly 5% as Wall Street reacts to better-than-expected unemployment numbers.
One local mortgage banker says it’s still not easy to get a home loan.
25-year-old Christopher Regan just bought a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home for a deal he couldn’t pass up.
“This is our first home, and it’s kind of exciting,” Regan said.
He says an $8,000 tax credit and rock-bottom interest rates sweetened the deal.
“Even at a 6 percent, or a 6.5 percent, in my eyes that’s still good. It’s lower than my car rate,” Regan said.
Mortgage banker Debbie Bulcock says gone are the days of the so-called “liar loans,” when people didn’t have to prove their income.
“They’ve turned around 180 degrees,” Bulcock said.
She says people need to have good credit, job stability, and a cash cushion— and she doesn’t think that’s a bad thing.
In fact, she says lowering standards is what got us into the mortgage mess in the first place.
“Just putting them into a position where they can’t win. They get a month behind; the late fees stack up, and they can’t catch up,” Bulcock said. “It’s not a good thing to put somebody in that position.”
Realtors say the real estate market is rebounding as the number of homes sold in October increased nearly 40% compared to the year before.

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