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www.leasingnews.org Wednesday,
May 29, 2002 Accurate,
fair and unbiased news for the equipment Leasing Industry
Headlines---- CIT
Group—The Truth and Nothing But the Truth
Commercial Money Center Payments
IKON Completes $300 Million Unsecured Credit Facility
GE Capital to Sell $6 Billion of Debt Securities
Leasing News Classified Ads Work
Not the Monitor Monthly
Community Banks Optimistic/Grant Thornton
Netbank Brings Mortgage In House
ELFT Conference To Sell Out Early
Bye-Bye Brokaw after 2004 Elections Conseco's
Wendt Responds to Moody's Downgrade
Consumer Expectations Ebb/House Prices Up
Existing Homes in California Hit New High
Amtrak To Sell Off Its Assets to Survive -------------------------------------------------------------- CIT
Group
by Christopher Menkin CIT
President Al Gamper said all the news stories surrounding the sale of
his company were false, so therefore the Lehman $5 billion bid is also
not true. Logic 101. In
reality, Lehman’s alleged offer might mean a $5 billion loss
on the original purchase and
investment. Remember, this is the group that brought us Unicapital,
among others.
History is evidently trying to repeat itself. We
are not talking about five dollars, a Lincoln dollar bill,
but five billion bucks. Not a thousand, nor ten thousand, or a million,
but five billion. I
personally can’t fathom that number. $500 is a lot of money
to me. $5,000
is quite a bit more. Five billion off the value. Now that is a
steal, but it sounds like Monopoly money to me ( like in the Parker
Bros. game). Of
course, what did Lehman have to lose, just another “no.”
Investors evidently have
a short term memory about Lehman’s venture in the leasing business. Amazing,
isn’t it, but then again, as Al Gamper says, all these offers
are just
“newspaper talk.” A
fifty percent discount. They don’t even give that on used cars.
I wish this
were CBS radio and then David Rose could do news r-e-a-l s-l-o-w. Lehman.
Five Billion. For. CIT. Like. Buying. $50,000 Mercedes. for
$25,000. Five. Hundred. Million. Mercedes. For. Half. Price. Less
than thirty-five days to sell or raise stock. The market has not
been on an up-tide,
rising all boats. The tide has been falling and ships coming in
with less
fish. Gamper should have let his public relation’s staff go
to town, printing profiles of people who make the difference at
CIT, who make it personal, who work very hard; there are many good,
positive tales to tell. This
is an “old line” company with great lines, personnel,
and abilities. Their
stories should be told, not kept as if there was a “White House” secret
to hide. Gamper,
your mistake is timing, but for so long? This is not 1998. (P.S.
Many of us have made the same mistake Except this is an exceptional company,
and I personally would buy stock in it. I think it is a very good
investment.
It is the people you are buying, not a name, but the people who make
it work. Instead of cutting off the news, you should be on the Today Show,
Ophray, David Letterman, Meet the Press, telling the CIT story.
editor) _____________________________________________________________________ Commercial
Money Center Payments The
Leasing News articles have been a great help to myself and my staff. Again,
I thank you for your assistance. Respectfully, Troy
Lang Stuart
Allan & Associates Ph#
800-880-5400 ext 238 Ph#
520-322-7238 Fax#
520-323-0026 re: I
ask the Leasing News to make known the following to its readers:
Stuart Allan & Associates Inc. is now acting as the service
provider of the
Safeco Insurance portfolio of Commercial Money Center. Please have inquiries
regarding servicing of these accounts, lease payments, payoffs, and
lien releases sent to my attention.
Stuart Allan & Associates Inc. is not an agent and or associate
of Commercial
Money Center or its principals. Stuart Allan & Associates accepts
no responsibility for the actions taken by Commercial Money Center, its
staff and or authorized agents. Respectfully, Troy
Lang Stuart
Allan & Associates Ph#
800-880-5400 ext 238 Ph#
520-322-7238 Fax#
520-318-6799 ---
US
Bancorp Portfolio Services (USBPS), 1310 Madrid Street, Marshall,
MN 56258, (507) 532-7774, has taken over the successor servicing
of the CMC portfolio for the Investors of the "Royal",
"Ace", and "RLI" portfolios. Please have inquiries
regarding payment of lease payments, payoffs, and lien releases
sent to the above address. Please
note that USBPS is not associated in any way to CMC or its principals.
USBPS will not accept any responsibility for the actions (or lack
of) taken by CMC or its staff and/or authorized agents.
Thanks!
Joe
Andries joseph.andries@usbank.com
(The
most inquiries we receive are about Commercial Money Center, from
lessees, brokers,
vendors, and attorneys. It is going to get worse. The Kiosk Scandal
appears to
be getting worse. Kiosk leases where the equipment does not exist,
to lessees moving
Kiosks away from creditors, as they were making payments, but not
to the
assignee, and more and more is being attributed to Ron Fisher, as
if the other
officers acted blindly with what he told them to do. editor ). ###########
############################################## IKON
Completes $300 Million Unsecured Credit Facility; Comments On Overall
Financing Strategy VALLEY
FORGE, Pa.---IKON Office Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:IKN) announced the
completion of a $300 million unsecured revolving credit facility
that replaces the facility that would have terminated in January
2003. The facility will be used for general corporate purposes.
J. P. Morgan Securities Inc. is the sole lead arranger on the facility
and Bank of America, N.A., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., and Wachovia
Bank, National Association are co-documentation agents. "This
credit facility agreement, together with the recently completed
financings by our leasing operations, including the $300 million
convertible debt offering issued a few weeks ago and the $635 million
asset-backed securitization priced just last week, completes a series
of major financing initiatives the Company had planned for Fiscal
2002," stated James J. Forese, Chairman and CEO. "We are
very pleased to be able to execute on this aspect of our Fiscal
2002 goals, despite what has become a very difficult credit environment
for all businesses. These financings better position the Company's
balance sheet for long-term growth opportunities, and support execution
of our overall strategy, which includes offering lease financing
to customers -
an important competitive differentiator for IKON in our industry
today. "As
the largest independent provider of office, production and outsourcing
solutions in North America with a strong market presence in Europe,
IKON has tremendous potential to leverage its position in the industry,"
continued Forese. "We also continue to believe we can substantially
expand operating margins long-term and generate continued strong
free cash flow. Having the appropriate financing strategies to achieve
those goals is key. That includes short-term needs and long-term
goals that maximize our future access to capital so that IKON can
be in a position to take advantage of growth opportunities as they
present themselves in the years ahead. "As
is customary for leasing activity, our operations must raise capital
on a continual basis to meet the expected funding needs of the lease
receivables portfolio. In the future, we intend to continue to finance
the needs of our leasing operations primarily through the asset-backed
market, as well as through the unsecured debt market and other alternative
financing sources. The convertible debt recently issued by IOS Capital,
IKON's largest captive leasing organization, took advantage of strong
demand in the convertible market due to today's capital-constrained
banking environment. While we do not plan to utilize this market
again in the near-term, I believe our ability to take advantage
of this window of opportunity was a plus for the business. "With
our strong cash flow, our non-leasing operations do not require
a significant amount of revolving credit in the near term; therefore,
the $300 million facility is appropriate for our needs at this time.
Excluding leasing debt, IKON's debt to equity ratio at March 31,
2002 was 28%, and corporate debt totaled approximately $609 million.
Our balance sheet continues to strengthen and we are taking all
actions within our control to ensure that we can capitalize on that
in the future," concluded Forese. IKON
Office Solutions (www.ikon.com) is one of the world's leading providers
of products and services that help businesses communicate. IKON
provides customers with total business solutions for every office,
production and outsourcing need, including copiers and printers,
color solutions, distributed printing, facilities management, imaging
and legal document solutions, as well as network design and consulting,
and e-business development. IOS Capital, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of IKON, provides lease financing to customers and is one of the
largest captive finance companies in North America. With Fiscal
2001 revenues of $5.3 billion, IKON has approximately 600 locations
worldwide including the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United
Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland and Denmark. This
news release includes information which may constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements
relating to the Company's short-term and long-term financing needs,
business strategies, and expected margin expansion and cash flow.
Although IKON believes the expectations contained in such forward-looking
statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that such expectations
will prove correct. Such forward-looking statements are based upon
management's current plans or expectations and are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to:
risks and uncertainties relating to conducting operations in a competitive
environment and a changing industry; delays, difficulties, management
transitions and employment issues associated with consolidation
of, and/or changes in business operations; managing the integration
of existing and acquired companies; risks and uncertainties associated
with existing or future vendor relationships; and general economic
conditions. Certain additional risks and uncertainties are set forth
in IKON's 2001 Annual Report on Form 10-K/A filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. As a consequence of these and other risks
and uncertainties, IKON's current plans, anticipated actions and
future financial condition and results may differ materially from
those expressed in any forward-looking statements. CONTACT:
IKON
Office Solutions Veronica
Rosa, 610/408-7196 vrosa@ikon.com or Steve
Eck, 610/408-7295 seck@ikon.com ################
########################################## GE
Capital to Sell $6 Billion of Debt Securities By:
Richard A. Bravo Dow
Jones Newswires NEW
YORK -- The General Electric Capital unit of General Electric Co
. plans this week to sell $6 billion of debt securities, underwriters
familiar with the deal said. Some
people said the offering would garner interest even after the company
irked investors in March by saying it planned to sell a large amount
of bonds shortly after making one of the largest debt issues ever. Analysts
said General Electric Capital's newest deal would draw buyers in
part because there hasn't been much corporate-bond issuance recently.
Some added that the company has taken steps to reassure bond investors
recently. Among
other things, they said, it has increased financial disclosure and
vowed to keep its triple-A ratings. It also recently arranged an
$18 billion syndicated credit facility aimed at improving its liquidity
position. "We
imagine that this deal will go well because of the positive technicals
and some appeasement by GE of investors," said David Hendler,
analyst at CreditSights, a bond-research firm. "Investors won't
dwell on some of those past issues." Mr.
Hendler said investor demand for bonds issued by financial companies
also has strengthened recently. "There has been a sector switch
into financials, which have tightened since earnings were released
in April," he said. A
tightening refers to the difference between yields of corporate
bonds and Treasurys. A narrowing of that margin, the so-called spread,
suggests that the market views the corporate bonds as slightly less
risky. In
March, GE Capital sold $11 billion in debt, in the largest domestic
dollar- denominated debt offering ever. But the securities then
weakened in trading after the company disclosed that it had made
a $50 million shelf offering. GE
drew fire from Bill Gross, a funds manager at Pacific Investment
Management Co . whose views carry much clout in the bond market.
Mr, Gross said GE was overly reliant on issuance of short-term debt
that wasn't fully backed by bank lines. Tuesday
afternoon GE Capital's outstanding 10-year debt was quoted at a
spread of around 0.95 percentage point over Treasurys, while its
30-year securities were at a spread of around 1.16 percentage points
over Treasurys. Banc
of America Securities, Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. and Morgan
Stanley are co -leads on the upcoming deal, which was expected to
include five- and 10- year securities. -By
Richard A. Bravo, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2087; richard.bravo@
dowjones.com __________________________________________________________________\ Leasing
News Classified Ads Work (This
is what keeps Leasing News going, and makes it worth while to put up
with the people we catch keeping Advance Rentals, and others where we
“alert” about their activities. editor) Name
= Bob Stevenson
Address = 366 N. Broadway - Ste.410
City = Jericho
State = New York
Zipcode = 11753
Phone = 516-719-7182
Fax = 516-935-2011
Email = rcs60@worldnet.att.net
Source = Add
me to the mailing list = yes
Comments = For those of you looking for employment out there, while
the summer IS slow, don't lose hope. I
found my employment with the Leasing News in four weeks with many
responses. Bob
Stevenson Vice
President of Marketing JTA
Leasing Company, LLC ----
I
was fortunate to be listed in your Outsourcing classified early on,
in fact I think my original listing prompted the category. I've
had several
inquiries for various projects and recently contracted with a company
in CA to negotiate end-of-lease options with their lessees. As
many of your readers know, when the last payment is due, most lessees
assume the deal was a $1 out because they didn't read their contract
before they signed it. With me involved the lessor avoids the hassle
and negativity of having to
point this out to their customers, they can spend their time drumming
up new
business and I make a few dollars in the process. Your
classified ads work, thank you. Best
Regards - John
Kenny Receivables
Management PO
Box 471 N.
Grafton, MA 01536 508.839.1992 fax
309.273.9049 The
Solution to Your Credit & Accounts Receivables Needs --- Thanks
for publishing my quote. Could you add to my name
my email address in case anyone would like to get hold
of me? Seems like it got drop off. Thanks Lisa
Renshaw Syndicator:
Wilmington, NC (
Good luck. Maybe this will help you find a job right away. Your
talents are
very much needed in the industry today. editor ) Not
the Monitor Monthly---Monitor Online Enews---Teri Garson I
have been reading people's responses to my complaint about the Monitor.
First, I would like to clarify a point. I am not referring to the
hard copy Monitor magazine. I am referring to the Enews that they
send via email with news, press releases, etc.
My subscription to the Monitor entitles me to receive the Enews.
I have not tried (nor do I want) to print anything in the Monitor.
But at the end of each and every Enews there are instructions for
sending in press releases. It doesn't say "Only if you don't
compete with us". My
subscription notice didn't say "You will only be entitled to
SOME of the benefits". All
I am saying is that their newsletter is not for recruiting purposes.
The Monitor is. One
is connected to their recruiting arm. The other isn't. I don't
feel they have fairly made the distinction. Teri
Gerson, President Executive
Solutions for Leasing and Finance, Inc. 1141
Minisink Way Westfield,
NJ 07090 (
the Monitor Daily Website lists on their
toolbar, “about Molloy Associates,” right in the front,
on top: http://www.monitordaily.com/aboutmol.shtm (Teri
is right; however, the e-mail does not list the ownership. And there
are a
lot of ads for Molloy Associates. But then, if I were owned by Coca
Cola, would
I plug Pepsi Cola. I think not. (All
the publications owned by Molly and Associates promote their recruiting staff.
One of the reasons Leasing News established a Recruiters Sections was
to give recruiters an “internet voice.” The only requirement,
to prove they
specialize in the leasing industry and abide by the ethics and standards, meaning
to advertise, they must belong to a leasing association: (http://65.209.205.32/LeasingNews/Recruiters.htm_ (We
also print news about their businesses, and hope they help those in
the leasing industry looking for employment. editor) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GRANT
THORNTON: COMMUNITY BANKERS OPTIMISTIC Community
banking executives are optimistic regarding the economy and the
growth of their banks in the near term, according to Grant Thornton’s
Survey of Middle-Market Business Owners. Among
the findings: 89% of community banking respondents say they believe
the U.S. economy will improve in the next six months; well over
90% indicate they are optimistic regarding the growth of their business
over the next six months (95%) and 12 months (98%). The
community bankers’ responses reflected the highest "growth
optimism" of the industries surveyed, a Grant Thornton news
release says. Nearly
all community banks indicated they would at least keep their staff
at current levels and 40% plan to hire more people. Areas of focus
for these bankers were profitability (84%) and customer relationships
(81%). NETBANK
BRINGS MORTGAGE ORIGINATION IN-HOUSE (parent
of Republic Leasing of South Carolina) Atlanta-based
NetBank Inc., holding company for the nation’ss largest independent
Internet bank, recently announced that it has moved the banks online
mortgage lending program from an outsourced provider to RBMG Inc.,
the companys wholly owned conforming mortgage business acquired
on March 31 as part of the larger Resource Bancshares Mortgage Group
Inc. acquisition. Previously,
consumers applying for mortgages at NetBank were passed to a third-party
lender. The new loan program is supported by Resource Mortgage Solutions,
or RMS, a division
of RBMG. RMS provides mortgage origination, secondary marketing
and sub-servicing to banks, thrifts and credit unions. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ###
############################################## Financial
Services Technology Forum: Online 2002 Redefining
E-Delivery September
22-24, 2002 Scottsdale, AZ Don't
miss the unprecedented coverage on how to maximize the impact of
Internet technology. Register now! http://www.tfconferences.com/conferences/FSTF/index.html http://www.banktechnews.com ###########
################################ Equipment
Leasing & Financial Technology Event Sells Out Early Registration (Lessors.com,
Inc.) - Atlanta, GA - The eLessors Networking Association (eLNA)
has confirmed early member registrations for the upcoming Annual
Networking Conference sold out ahead of schedule as predicted.
A limited number of general attendee registrations are available
on a first come basis. General registration fees increase in reverse
proportion to available space. (This
sells out every year, as they limit the attendance to insure networking and
creating relationships. editor). About
the eLNA Annual Networking Conference From
the beautiful Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead hotel in Atlanta, eLNA has
perfected the art of networking hospitality, refined to embrace
a standard that today's business executives find particularly appealing.
While this event embodies a "Technology" spirit and theme,
it also reflects eLNA's signature style of elegance and a professionally
intimate "Networking" culture. Additional
information is available from – www.elessors.com/Events/f2.html (
Exhibitor may be sold out at this time.editor ) About
the eLessors Networking Association The
eLessors Networking Association represents a proactive "eLeasing
Industry"... a national network of industry leaders and smaller
pre-IPO companies and professionals from the technology, commercial
finance and manufacturing business sectors. Additional
information is available from - www.elessors.com. ####################
################################ Brokaw
to Turn Reins Over to Williams after 2004 Presidential Election By
JIM RUTENBERG BC
News announced today that Tom Brokaw had agreed to remain as the
network's lead anchor through the 2004 presidential election. After
that, the network said, he will be succeeded by Brian Williams,
the lead anchor on NBC's cable news channel MSNBC. Mr. Brokaw's
contract was to have expired late this summer. NBC said Mr. Williams
will take over for Mr. Brokaw in November 2004, said Neal Shapiro,
the NBC News president. Conseco's
Wendt Responds to Moody's Downgrade
INDIANAPOLIS---The following is a statement from Conseco Chairman
and CEO Gary Wendt on ratings action by Moody's on Conseco (NYSE:CNC).
"We take strong issue with the timing of and the language used
to support today's ratings action by Moody's.
The basis cited for today's action was information that is between
four and six weeks old. And, to the extent the action is based on
reported first quarter earnings, it is based on information that
is now two months old.
Let me quickly set the record straight with respect to the two issues
raised by Moody's as the basis for their action.
First, Moody's states that our cash raising is "slower than
anticipated." As we have made clear for the past several months,
the need to raise cash quickly was alleviated by the amendments
that we negotiated with our banks. That new bank agreement gave
us much greater flexibility than we anticipated at the beginning
of this year.
As we have said before, the bank agreement and the reduced urgency
for cash raising is highly beneficial to the company. We could have
amassed a larger amount of cash by today, but we might have paid
dearly for the haste. We do not need to rush, and we have no intention
of minimizing value for our shareholders in order to meet artificial
deadlines imposed by observers with no stake in the outcome of the
turnaround.
Our cash raising results are virtually unchanged since reported
4 weeks ago. All deals are on schedule. In fact, one has improved,
and a new opportunity is also being discussed. As other analysts
have reported, we believe 2002 is well in hand and we are hard at
work on 2003 and the permanent capital structure of the company.
Thus, we are not spending our days worrying about whether or not
we will remain a going concern.
Second, Moody's states that our operating performance is "continued
weak." To issue such a statement a month after an earnings
release and two months after the end of the reporting period implies
knowledge of interim performance that Moody's does not have.
As our previously stated earnings guidance indicates, we expect
operating performance to improve throughout the year. It is true
that the hint of improvement in the economy will need to bear fruit
in order to meet those objectives, but we are increasingly optimistic
about that prospect.
Finally, while the Moody's statement goes to some length to report
the results of our bond exchange (which we released on April 18),
it fails to overtly say that the new bonds issued in that exchange
were not downgraded.
In sum, neither of the bases for the ratings downgrade are causes
for concern. We continue to execute actions to improve the long-
term operations of the company. And we continue to work through
the reduction of debt and the creation of a long-term capital structure
that have been, and remain, the focus of this turnaround.
We regret having to take public issue with Moody's. But, the progress
of this turnaround merits a balanced perspective."
World Wide Web http://www.conseco.com
Investor Hotline 800.4.CONSECO ##
################################################ ################
############################################## Consumer
Expectations Ebb; Other Economic
Gauges Rise By
REUTERS Consumer
confidence edged higher in May, but the expectations of Americans
fell for a second month, a business research report said yesterday,
providing further suggestions that the recovery is likely to slow
in coming months. The
Commerce Department, in a separate report, said that consumer spending
rose for a fifth consecutive month in April. And
the National Association of Realtors reported that the sales of
existing homes surged 7 percent in April. Over
all, economists said, the reports suggested that consumers were
likely to keep supporting the economy until businesses begin investing
and hiring again. "The
bottom line is that consumers still see economic conditions getting
better, but the degree of improvement is less than they saw earlier
in the year," said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia
Securities in Charlotte, N.C. The
research group, the Conference Board, said its index of consumer
confidence rose to 109.8 in May from 108.5 in April, which had been
revised downward. The index was mostly in line with forecasts of
a slight increase to 109.0, but below the 110.7 in March. Confidence
edged up, the board said, as Americans expressed optimism about
the economy's recovery and the labor market. But
it was the decline in the expectations index, a gauge of consumers'
outlook for the next six months, that some economists focused on.
The expectations index fell for a second month, to 109.4 in May
from 109.6 in April. "This mediocre showing for the view of
the future is somewhat disturbing" said Drew Matus, an economist
at Lehman Brothers, "as it suggests that the consumer may be
tiring and that the current rate of consumption is being inflated
by low interest rates." In
its report, the Commerce Department said that consumer spending
rose 0.5 percent in April, to a $7.32 trillion annual pace, after
gaining 0.3 percent in March. Spending on durable goods — items
intended to last three years or more, like cars and appliances —
rose 1.4 percent. Consumer
spending is expected to remain close to the 3.2 percent pace of
growth posted in the first quarter, giving businesses leeway to
start to increase their capital investment, some economists said. Personal
income grew 0.3 percent in April, matching analysts' expectations,
compared with a 0.4 percent increase in March. The
National Association of Realtors said that sales of existing homes
surged 7 percent last month, to a seasonally adjusted annual pace
of 5.79 million units from a revised 5.41 million units in March. ________________________________________________________________________ Existing
home sales, prices hit new records in California GARY
GENTILE, AP Business Writer (
Silicon Valley homes: You can’t get anything worthwhile for
less than
$500,000 and $1,500,000 is low in communities such as Los
Altos, Los Gatos, Saratoga.) LOS
ANGELES (AP) -- Existing single family homes sold at a sizzling
pace and at record prices in April, according to the California
Association of Realtors. For
the second straight month, the median price of an existing single
family home was above $300,000, a situation that, combined with
a dwindling inventory, is pricing many buyers out of the market. Sales
of existing homes increased 29.8 percent in April compared with
the same period last year and 9.7 percent from last month, according
to seasonally adjusted figures obtained from Realtor associations
throughout California. The
median price of a California home was $321,950 in April, a 26.1
percent jump from April 2001. "With
only a two-month supply of homes for sale throughout the state,
there simply isn't enough inventory available to meet the demand
for homes," said CAR President Robert Bailey. The
crunch was predictably higher in the San Francisco Bay area, where
sales shot up 73 percent in April compared with a year ago. In Santa
Clara County, home to Silicon Valley, sales surged nearly 120 percent
in April. Monday,
another real estate tracking agency reported that a mid-priced home
in the San Francisco Bay area sold for $402,000 in April -- topping
the previous peak of $386,000 in March 2001 Southern
California prices also climbed to a new high, hitting a mid-range
of $258,000 -- up $1,000 from the high established in the previous
month, according to monthly statistics compiled by DataQuick Information
Systems. DataQuick's
survey is based on all home and condominium sales, including the
sale of new homes, recorded by county recorders. The
summer will bring no relief for struggling home buyers, CAR reported. "Low
inventory, favorable mortgage interest rates and rapidly rising
home price appreciation will continue to intensify the pace of home
sales in the coming months, said CAR chief economist Leslie Appleton-Young. As
buyers were priced out of many markets throughout the state, prices
began to show huge spikes in historically more affordable areas
such as Culver City, South Pasadena and Twenty-nine Palms, the report
showed. "It's
a classic case of too many buyers," said Art Perez, an associate
at Cavanaugh Realtors in Culver City. "You had better be ready
to pay full price for something that day because if you wait two
or three days it might be sold." Perez
said spiraling prices are making it especially difficult for renters
seeking to enter the home market. "The
rent prices have gone up so much, that has pushed everything else
up," he said. "Now a condo that used to be $90,000 is
$160,000. You used to be able to come into Culver City and buy a
cute little house for $300,000. Now it's $400,000. It's a very freaky
time." Even
buyers willing to pay full price are finding it tough to close sales
as sellers hold out for buyers with large down payments, said Tom
Rosas, an agent at Century 21 Grisham-Joseph in Whittier. "The
market is so strong, they know they can wait for a 20 percent down
buyer and get one," Rosas said. CAR
reported a two-month inventory of unsold detached single family
homes in April, half the number for April 2001. On
the Net: California
Association of Realtorshttp:// www.car.org Amtrak
To Sell Off Its Assets to Survive By
MICHAEL BRICK New York Times Under
threat of liquidation by Congress, the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation, or Amtrak, is trying to generate revenue from its real
estate holdings, and the proposed office tower at the 30th Street
Station in Philadelphia is among the most prominent examples of
these efforts. "As
center cities get redeveloped, our stations are there," said
Sally J. Bellet, senior vice president for real estate at Amtrak.
The company is also redeveloping office space it once used at stations
in Baltimore and Wilmington, Del., for hotel use, and negotiating
to do the same in Chicago. The
office tower proposed by Brandywine Realty Trust would stand across
the street from the 30th Street Station, and have as a primary entrance
an elevated bridge from the station. In
the mid-1980's the Texas developer Gerald Hines secured development
rights at the Philadelphia station. Amtrak needed office space and
was itself a potential tenant, but decided that a development would
not work unless the station itself was renovated. Amtrak
approached more than 40 potential sources of capital for the renovation,
according to a person involved in those efforts, but was turned
down because it was losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year,
making for poor creditworthiness in an anchor tenant. The station
renovation was eventually done, but the office building was never
constructed. To
reach Leasing News, please e-mail kitmenkin@leasingnews.org
or use the contact
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