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Category: loan

Jason McGrath Quoted in Story About NASCAR Hall of Fame Loans

Posted on March 15, 2015May 2, 2022 by g83js92js91
Categories: Charlotte, charlotte city council, Collections, Credit, Debt, Jason A McGrath, Jason McGrath News / Media, Life and the Law, loan, NASCAR Hall of Fame
City Lab, a division of The Atlantic, Jan 12, 2015 – Yet, as highlighted by a recent Charlotte Observer editorial, the project’s … Jason McGrath, a Charlotte attorney experienced in real-estate … (full story linked and pasted below)

Investing in NASCAR: What Could Go Wrong?

SAM STURGIS  JAN 12, 2015

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Charlotte’s NASCAR Hall of Fame crashed hard. As the city preps for an $18 million debt-forgiveness vote, homeowners wonder where their bailouts are.

NASCAR-Hall-1
A beautiful disaster. (Flickr/Daniel Lobo)

We just rang in 2015, but the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, would love to see the calendar flipped back to 2005.

That was the year NASCAR cemented its position as one of the United States’ most popular sports. Fortune magazine drooled over the racing juggernaut a decade ago, proudly declaring NASCAR “the fastest-growing, best-run sports business in America—with the emphasis on businesses.”

But the financial viability of NASCAR has crashed in recent years amid plummeting race attendance and growing disinterest in car racing among Americans. And nothing symbolizes the sport’s tragic decline more than its Hall of Fame, which broke ground with great expectations in 2007 and officially opened in 2010—and is now hemorrhaging money for the city of Charlotte.

Monday night, Charlotte’s city council is expected to pass a loan-forgiveness deal that will eliminate nearly $18 million in debt the city owes on the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Opening the glitzy development cost the city $200 million, but the project was viewed as a crucial job creator for downtown Charlotte, undergoing noticeable revival. Today, to call the NASCAR Hall of Fame a financial disaster would be an understatement.

NASCAR-Hall-2
The NASCAR Hall of Fame, under construction in 2007, features a 278-seat theater, meeting halls, and a cafe. (Flickr/James Willamor)

Early projections had the city-owned Hall of Fame pulling in revenues of up to $1 million annually. Instead, according to Sporting News, the venue has lost over $5 million since opening. Attendance is abysmal. Developers expected at least 400,000 visitors annually, with the potential to attract up to 800,000. Over the past five years, however, only about 170,000 NASCAR fans have visited the venue each year, or 470 per day. One official representing the NASCAR Hall of Fame acknowledges some financial projections have not been met, but insists, “the Hall is doing well.” Tom Murray, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which overseas large city-owned assets, says the NASCAR Hall of Fame will earn money or break even if the debt deal is agreed upon.

City officials are framing today’s debt deal as a “restructuring” rather than a bailout. Yet, as highlighted by a recent Charlotte Observer editorial, the project’s downfall can’t really be spun:

It doesn’t camouflage that the Hall of Fame couldn’t survive on its own. It doesn’t change the fact that the city, when it bid for the hall, miscalculated everything from attendance projections to the arc of NASCAR’s popularity.

The failure of the deal becomes even more clear as cities struggle to pull out of the Great Recession. Charlotte was spared the crippling housing crisis that hit cities like Detroit and Las Vegas. Still, North Carolina’s largest metro was hit hard, according to the Brookings Institution. Single-family properties financed with a mortgage lost 23 percent of their value during the recession and, despite a marginal recovery, are still nowhere near pre-recession rates.

NASCAR-Hall_housing-prices
(Brookings)

Jason McGrath, a Charlotte attorney experienced in real-estate litigation, says the community’s support for the debt-forgiveness deal is “mixed.” Given how badly the venue has underdelivered, taxpayers naturally balk at wiping its financial slate clean so easily. However, McGrath says, residents know they are likely to benefit, at least indirectly, if the city’s debt toward the project is written off. (McGrath chairs a civil service committee for the city, but spoke to CityLab from the perspective as an independent lawyer).

“Of course, the folks that are facing foreclosure and have not been able to get help are looking at this and likely thinking to themselves, ‘Well, here we go again,’ where it’s always the big fish that seem to get the big breaks,” McGrath says.

Nearly 16,000 foreclosed properties in Charlotte are either for sale or auction, according to RealyTrac, an online housing database. Would the $18 million being written off for the NASCAR Hall of Fame have better served residential properties currently underwater?

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Posted in Charlotte, charlotte city council, Collections, Credit, Debt, Jason A McGrath, Jason McGrath News / Media, Life and the Law, loan, NASCAR Hall of Fame

After the Foreclosure Sale: A Puzzling Time for Former Homeowners

Posted on November 12, 2013April 21, 2022 by g83js92js91
Categories: attorney, Consumer Defense, eviction, foreclosure, Foreclosures & Mortgage Loan Relief, homeowner, Landlord and Tenant, loan, negotiation, Real Estate, short sale

As attorneys who represent many borrowers in foreclosure cases, although we have been fortunate to have great success in avoiding foreclosure for our clients, one of the most common questions our clients ask is, understandably,

 

“If we are foreclosed upon, do we have to immediately vacate the property?”  
Foreclosure Misery

The answer to that question isn’t as straightforward as one may think.

Generally, there are two different paths to remove the former homeowner after being foreclosed upon: (1) formal eviction process, and (2) informal negotiations between former homeowner and new owner (usually the lender bank or the highest bidder at the foreclosure sale). The first option of formal eviction can be costly and requires additional involvement of the justice system. It is comparable to the process for evicting a tenant who has overstayed his/her welcome. The second route will generally take the form of the new owner making a monetary offer to the former owner in exchange for an agreement to vacate the premises peacefully and without causing any damage. This “cash for keys” option saves all parties from having to go through the hassle and costs of the eviction process.

Depending on the path chosen, a homeowner will be able to stay in his or her home for a short time period of perhaps a few weeks; others may continue to live in the foreclosed upon home for longer and even indefinite periods of time. Each case is different, and the length of time will depend on the laws of the state where the property is located, how aggressive the new owner is in ensuring the vacancy of the property, and any agreement entered into.

Contracts Lawyer Charlotte NC
Posted in attorney, Consumer Defense, eviction, foreclosure, Foreclosures & Mortgage Loan Relief, homeowner, Landlord and Tenant, loan, negotiation, Real Estate, short sale

We’ve heard of Freddie Mac; what is it?

Posted on December 28, 2011 by g83js92js91
Categories: florida, georgia, Government, homeowner, Life and the Law, loan, mortgage, North Carolina, Ohio, south carolina, Tennessee
Freddie Mac was created by the United States Congress in 1970. Its publicly stated mission is to stabilize the nation’s residential mortgage markets and expand opportunities for homeownership and affordable rental housing. Under Federal law, Freddie Mac’s mission is to:

  1. provide stability in the secondary market for residential mortgages;
  2. respond appropriately to the private capital market;
  3. provide ongoing assistance to the secondary market for residential mortgages (including for lower income families); and
  4. to promote access to mortgage credit.

Freddie Mac does not loan money to would-be property owners the way that banks do. Rather, it participates in the secondary mortgage market by purchasing mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities for investment and by issuing guaranteed mortgage-related securities. The secondary mortgage market consists of institutions engaged in buying and selling mortgages in the form of whole loans (i.e., mortgages that have not been securitized) and mortgage-related securities.

Due to the housing/mortgage crisis in America, Freddie Mac currently focuses on “meeting the urgent liquidity needs of the U.S. residential mortgage market, lowering costs for borrowers and supporting the recovery of the housing market and U.S. economy.” Specifically, Freddie Mac states that it is working toward reducing the number of foreclosures; making homeownership and rental housing more affordable; and helping families keep their homes.

McGrath & Spielberger, PLLC provides assistance to borrowers in need of mortgage relief services, such as mortgage loan modification, foreclosure negotiation, refinancing, and deed-in-lieu or other negotiated settlement resolutions. These professional services may include dealing with mortgage loans owned or securitized by Freddie Mac.

Contracts Mt Pleasant SC  –  Contracts Charlotte NC
Posted in florida, georgia, Government, homeowner, Life and the Law, loan, mortgage, North Carolina, Ohio, south carolina, Tennessee

We’ve heard of Fannie Mae; what, exactly, is it?

Posted on December 23, 2011 by g83js92js91
Categories: Collections, Credit, Debt, florida, georgia, Government, homeowner, Life and the Law, loan, mortgage, North Carolina, Ohio, south carolina, Tennessee
Fannie Mae was created by the United States Congress in 1938 to support liquidity, stability, and affordability in the secondary mortgage market, where existing mortgage-related assets are purchased and sold. Fannie Mae itself has stated that it has “a mission to expand affordable housing”.

Fannie Mae does not originate loans or lend money directly to consumers in the primary mortgage market because Federal law prevents it from doing so. However, it does purchase mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities. In other words, while you can’t get a loan from Fannie Mae, Fannie Mae might end up owning your mortgage loan.

Fannie Mae also often securitizes mortgage loans originated by lenders into Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities (called Fannie Mae MBS)  and makes other investments which are intended to increase the supply of affordable housing.

McGrath & Spielberger, PLLC provides assistance to borrowers in need of mortgage relief services, such as mortgage loan modification, foreclosure negotiation, refinancing, and deed-in-lieu or other negotiated settlement resolutions. These professional services may include dealing with mortgage loans owned or securitized by Fannie Mae.

Foreclosure Charlotte NC – Real Estate Charlotte NC – Contracts Mt Pleasant SC
Posted in Collections, Credit, Debt, florida, georgia, Government, homeowner, Life and the Law, loan, mortgage, North Carolina, Ohio, south carolina, Tennessee

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