Real Estate

Real estate developer Donald Trump and his partners in a condominium hotel project in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., were sued by buyers seeking to rescind purchase agreements after construction was delayed. Trump and a group of developers misled buyers with promotional materials touting Trump's involvement in the project, known as Trump International Hotel & Tower, when he only licensed his name to the development, according to the complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in Miami. The plaintiffs seek class-action status.

Richard E. Jacobs, 83, the former owner of the Cleveland Indians and a commercial real estate developer, died Friday after a lengthy illness, according to his real estate firm. No other details were immediately released. Jacobs and his brother David bought the Indians from the Steve O'Neill estate in late 1986 for $40 million. David Jacobs died in 1992. Dick Jacobs focused on restoring the struggling American League franchise's profitability and making it competitive on the field.

California is cutting off applications for a tax credit that was designed to promote sales of new homes. The Franchise Tax Board said it would stop taking applications for the tax credits at midnight Thursday. The program offered $100 million in credits to about 10,000 consumers who buy homes that have never been occupied. The credit is equal to 5% of the purchase price or $10,000, whichever is less. Buyers must occupy the homes for at least two years immediately after the purchase.

Amid the wreckage of California's finances, the state's cartoonists are happy to throw in their two cents' worth. Sacramento's Rex Babin attacks the anti-tax types (cartoonists obviously don't own much real estate), while San Diego's Steve Breen heralds a less-than-banner year. And as USA Today's Scott Stantis dryly demonstrates, the rest of the country is keeping tabs as endless arrears appear. Give these guys credit. Or at least IOUs. -- Joel Pett

CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. said it reached an agreement with its lenders to modify $994 million of debt.

A real estate brokerage controlled by Warren E. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bought a Chicago-based agency, entering the third-largest U.S. metro area amid signs of a rebounding real estate market. HomeServices of America Inc. said it acquired Koenig & Strey GMAC Real Estate from Brookfield Residential Property Services. Terms weren't disclosed. Koenig & Strey has 21 offices and about 900 agents in the Chicago region. HomeServices, a Minneapolis-based unit of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., is the second-biggest U.S. residential brokerage.

A jailed trucker charged with gunning down two people, including an antiabortion protester, cut his arm in an apparent suicide attempt, prosecutors said. They also said that the man's mother once worked with another intended victim. Harlan James Drake, 33, was taken to a hospital with a self-inflicted wound near his wrist. "He attempted suicide. It sounds like he's going to make it, but it's a serious gash, a very serious wound to his arm," Shiawassee County Prosecutor Randy Colbry said.

The number of mortgage fraud cases under investigation by the FBI has risen about 63% since last year, according to bureau Director Robert S. Mueller III. There were more than 2,600 cases pending as of July 31, up from about 1,600 cases in fiscal 2008, Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee. Most of the cases involved losses of more than $1 million, he said.

Los Angeles-based CB Commercial Real Estate Services Group Inc. agreed to acquire Koll Real Estate Services of Irvine in a stock deal valued at $165.9 million, including the assumption of about $35 million of Koll's debt. The combined company, to be called CB Commercial, aims to be a global leader in real estate services. CB also reported first-quarter net income of $2.3 million, or 9 cents a share, versus a loss of $591,000, or 5 cents, last year. The merger doesn't include other Koll entities.

Steve Harvey will be on vacation until Aug. 20. While he's gone, this space will be filled with excerpts from his book "The Best of Only in L.A.," just published by the L.A. Times Syndicate. Here are some items from the "Real Estate" chapter: * DON'T MESS WITH THIS CHEF: An L.A. high-rise condo development offered buyers a four-course dinner for six designed by the building's "Cordon Bleu chef Derek Chadwick," complete with crystal, fine china, linen and fresh flowers.