Real Estate

Argentina's former economy minister was charged with trying to cover up the discovery of a bagful of cash she had stashed in her office bathroom. Felisa Miceli resigned July 16 after a routine security inspection turned up $64,000 in Argentine and U.S. currency in a brown paper bag. She said she meant to buy real estate, but her busy schedule kept her from banking the money.

Edward G. "Buddy" LeRoux, 77, a former part-owner of the Boston Red Sox and a real estate baron, died Monday in a New Hampshire hospital of what the Boston Globe reported as natural causes. LeRoux started as a trainer for the Red Sox from 1966 to 1974. He served as the team's vice president from 1978 to 1979, then became an owner as part of a group that included Haywood Sullivan and Jean Yawkey, widow of longtime team owner Tom Yawkey. He was forced to sell his share of the team after a failed attempt to wrest control from Sullivan and Yawkey.

General Electric Co. said it was studying a possible deal with Spanish real estate firm Colonial. "To date, no decision has been made," Fairfield, Conn.-based GE said. GE, which already owns 1 billion euros, or $1.47 billion, worth of Spanish property assets, said it would need to study financial, legal and fiscal data regarding financially struggling Colonial.

Reflecting the worsening economy, fourth-quarter earnings for Imperial Capital Bancorp Inc. of San Diego plunged 84% to $1.1 million, or 21 cents a share. The bank holding company, which specializes in commercial real estate lending, reported a profit of $7 million, or $1.22 a share, for the last three months of 2006. Total revenue rose to $62.9 million from $61.1 million for the year-earlier quarter. "Our results for the quarter reflect the deteriorating economic conditions currently being experienced in the real estate and credit markets," said George W. Haligowski, Imperial's chief executive.

Katerine Chalkidou ("Don't Raise Fears -- Quell Them," Letters, Feb. 3) complains about the "sensationalism" of comparing today's real estate prices to those of a year ago, which she feels frightens people into feeling that things are getting "horribly worse every day," with the end result being a recession. I wonder how often Chalkidou, a real estate agent, complained about the sensationalism of reporting on rising prices during the previous few years, before the market's recent turnaround.

The City Council held another vote Wednesday on a package of measures to encourage the construction of affordable housing across the city, even as support for the measure decreased. On a 9-3 vote, the council agreed to give real estate developers the ability to roll back rules that establish building height, density, parking and open space as long as they ensure that 5% of their project's housing units are affordable. The proposal is opposed by various neighborhood groups, who say it will undo years of work establishing development limits in their communities.

Harold Held, 87, a longtime Los Angeles real estate developer and philanthropist, died Wednesday of leukemia. Held launched his real estate career during California's postwar building boom, beginning with home and apartment construction. He later focused on commercial buildings and medical offices on the Westside, including the 100 Medical Plaza building at the UCLA Medical Center and others in Westwood, Beverly Hills and Century City. Born in Cleveland in 1920, Held received a bachelor's degree in engineering from Ohio State University in 1941.

So here's the billion-dollar question: Who fell asleep at the wheel regarding overinflated real estate appraisals? ("Housing upheaval: a tale of two homes," Feb. 27.) Think about it. Lenders control the entire real estate appraisal process from beginning to end. They use "preferred" vendors and have no obligation to look objectively at property values. Like a bank that leaves the vault open, lenders are "surprised" that the values are inflated and property conditions mischaracterized.

Regarding "It's an Artwork-in-Progress by the Beach," Feb. 24: Marina del Rey was dubbed the Arts District by developers and real estate agents when transforming the properties into condos became commercially viable. For years it has been a quiet, unassuming and a bit dog-eared few blocks whose main feature was the city tow yard, which is still there, across the street from an as-yet-unfinished behemoth complex that spans the entire breadth of the block from Glencoe Avenue to Del Rey Avenue.

I read with interest "Not on His Watch" (Feb. 17), concerning crime and related activity in abandoned homes during this period of many foreclosures and bank-owned properties. Real estate agent Ron Anderson's answer was to move into the property. Although this is a great solution, what about the rest of the many homes in Southern California? Why not contract with the scores of homeless people in Southern California to live in these homes for a period of time until the properties are sold?