The VLW Blog

Virginia investors who claim they were defrauded into buying overpriced real estate in coastal Carolina have lost their bid to sue seven banks in their federal mortgage fraud lawsuit. In a 36-page memorandum order, U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee last month dismissed the banks from the consolidated action where 127 plaintiffs accuse developers of [...]

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Remember when real estate was a different kind of story? Bidding wars. Tear-downs. Money all around. Spring 2007. A woman who wants to sell her mother’s home talks to a real estate agent, who suggests a target price of $729,000 for the Fairfax property. With a “pocket buyer” already in hand, the agent expects to [...]

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On the heels of news that a Chesterfield County ex-lawyer will be doing two years in prison for a mortgage rescue scam comes word that a Charlotte-area lawyer now faces the prospect of much more federal prison time. A jury yesterday convicted Victoria Sprouse in a $15 million mortgage fraud scheme, reports The Charlotte Observer. [...]

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Just as we finish wiping our eyes after our annual viewing of George Bailey’s rescue by the community he served, now comes word that Bedford Falls has been sold. No, not the fictional Bedford Falls, the setting for Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life.”  This Bedford Falls is a 43-unit subdivision in Gloucester County, featuring [...]

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In the continuing serial, As the Housing Market Downturns, the latest episode sees yet another Northern Virginia condo buyer try to bail on his contract. When last we left our unhappy buyers, one group that bought condos in 2005 at purchase prices of a half-million and up got a break in Ahn v. Merrifield Town [...]

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Attorneys concerned about getting hit with sanctions because of an inadequate investigation of the facts can take relief from an unpublished order today from the Supreme Court of Virginia.In 8522 Lee Highway at Merrifield LLC v. Sonic-Manhattan Fairfax Inc., Record No. 072107, 8522 Lee Highway filed suit alleging that Sonic was trespassing on its property [...]

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One of Bristol’s most graceful structures is suffering a most ungraceful death. The 83-year-old Kings Mountain Memorial Hospital on West State Street fell into such disrepair after its closing that the city took the owner to court to force action.  Circuit Judge Larry B. Kirksey held the owner in contempt when the months dragged on [...]

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Ed Lindsley of Virginia Beach died last week, leaving a colorful legacy of opportunistic land acquisition. He was 84.  Apparently relying on a legal education and years of real estate experience, Mr. Lindsley (right) would pore over land records looking for mistakes and oversights that he could exploit.  In 1986, the city of Virginia Beach [...]

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The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has opened a new online Foreclosure Resource Center aimed at helping homeowners faced with losing their homes. The new site includes maps of foreclosure “hot spots,” economic research from the Fed and a directory of local services for foreclosure assistance. The Richmond Fed serves several states throughout the mid-Atlantic, and [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia will hear Blacksburg’s appeal in the town’s efforts to strictly regulate a proposed large-scale retail development, widely assumed to be a Wal-Mart.  The writ, granted yesterday, is posted here by The Roanoke Times. Previously, the Times wrote that a ruling in the case could set a precedent in Virginia land-use [...]

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