How the Ultrawealthy Use Private Foundations to Bank Huge Tax Breaks While Giving the Public Little in Return
It’s a simple bargain: The rich get huge #tax breaks by donating #art, property and company shares to benefit the public. But some donors collect millions while offering little or no public access.
A ProPublica investigation — based on court documents, #property records, company training materials and interviews with 48 former franchise owners and dozens of #homeowners — found HomeVestors franchisees that used #deception and targeted the #elderly, infirm and those so close to #poverty that they feared homelessness would be a consequence of selling.
I’d heard rumors about massive money laundering operations happening via Canadian real estate and this seems to address some of it.
“I found out a huge mortgage fraud showing borrowers with exaggerated income from one specific country, China": The Bureau investigates whistleblower docs
"Fake Chinese income" mortgages fuel Toronto Real Estate Bubble: HSBC Bank Leaks
Platforms like #AirBNB & VRBO cause massive messes across #Texas (and the globe). In #Fredericksburg, 1,900+ short-term units now comprise nearly 25 percent of the housing inventory.
“We Buy Ugly Houses” Company Overhauls Policies in the Wake of ProPublica Investigation
HomeVestors franchises will be required to provide prospective home sellers with a disclosure that includes a three-day window to terminate a sales contract.
Clarence Thomas Acknowledges Undisclosed #RealEstate Deal With Harlan Crow and Discloses Private Jet Flights
The new filing comes after ProPublica’s reporting on the #SupremeCourt justice’s beneficial relationship with the billionaire GOP megadonor. Thomas also reported three private jet trips provided by Crow.
“We Buy Ugly Houses” CEO Steps Down Following ProPublica Investigation
David Hicks, CEO of HomeVestors of America, said in a letter announcing his retirement that recent press coverage of the company’s homebuying practices has taken a “personal toll on me.”
The state legislators said the home deals had harmed members of the #Somali community in and around the Twin Cities. Some buyers have lost their #homes.
NEW: IRS Audit of #Trump Could Cost Former President More Than $100 Million
The #tax agency concluded in its long-running investigation that Trump effectively claimed the same massive write-off twice on his failed #Chicago tower.
A group of around 1,500 homebuyers say they have yet to see the apartments they paid for about eight years ago, as challenges persist in China’s property sector. The promise was they would be ready by 2019, but the majority are still unfinished, according to five of the homebuyers, who requested anonymity out of fear of...
‘I feel like I've been tricked’: Some property buyers in China’s Tianjin have been waiting 8 years for their homes (www.cnbc.com)
A group of around 1,500 homebuyers say they have yet to see the apartments they paid for about eight years ago, as challenges persist in China’s property sector. The promise was they would be ready by 2019, but the majority are still unfinished, according to five of the homebuyers, who requested anonymity out of fear of...