Friday, Fidelity National Financial changed it’s mind about buying LandAmerica. LandAmerica Financial Group Inc has filed for bankruptcy protection — here’s a copy of the memo circulating locally:
“It has come to our attention that effective November 24, 2008, the LandAmerica company operating as LandAmerica 1031 Exchange Services Company, Inc. (”LES”), a 1031 exchange facilitator, has terminated operations.
We have further been made aware that as of November 25, 2008, one or more warehouse lenders have elected to discontinue accepting Insured Closing Letters and are no longer wiring funds to any LandAmerica title agents. The companies impacted by such decisions include Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company, Land Title Insurance Company, LandAmerica NJ Title Insurance Company, Lawyers Title Insurance Company, Title Insurance Company of America (TICA) and United Capital Title Insurance Company.
We strongly recommend you determine whether any loan transactions are in the process of closing with any of the impacted companies, and, confirm with your warehouse lenders and investors as to any constrictions they may have placed into effect as a consequence of these developments. ”
So what happened?
Or: “you don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone.” I cannot think of a better person to lead us in thanks this very difficult year. For those of us who want to know what the Depression was like, ask Ebby. My late, cherished mother, who would have been 93 this year, always told me our generation would understand “want” someday because she felt we were too focused on what she called “silliness”, things like Hermes Birkin handbags, rather than what was important. (Ironic that as the stock market soared, our handbags grew bigger and bigger almost as if to keep up with our aquisitions.) What is important: making sure people are taken care of and not hurting is important, and I thank Ebby for reminding us of this so eloquently.
Listed for $1.3 million with Allie Beth Allman’s Forrest Gregg. Really nice crib. Jones tells the DMN he moved “down there” (Uptown) last year and vascillates between selling or not selling his bachelor pad. Which we can understand, but DCAD sees things a little differently. Maybe that’s because they just don’t know that the $1,425,000 listing next door is loaded with — get this — bamboo flooring, a floating staircase and an Aga stove!
Over on Frontburner, Wick Allison posted Case-Shiller’s not-so-gloomy home price numbers for Dallas — down far less than the rest of the world, as I told you. But he also found that average Dallas condo prices were UP by 11.1 percent…which I find just plain curious. That’s third quarter 2008 pricing with an average tag of $148,000 — ain’t exactly the Ritz. Still, any reason why coming on the heels of news that the Stoneleigh Heritage is on ice etc. etc?