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World falling short on renewable energy goal for 2030, IEA warnsUN talks kick off as countries fall behind the curve on targets and global warming heads for 2.7C since pre-industrial timesThe world’s clean energy plans still fall almost a third short of what is needed to reach a renewable energy goal for 2030 agreed at UN climate talks last year, the International Energy Agency warned, as delegates from almost 200 countries meet again in Bonn this week.Haggling over a new climate finance deal, and upgraded national pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions, will take place over 10 days at the UN talks to lay the groundwork for the COP29 climate summit in Baku in November.Negotiations will also focus on how to make sure the plans agreed at COP28 in Dubai last year are met, including the aim of tripling global renewable energy generation capacity to at least 11,000 gigawatts by 2030.(...)
Barry Sternlicht says investors shouldn’t think of Starwood REIT’s property fund ‘as an ATM’ Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, on Wednesday defended the decision to cap how much investors can withdraw from his $10 billion property fund. AFP via Getty Images That’s billionaire Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group STWD, telling investors on Wednesday not to think of his $10 billion Starwood Real Estate Income Trust, and similar investment funds, like ATMs.“You should have some liquidity, but the risk is everyone gets out at once,” Sternlicht said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” program. (...)
Nonbank Hometown Lenders files for bankruptcyHometown Lenders has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Alabama, blaming the Federal Reserve’s policy to curb inflation for its debacle.In court filings, the Huntsville, Alabama-based company stated that as of April 30, 2023, it owed approximately $107.1 million to taxing authorities, former employees, warehouse lenders, and general unsecured creditors.Warehouse lender Flagstar Bank, which has a lawsuit filed against Hometown Lenders, has the largest unsecured claim, $20.1 million. It’s followed by another warehouse lender, First Horizon Bank ($3.5 million), investor Freddie Mac ($3.4 million), and the Internal Revenue Service ($942,797).Hometown Lenders, founded in 2000 by William Taylor, had 1,400 employees in 46 states in 2021. According to mortgage tech platform Modex, it originated $3.3 billion in 2022, compared to $5.5 billion the previous year. Most were conventional (67%) and purchase (75%) loans.“The Debtor, however, was not immune from the consequences of the Federal Reserve’s policy to curb inflation, which hit the mortgage industry in 2022,” Hometown’s attorneys said in court filings. “As a result of the sharp rise in mortgage rates, the Debtor’s top-line revenues declined by over 70%.”The lender closed on October 13, 2023, amid a challenging mortgage market. The Modex data shows that it originated about $900 million in loans that year.According to court filings, higher rates eliminated potential homebuyers from the market. Meanwhile, investors declined to purchase loans from lenders because they expected rates to decline and homeowners to refinance out of their higher-rate mortgages.Ultimately, Hometown Lenders was required to repurchase the mortgages, pressuring its financials, it stated. When the company shut down, loans were sold to investors, except those remaining with Flagstar Bank and First Horizon.“The Debtor maintains that these lenders are in possession of funds which rightfully belong to it and are being wrongfully detained by the lenders. The total amount of these funds exceeds $1 million,” the court filings state.A spokesperson for Flagstar hasn’t immediately responded to HousingWire‘s request for comments, and a representative at First Bank said the company had no comments.Former employees also sued the company after it shut down. On May 26, 2024, a district court in Illinois entered an order forcing a settlement agreement with two former employees, Anthony Perri and Anthony Perri Jr.They require the company to pay over their contributions to a deferred compensation plan maintained with the Principal Financial Group. This account currently has $750,000.“After exhausting all reasonable alternatives, Debtor has determined that a resolution outside of this Bankruptcy Court cannot be fairly and equitably achieved,” it states. “Thus, Debtor commenced this Chapter 11 case to maximize and preserve the value of its remaining assets for the benefit of all stakeholders as well as evaluate its remaining options.”The lender states that the IRS is processing a request for $22 million in economic recovery credit, which could be used to pay priority and general unsecured creditors.
In South Lake Tahoe, California, residents battle over empty second homesAlthough urban areas like San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley have passed vacancy taxes on unoccupied homes, that political will has not yet manifested in vacation destinations.SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — A ballot initiative to tax empty homes has divided the mountain resort town of South Lake Tahoe in recent weeks as both “for” and “against” campaigns shift into gear.The measure would create a tax of up to $6,000 on homes left vacant for more than six months a year, which supporters argue is necessary to shore up the rapidly dwindling rental housing stock for local workers in tourism-related jobs.The Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and real estate agents, meanwhile, have locked arms to push back against the initiative, calling it a form of taxation without representation for homeowners who live elsewhere. Steve Teshara, co-chair of the group Stop the Tahoe Vacancy Tax, said: “There’s nothing in the measure itself that earmarks one penny to affordable housing.”The row within the lakeside destination near the Nevada border reflects the larger debate across California around how to offer affordable housing, and whose needs to prioritize within popular vacation destinations: locals or second homeowners.Amelia Richmond, one of the leaders of the South Lake Tahoe Vacancy Tax group that qualified the initiative, said her experience living on the north side of the lake illustrated just how bad the problem can become if it goes unaddressed.As more second homes were left unoccupied, Richmond said many of her friends couldn’t find units to rent. Richmond fears locals will increasingly be forced to commute long distances to their jobs, adding to traffic and congestion. Schools in the area are already seeing declining enrollment. As Richmond put it, “you can’t have a community with half of homes sitting empty.”The opposition group, Stop the Tahoe Vacancy Tax, had not responded to requests for comment by publication time.The fee structure, which imposes a $3,000 tax for the first year a home sits vacant and rises to $6,000 for the second year, was modeled after Berkeley’s, one of a handful of cities in California that have vacancy taxes on the books. Enforcement will require a one-page declaration of occupancy and spot auditing of utility bills.Although urban areas like San Francisco and Oakland have passed vacancy taxes in some form, that political will has not yet manifested in vacation destinations like South Lake Tahoe. Residents of Del Mar, a beachside town near San Diego originally founded as a resort community, are pursuing a similar ballot measure this year that would tax “transient occupancy.”In South Lake Tahoe, that debate has become increasingly tense in recent weeks. Last Thursday, the tax measure’s supporters were set to host a launch party at a local American Legion. But the legion said it began receiving angry calls from residents and at least one legion member, who said hosting the event would be viewed as an endorsement.Ultimately, the legion pulled the plug. “Given the high volatility of this, we decided it would be in our best interest not to host it,” said legion head Tom Millham.The Stop the Tahoe Occupancy Group held a competing campaign launch event at the South Tahoe Associations of Realtors office just down the road.Still, Richmond insisted that calls were made by a “small, vocal minority” and that the public was behind their effort. She noted the vacancy tax group had gathered double the amount of signatures necessary to qualify for the ballot in half the time allotted.“Despite what you might hear from the small elite group in city council chambers, there is a lot of public support for this,” Richmond said. “We want to be the domino that falls and makes this possible for other small communities.”
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