Folks say a crush of tenants is causing soaring rents, a major inflation driver.

But ProPublica found another dynamic at work:

A tech co.’s little-known algorithm helps landlords “beat the market” – and push rents even ⬆️

Critics accuse it of undermining competition.

1/ Rent-setting software by TX-based @RealPage is used by some of the biggest landlords in the U.S.

They share leasing info with the co., which uses this local, real-time market data to help suggest a new price for each open unit daily.

2/

I wrote back in 2019 about how the figures Trump used to seek big loans for some buildings didn’t always match the numbers given to local property tax officials.

Now @NewYorkStateAG has filed suit over financial discrepancies on Trump’s books.

Here’s what stands out to me: Some background: The new lawsuit against former Pres. Donald Trump, his biz and 3 of his kids accuses them of wildly overstating the value of his real estate.

The scheme “grossly inflated” Trump’s personal net worth, it said – to the tune of billions $$.

Among its claims:

Critics say the targeting of single-family rental homes by private equity and other corporate landlords has undermined homeownership and driven up rents.

The firms’ all-cash offers typically win over bids with mortgages.

A Congressional subcommittee has new findings:

1/ Corporate ownership of single family homes took off after the last recession, as firms vacuumed up foreclosed homes.

But the 3rd quarter of 2021 showed the biggest year over year increase in such corporate ownership in 16 years.

financialservices.house.gov/uploadedfiles/…

2/

Officials in the United States are joining those in Europe and beyond in a massive hunt for assets held by sanctioned Russian oligarchs.

A story I wrote in 2019 showed how a longtime loophole in U.S. law makes those assets easier to hide. 1/ The Patriot Act – passed 2 decades ago, in the wake of September 11 – promised new steps to keep dirty money out of the U.S. financial system. 2/

We wrote in May that commercial loans were on shakier ground than everyone understood *pre* COVID.

A guy had filed an SEC complaint. He said it was 2008 crisis redux.

A new study suggests he was right. And it’s bad:
propublica.org/article/whistl… Researchers John M. Griffin and Alex Priest looked at 39,522 loans packed into bonds (CMBS) and sold to investors.

They compared underwritten - or, estimated - income to actual.

Underwriting should be conservative. Not aspirational.

h/t @Cezary wsj.com/articles/comme…

Remember when dubious home mortgages nearly destroyed the economy in 2008?

Well, a whistleblower contacted me a few months ago with a warning:He said commercial loans based on fraudulently inflated income data appeared to be on the brink of doing something similar.

Here’s how: Some background:

Falsified paperwork for mortgages helped kick off a cascade of misery during the last financial crisis more than a decade ago. The market collapsed. Banks failed. People lost their homes in droves.

We just dropped a story & podcast about deep-seated corruption in old New York, property tax avoidance by the upper crust, and the President’s company.

Here’s how we reported out a story whose origins predated 9-11:

THREAD @katherrun at WNYC got a tip that we should talk to some of the 18 tax assessors who were indicted in 2002 for taking bribes from building owners to lower tax bills.

We should ask them about Trump Org, our tipster said.

Lots of folks are trying to get their hands on Trump’s tax returns.

His personal returns are still secret, but I found a work-around to his businesses’ tax filings that revealed those financials didn’t always match what he told a lender.

Here’s how I did it. First, on a suggestion from my colleague @marilynt2004 last winter we tracked down Trump loan information, including income and expenses, for:

- 40 Wall Street
- The Trump International Hotel and Tower
- 1290 Avenue of the Americas
- Trump Tower