Foreclosures for 3.9.10

In the past week both Chesterfield and Henrico Counties saw a significant increase in the number of properties going to public auction, while Richmond City saw its numbers drop by more than half. Chesterfield County has 32 new foreclosed properties headed for the courthouse steps, compared to 24 the week before, and Henrico has 19 new properties, nearly twice the amount of its 10 properties last week.

The average loan value for a foreclosed property in Chesterfield rose from $167,306 to $177,021, and in Henrico it dropped from $214,095 to $193,079. The number of new foreclosed properties in Richmond City fell mightily from 22 last week, to 9, but the average loan value is fairly comparable at $120,944 to $122,204, respectively. Hanover County, who only reported one new property headed for public auction, has the highest average loan value at $348,548 from last week’s listing. Read more

City approves stimulus bonds for private projects

A handful of local projects could get a big boost from a federal stimulus program that funds tax-free bonds.

Last night City Council approved a resolution submitted by Mayor Dwight Jones requesting approval of five projects to be financed using Recovery Zone Facility bonds, a program of the federal stimulus act. The city has been allocated $8.8 million in bond issuing authority under the program. A total of $15 billion was allocated nationwide. Read more

Surprise: Former LandAmerica customers vote for bankruptcy plan

LandAmerica’s former 1031 exchange customers have come to the final stage of grief: acceptance.

After a fiercely contested – and emotional – battle against the formerly Richmond-based title insurance company, 97 percent of the exchangers voted for the bankruptcy plan. Read more

SBA lending rebounds

Lending is starting to flow again to small businesses.

The Small Business Administration Richmond office helped broker 230 loans in the most recent quarter, which ends today. That’s 19 more than the same quarter last year – and the first quarter in a year not see at least a 27 percent decrease in the number of loans issued.

Two quarters ago, the number of loans was down more than 50 percent from the previous year.

“There’s a little more confidence out there in the small-business community,” said Scott Dailey, an assistant director at the SBA’s Richmond office, which handles the entire state except for Northern Virginia. Read more

Greening a Richmond skyscraper

The SunTrust Center building at 919 E. Main St. is getting greener.

Local contractor ColonialWebb will replace the skyscraper’s outdated boilers with a tankless hot water and heating system called SmartPlate.

The system will cost $200,000 to $400,000 but will reduce natural gas consumption by 30 percent, paying for itself in less than six years, according to Ray Battani, a manager for ColonialWebb. Read more

Local builder files for bankruptcy protection

Prospect Homes, a local homebuilder for more than 25 years, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday.

The company, owned by President Joe Audi, owes creditors between $50 million and $100 million, according to the filing. More than 200 companies and individuals are owed money.

Many businesses listed as creditors were not surprised by the news, as checks had been late in arriving for at least six months. But several local business owners said they kept working with Prospect after Audi met with them, in part because they wanted future work and had known the company for decades. Read more

SunTrust cuts back on cleaning service

SunTrust Bank has cut back its janitorial services from every night to every-other-night, according to an employee at the company. The cuts are at the office on the Southside but may also occur at the office on East Main Street.