Orange County Register

Rick Peters, a longtime home builder and land development expert, has started a consulting business to help banks, trustees and other folks around the country figure out what to do with distressed properties. Peters lives in Seacliff and the R.E. Peters Company is based in Huntington Beach. He was director of construction for Fieldstone Communities’ California division for nearly 30 years.

The new company offers what amounts to a crash course in real estate, from site assessments and risk evaluations to recommendations on how to increase a property’s revenue potential.

Some excerpts from our interview:

“The banks, the asset managers, the receivers, they generally don’t understand what to do with the property because they haven’t had that type of a background. They’re reaching out, asking for help.

“The research that I’ve been able to do helps them understand what the real costs are …..through the comps in the area, what the homes are being sold for today and what the perceived value is.”

Nothing’s too minor to measure. Even pigeon droppings or dirt blown indoors through windows left open at an abandoned property can affect the bottom line, he says.

Peters is among many who see today’s problems as much different from the downturn in the ’90s.

“The puzzle today is one I’ve never put together before. In the ’90s, homes were still selling. There were some bright spots. Here today, I think we hit a wall with price structure, perceived value. If you could breathe and answer a phone, you got a loan. It’s one of the biggest scars in what we’re dealing with today. The foreclosure situation is just out of control.

“The majority of the properties in Huntington Beach were built, sold and closed prior to this whole subprime debacle … The Palmdale/Lancaster area was absolutely annihilated because of the subprime situation. The majority of the loans out there are in trouble if they haven’t been foreclosed already.

“You look at some of the I-15 corridor, dairyland master developments north of the 91 (freeway) …  there was quite a bit going on there, too. Some of the developers, a number of their properties went directly back to the banks.”

When does he see things start to turn around?

“I really believe the first second of the first day in 2009 is going to be emotionally upbeat for most everyone. 2008 was one of the most difficult years for many people in the history of their lifetimes. I believe that with the settling in of the administration, some of the future programs the president and his administration are talking about doing … although I don’t agree with all of that, I believe it’s going to take through the end of 2009 to develop a strong base for people to firmly plant their feet on and prepare for a gradual upswing in 2010 through 2015.

“The decline in the economy has helped to bring to a stop to the increase in prices for large ticket items such as homes, office buildings, things like that. When we can get down to a level when they’re more affordable, it will help increase stabilization in the economy because people will be buying more … as the market stablizes and homebuilding begins to rebound, more jobs will occur, not just in the industry but in all of the tentacles that connect to the homebuilding industry.”

Read more:

• Surf City’s mayor-elect: ‘Let the market dictate’
• Fewer homes lost to foreclosure than elsewhere
• Love your real estate agent? Oh, not so much?
• How to protect your home –wherever it is — from fire
• Mortgage expert: Don’t lower loan limits
• $5.2 million home goes on market in H.B. harbor

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