The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "resale" ...
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Trouble in Jayhawk Nation
A look into the University of Kansas' athletic program reveals a corrupt system. The Star reveals that the university's athletic director was paid an exorbitant salary and also uncovers connections between university officials and the felon who illegally resold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of basketball tickets.
Tags: University of Kansas; athletic department; ticket resale; basketball; travel expenses; salary
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Forgive Us Our Debts
Increasing abuse by debt collectors not only violates federal law, but is indicative of a growing $60 billion market for reselling debt. The massive market resembles the unstable mortgage-security market, and collapse could put the economy on the brink again. Additionally, tactics used by debt collectors are abusive and often unfounded on any hard evidence of consumer debt. The debt resale market is plagued with problems that surface in this investigation.
Tags: collection; collectors; debtors; debt; consumers; practices; tactics; abuse; reselling; market; economy; debt; victims; lawsuits;
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Database Delay
Unethical car sellers putting salvage vehicles on the road has presented a danger to those on the road. KGTV shows how a database could have saved billions of dollars while preventing unnecessary deaths on the road.
Tags: CARFAX; auction; rental car; John Ashcroft; Attorney General; resale; history report;
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Timeshares: No Matter How You Slice Them, Buyers Pay a Price
With major corporations now involved, timeshare buyers face "high-pressure sales tactics, expensive financing, convoluted reservation systems, volatile and steep annual fees and questionable management and a dismal resale market in which owners virtually must give away their units in order to get rid of them." Even as major lawsuits have been field in recent years on behalf of timeshare buyers, "most states do little to regulate the industry and ensure that timeshare units are accurately represented and that the reservation systems are fairly administered."
Tags: timeshares; housing market; timeshare financing; property loans; timeshare resale
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San Francisco's Golden Garage Doors
As the number of cars in San Francisco grows, the number of available parking spots stays the same. The result? An increasingly outrageous price tag on garage space in the city. So now, more than ever, homeowners are spending money improving their houses by adding garages, which increases resale value by as much as 20 percent or more over the asking price, one real estate agent says.
Tags: garages; San Francisco; parking
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Putting the Sqeeze on Lemon Dealers
One of the most profitable rackets in the automotive industry is lemon laundering.
Tags: lemon laundering; car dealers; fraudulent resale; lemon law
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Shoddy Home Construction
A Boston Globe investigation reveals that "Toll Brothers, the country's largest builder of luxury homes, is plagued by lax supervision, sloppy construction methods and the use of inferior materials, generating substantial ill will among buyers nationwide." The stories focus mainly on problems in Hopkinton Highlands, and report that some luxurious homes built by Toll Brothers have foundation cracks, faulty framing and improperly secured walls. The series also reports that substandard home construction is becoming a national problem, and that the government admits serious lapses in overseeing the performance of home building companies.
Tags: building code violations; architecture; homeowners; building permits; resale value; land development; warranty claims
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Goodwill Hunting
"Goodwill Industries is a nonprofit agency that collects donated items to be resold with the profits going towards helping the disabled. Memphis, Tennessee, uses drop-off points across the city for people to leave their donations. These drop off points are staffed by a Goodwill employee during the day, but at night the donations are unattended. Our investigation uncovered people stealing these donations late at night, often times in large quantities. . . Once we caught the thieves on tape, we confronted them to find out the reason they would steal from the Goodwill. We shared our findings with Goodwill management, who were appalled to learn how widespread the stealing had become. Finally, we showed how these 'Goodwill Thieves' end up hurting people with disabilities, who benefit from the re-sale of the very goods that are being stolen. We also showed viewers how they could keep their donations from ending up in the wrong hands."
Tags: stealing; donations; re-sale goods; robbery prevention; also includes tape and transcript
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Firestone Follow-Up
KIRO-TV reveals "the resale of used, recalled Firestone tires." Through hidden camera investigation the report exposes "tire stores putting potentially dangerous tires back on the road" and "customers cheating Firestone by swapping old tires for new ones." The reporters find that "spare tires on some new Ford trucks were identical to all the recalled tires."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; safety; defects; Consumer Protection Act; black market
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Flipping
A Baltimore Sun investigation of the Baltimore real estate industry reveals that "flipping" is a common practice. "Flipping is the purchase and quick resale of a property at a substantial profit. Flipping itself isn't illegal. It becomes illegal when documents are inflated appraisals and falsified documents are used to get a mortgage for more than a house is worth for a buyer who should not get the loan."
Tags: flipping; Baltimore; housing; mortgages; real estate