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 "selling houses" ...
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War Zone: The Destruction of an All-American City
The hour-long documentary War Zone: The Destruction of an All-American City takes an unprecedented look at the impact of corruption on the East St. Louis, Illinois area, one of the poorest and most violent communities in America. The program was broadcast twice during prime time; Tuesday night at 8 pm on August 28, and the following Saturday night at 7 pm. This project was the result of an ongoing decade-long probe of government waste, corruption, police misconduct, and violence in East St. Louis and the surrounding villages by investigative reporter Craig Cheatham. Our documentary begins with a detailed look at police misconduct and corruption, how it has contributed to the breakdown of public safety in the East St. Louis area, and why local politicians tolerated such outrageous behavior by their officers. The second part of our documentary focuses on the impact of derelict and vacant housing, the slumlords who own the property and the people who live in some of the worst housing in the metro area. Our investigation also uncovered new connections between politicians and legendary slumlord Ed Sieron, who was business partners with a longtime mayor. In addition, KMOV revealed that of the 500 mostly rundown properties that Sieron owns in East St. Louis, only 13 were cited for code violations. That lack of accountability for the notorious slumlord, empowered him and made the people living in his homes feel powerless. War Zone also exposes the way East St. Louis communities have sold their economy to vice-driven businesses like strip clubs, liquor stores, a casino, and convenience marts that had a long history of selling illegal synthetic drugs. Our investigation found that nearly all of these businesses failed to employ a significant number of East St. Louis residents, even though they received millions of dollars in tax incentives that are paid by East St. Louis residents. At the same time East St. Louis is handing out tax breaks to wealthy out-of-town businessmen, it repeatedly refused to provide the same tax incentives for local residents who wanted to create family friendly businesses that would employ people living in the East St. Louis area.
Tags: government corruption; police misconduct; violence; politicians; community; local business
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"House of Cards"
In this investigation, CNBC takes a look at the beginnings of the "global economic collapse." After 9/11, the U.S. government "dropped interest rates" in an attempt to breathe new life into the economy. The investigation reveals how Wall Street took on unstable mortgages to "re-package it and sell it to investors." This story includes personal accounts from home buyers, mortgage brokers, bankers and more.
Tags: hedge-fund; housing market; economic collapse; recession; Wall Street; George W. Bush; Alan Greenspan; Henry Paulson; bailouts; bankrupt; credit crisis
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Trouble in the Walls: Contaminated Chinese Drywall
Drywall from China, which has been contaminated, could become one of the” largest consumer disasters in US history”. Gases being released from the drywall are “corroding wires, air conditioners and shorting out electronics, and suspected of causing health problems like severe headaches, respiratory ailments, asthma attacks and nosebleeds”. Many homeowners can’t afford to move and would never be able to sell their homes, so they are trapped with nowhere to turn.
Tags: houses; housing; gypsum board; wallboard; housing market; government; health officials; families; construction; building
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An Educated Guest: Parents purchase homes for kids at college to save on costly campus housing
Many college students and their parents are saving money on room and board. To do this, they are buying off-campus houses and condos for the students to live in. Many might think this is more expensive, but the answer is it's less expensive than on-campus housing. It is less expensive because after buying these houses and condos, they can sell them and receive a profit off the sale instead of wasting money and never receiving a return.
Tags: education; students; living expenses; college; saving; dorms; roommates; costs; real estate; housing market; foreclosure
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Cashing in on Blight
This investigation exposed a development company that used vacant and neglected homes in low-income neighborhoods to make money by sellings them repeatedly at ever higher prices among a circle of investors, who took out larger loans each time. The company's stated goal of renovating the homes to rent them out was not accomplished.
Tags: real estate; housing; FBI; fraud; lending; CM Development; landlords; Section 8; CAR; FOIA
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Behind the Meltdown
The foreclosure crisis in the Sacramento Bee's coverage area impacted more than 8,000 homes. Among the Bee's findings were that while the area's median income was about $80,000, home loan "stated income" applications indicated reported figures closer to $100,000, which were not verified before a loan was disbursed. As a result of the risky loans, many home buyers' credit ratings took a major hit, while homes dropped in value and the market was flooded with people attempting to sell. With so many vacant homes, squatters have become a problem in neighborhoods like North Sacramento's Western Avenue, which the Bee identifies as perhaps the area hardest hit by the crisis.
Tags: Foreclosures; home loans; false income reports; subprime lending; housing crisis
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Sold a Nightmare
"A year-long examination of the home-selling industry during the mortgage boom, and the consequences for" Charlotte. They "exposed problematic financial relationships between builders and real estate companies that funneled clients into their new developments."
Tags: housing; mortgage; city government; real estate; neighborhood; loan
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Losing Faith in "Bishop"
A gentleman identifying himself as "His Grace Bishop Frumentius" offered a $56 million investment to build a housing project on the former Saginaw Fairgrounds. That 57-acre parcel of land was owned by the local Housing Commission, which was being forced to sell it due to a ruling that it had purchased the land without authority. But the bishop was revealed as Daniel Earl Phelps, "a parolee who served 10 years in prison on financial improprieties." Phelps' stated education history as well as the church he said he represented were shown to be nonexistent, with his main history shown to be tales of similar cases in other towns.
Tags: fraud; housing development; religious impersonation; fraudulent bishop
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Affordable No More
The Southeastern Economic Development Corp. had been tasked with "redeveloping one of San Diego's poorest neighborhoods," with the goal of building affordable housing. But people with close ties to this public agency abused the system, selling homes for much higher prices than had been approved in the agency's contract, and also "failed to file the proper deeds on the subsidized homes in the project," allowing the houses to be flipped for a profit.
Tags: Southeastern Economic Development Corp.; redevelopment; affordable housing; property flipping; fraud; title registration
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Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal and the Selling of the Iraq War
"Hubris is a narrative that tells the behind the scenes of story of events inside the White House, CIA, Pentagon, State Department and Congress as President Bush sold the country on the need to go to war against Iraq. It reveals how the Bush administration distorted, twisted, and embellished intelligence to present a thoroughly false picture that Iraq was a storehouse of weapons of mass destruction, was reconstituting its nuclear program, and had relationships with al Qaeda terrorists- despite significant doubts and dissents from numerous intelligence analysts and government experts." It also delves into the role of the news organizations in selling the idea and how White House officials undermined Iraq critics.
Tags: Iraq War; al Qaeda; George W. Bush; Bush; weapons of mass destruction; CIA; Pentagon; White House; Congress; Saddam Hussein; Karl Rove; Dick Cheney;