San Diego County foreclosures have plummeted to a nearly seven-low year — in light of rising home values, the effects of government intervention and new protections for California consumers, said real estate tracker DataQuick on Tuesday.

A total of 175 trustee deeds, which signal a foreclosure, were recorded countywide in May. That’s the lowest level since September 2006, when 172 homes were foreclosed upon and the local housing market began to see troubling declines in prices and sales.

“We’ve pretty much gone back to normalcy in foreclosures,” said Alan Nevin, a housing analyst with the London Group in downtown San Diego.

The most obvious reason for the foreclosure drop is that notices of default, the first step in the foreclosure process, also have fallen drastically. A total of 642 default notices were filed in May, down 52 percent from a year ago.

That figure tends be sporadic month-to-month, due to sudden hikes or drops in filings from major mortgage servicers, Nevin said. Still, defaults have generally been trending down. May’s total is about 28 percent lower than the one-year average of 887, DataQuick numbers show.

How did we get here?

A mix of factors — from an improving housing market to multibillion-dollar mortgage settlements — have played roles in cutting real estate distress throughout the county, said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage.

The median price for a home sold in May rose past the $400,000 mark, the first time in five-plus years. May also marked the ninth straight month of double-digit annual gains in prices. That has been instrumental in lifting homeowners out of negative equity, especially those on the brink of defaulting on their mortgages, LePage said.

Those market dynamics give more hope to consumers, who now have “far greater incentive to hang on” to their properties, he added.

Troubled homeowners in the past year also have had more access to foreclosure alternatives through government settlements with major banks accused of foreclosure abuses.

Those deals required companies such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Chase to provide more homeowner aid. That help has included loan modifications, principal reductions and short sales, deals that let homeowners sell their homes for less than what they owe on their loans.

Also helping consumers are new protections, nicknamed the Homeowner Bill of Rights, which went into effect in California at the start of the year. A key feature of that set of laws prevents banks from starting the foreclosure process while a loan modification has been submitted or being reviewed by the bank, also called dual process.

San Diego’s housing comeback has come quicker than expected, Nevin said, because the county didn’t overbuild like other major metros including Phoenix and Las Vegas, where the foreclosure issue was more severe and prices have taken longer to recover.

Also, foreclosed properties in San Diego County did not remain on the market long because investors, many of them seasoned, snapped them up, Nevin said.

Discussion of a “shadow inventory,” a buzz term describing a spate of homes on the brink of default, has waned among real estate experts and in news reports. Fears of an imminent foreclosure wave, one that has been predicted for years, are over, Nevin said.

“We’re pretty much over it,” Nevin said. “Once again, it isn’t uniform across the United States, but in coastal California all the way up to Seattle, there is no hidden inventory of foreclosures.”

Lily Leung • U-T June 18, 2013

Pent-up housing demand and low mortgage rates have pushed home prices and sales toward multi-year highs in San Diego County, based on a report from local real estate tracker DataQuick on Tuesday.

The median price for a home sold in May was $406,500, a 2 percent bump from April and a 21 percent jump from a year ago. That’s the highest level since February 2008, when the median was $415,000. Prices have held a five-year high for the past two months.

Increased demand for homes also is reflected in May sales numbers. Countywide, a total of 4,236 properties were sold. That’s the highest tally since June 2006, when 4,533 sales were recorded. Southeastern Carlsbad had the most number of sales at 123.

Home values began their steady rise more than a year ago and exploded with double-digit annual increases starting in September. Those increases have only become more pronounced in recent months.

The same factors are involved in what real estate experts have called an unusual market. Potential buyers, lured by near-bottom mortgage rates, are competing for a limited supply of homes that can sometimes lead to all-out bidding battles. The county also has been seeing a lower mix of distressed sales including foreclosures and short sales, which tends to drive up the median price.

“We’re deep into uncharted territory: Amazingly low mortgage rates, a razor-thin inventory of homes for sale, and the release of years’ worth of pent-up demand,” said DataQuick president John Walsh in the report. “Plus there’s a seemingly endless stream of investors and non-investors who pay cash and thereby avoid the loan-qualification process.”

Cash, often preferred by home sellers, can be another hurdle for buyers who depend on mortgage financing. In the spring, about 30 percent of total sales in San Diego County were completed in cash.

An all-time record amount of $4.65 billion in cash was poured into Southern California real estate in May, either in down payments or for purchases, DataQuick reported. The all-time high suggests buyers have a renewed confidence in the housing market since they’re putting more skin in the game, the report says.

Home prices could ease if more property owners choose to list their homes on account of the latest annual price gains. The county saw its first significant listings uptick in about three years. There are about 4,800 homes on the market right now, a 7 percent uptick from the previous month, based on numbers from the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors. Still, listing supply is about 22 percent lower than a year ago.

Walsh, of DataQuick, says it’s too early to say how market dynamics will play out or whether the region’s heading toward the danger zone of another housing bubble.

“History suggests that’s a tough call early on,” he said in the report. “What seems obvious is that if prices keep rising fast they’ll cause many more people to list their homes for sale, and that increase in supply should at least slow the rate of price appreciation.”

Lily Leung • U-T June 11, 2013

Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP

1. Question:

What are my legal rights regarding maintaining a full deposit on a unit when one roommate moves out and another stays? My understanding is that I am entitled to maintain the full deposit while at least one of the original tenants remains in residency, and it is that remaining person’s responsibility to refund the deposit.

Answer:

Unless your lease provides otherwise, you do not have to account for the use of the deposit or do an inspection until you regain possession of the unit. The roommate who vacated is not entitled to a refund or inspection at this time unless your lease specifically requires it.

2. Question:

One of our tenants wants her security deposit refund in cash as the other roommate on the lease has moved out of state with no forwarding address. If the missing roommate’s name is on the refund check, the remaining tenant is concerned that she cannot cash the check.

Answer:

You can either make the check out to both tenants or have one tenant send you a notarized statement that he/she is relinquishing all rights to the deposit to the other tenant. Otherwise, you face potential liability to the one who did not receive the deposit.

3. Question:

Does the acceptance of rent from someone who is not on the lease mean I’ve accepted him as a tenant?

Answer:

Accepting a third party check does not by itself necessarily indicate that you have accepted this person as a tenant. It is a good idea to indicate that this is being received on behalf of the tenant and does not indicate any tenancy relationship between you and the check writer.

4. Question:

I am having a bit of a problem with a repeat visitor on my property. He is a young man who knows a lot of the children who live here. It has been brought to my attention that he has been selling marijuana on our property, but I have not personally seen this. Can I keep him off of the property based on this information?

Answer:

If he is not visiting one of your tenants, he is trespassing. If he is visiting one of your residents, they are responsible for his conduct. In any case you should call the police.

5. Question:

I have a resident who moved in this last month. I have had a lot of noise complaints about him from other residents. I have also issued three warning notices for noise and the cleaning of this patio. He has a one-year lease. What can I do?

Answer:

If the disturbances rise to the level of a public or private nuisance (major, continuous disturbances to neighbors), then you could serve a Three-Day Notice to Quit based upon the nuisance.

6. Question:

I have tenants who recently divorced. The husband has moved out. Can we take him off the rental agreement?

Answer:

It is not in your best interest to take him off the lease as he is still responsible for the lease payments even though he moved out. To remove him, you would need to get his permission and consent.

7. Question:

Is there a smoke detector ordinance that requires an owner to perform an annual smoke detector inspection in each unit? If so, what is the purpose of the smoke detector agreement?

Answer:

California state law does not require an annual inspection of a smoke detector inside a rented unit; however, the owner is responsible to maintain and test smoke detectors in common stairwells or other common property of the apartment community. Tenants are required to notify the owner of an inoperable smoke detector in their unit.

8. Question:

One of our employees said she believes that a tenant’s rental agreement must be signed in the owner’s or agent’s presence, or notarized, or it will be invalid.

Answer:

California rental agreements do not have to be notarized or signed in front of the owner or owner’s agent.

9. Question:

Can I ban alcohol in the pool area?

Answer:

You can control the common areas of the premises so you could ban the use of alcohol in the pool area.

10. Question:

Do I give a sixty-day notice on a month-to-month tenancy for a rent increase of 10%?

Answer:

No, a thirty-day notice is all that is required unless the increase is more than 10% of what the rent was one year ago.

This article is for general information purposes only. Laws may have changed since this article was published. Before acting, be sure to receive legal advice from our office. Ted Kimball is a partner with Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP. The law firm specializes in landlord/tenant, collections, fair housing and business and real estate, with offices throughout California. Property owner’s and manager’s with questions regarding the contents of this article, please call 800.338.6039. © 2013 Kimball, Tirey and St. John

You’ve just found the perfect apartment. It has everything you want: good location and great amenities at the right price. But there’s just one problem: your credit score. In the last few years, many people have gone through tough times, even bankruptcy. And their credit scores are bad as a result. But that doesn’t have to preclude you from getting into a rental.

Start your apartment search by scanning ads. Numerous websites including rent.com and apartments.com can connect you directly with landlords who may be forgiving of your credit history. It is likely they suffered in the market downturn just like you did.

In the event that your credit score is requested, honesty is always the best rule of thumb. Be upfront about your credit history and even consider adding a written note to your report explaining shortcomings and discrepancies. Remember, the goal is to build trust with the landlord.

If concerns still remain, then providing written references can go a long way, especially if they come from previous landlords who can vouch for your promptness with payments and how you cared for your last apartment. Also consider negotiating with other tools, such as paying several months’ rent at signing or offering a higher security deposit. Actions like these can do a lot to make up for questionable credit.

If you still can’t strike an agreement, then keep a few other options in mind as well. For example, suggest a month-to-month rental agreement as opposed to a fixed-term lease. Landlords often view month-to-month agreements as a better option for questionable tenants. You also might volunteer to set up an automatic payment option to reassure a skeptical landlord.

With the right approach, a poor credit rating doesn’t have to keep you out of your perfect apartment.

Alan Pentico • U-T May 30, 2013

Home buyers are paying more for newly built homes than they ever have, as U.S. home builders continue pushing up prices and limiting the number of properties hitting the market.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the median price of a new home hit $271,600 in April, while the average new-home price reached $330,800, both record highs.

The price gain for new homes comes amid a spring selling season—typically the most crucial time of year for builders, as families rush to buy new homes before the next school year—that has plodded along at a steady pace. Thursday’s new-home sales report showed that builders were on pace in April to sell 454,000 homes this year, up 2.3% from March and up 29% compared to the same month last year.

To be sure, Thursday’s numbers don’t mean new-home prices have returned to peak levels in all markets. In many markets, rising new-home prices reflect the fact that builders are selling fewer lower-priced starter homes and more move-up homes, which tend to be more expensive.

The average and median prices for April are based on 45,000 signed contracts. In the month of April 2006, when median new home prices were nearly as high as they are today, builders sold 100,000 homes. Nationally, home prices stood 29% below their 2006 peak, according to the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller index.

While the gains in sale volume have been relatively strong, some building-company executives and market experts say that sales aren’t as strong as they could be because some builders are deliberately holding back sales as a way to control supply and maximize prices. There were 156,000 new homes for sale in April, adjusted for seasonality, the report said, representing a 4.1-month supply of homes at the current sales pace—slightly above the lowest level of inventory in more than eight years.

“There was a time, as recently as six months ago, when builders were scrambling to do anything they could to sell a home,” said David Rice, a former executive at Pulte Homes PHM +0.59% and now president of New Home Star, a Chicago company that provides sales services for builders. “In the past three months, they’ve really taken their feet off the gas pedal.”

In a May 13 client report, housing-research firm Zelman & Associates noted that 60% of builders questioned in a recent survey said they had intentionally slowed sales pace in at least one community in April.

Builders are focusing on pricing over sales volume in part because costs for land, labor and materials like lumber, concrete and drywall boards are rising. Land prices in particular have jumped because land developers—the companies that install sidewalks, pipes and other infrastructure—were largely dormant for most of the downturn, leading to a shortage of builder-ready lots.

Jonathan Jaffe, chief operating officer of Lennar Corp., LEN -1.54% the country’s third-largest builder by volume, told analysts in a March conference call that because of land shortages, Lennar is in many communities deliberately keeping its sales pace slow to “suppress it below what the market would demand.” As a result, “we are seeing more significant price increases,” Mr. Jaffe said.

Other public builders, including Toll Brothers Inc. TOL -2.45% and KB Home KBH -1.79% have reported sharp price increases in recent earnings reports.

On Wednesday, Toll, the largest builder of luxury homes in the U.S., reported that quarterly profits were up 46% from a year earlier, and that the average price of a Toll home had risen by $26,000 in the quarter, to $577,000. Toll’s chief executive, Douglas Yearley, told analysts in a conference call that he planned to keep on raising prices over the next few months and expected the company to open more communities and increase its sales pace significantly in the second half of this year.

“We have some room to go to increase pace,” Mr. Yearley said.

By  Robbie Whelan The Wall Street Journal May 24th, 2013

WASHINGTON—Sales of previously owned homes reached the highest level in more than three years, with the share of foreclosure purchases shrinking, as the housing market continued its rebound last month.

Existing-home sales inched up 0.6% in April from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. The results were the highest since November 2009 and were 9.7% above the same month a year earlier.

The report brought several new signs that the housing market is well on its way to recovery from the housing bust. Homes sold in April were on the market for a median of 46 days, down from 83 a year earlier. The median sale price in April was $192,800, up 11% from a year earlier, the highest since August 2008. Sales of homes under $100,000, including many foreclosures, were down nearly 10% from a year earlier, while sales of properties for more than $750,000 were up by more than 40%.

The overall percentage of sales that were foreclosures and other distressed properties fell to 18%, the lowest level since the Realtors’ group began tracking the issue through surveys of agents in October 2008

That indicates the market is taking on “a semblance of normality” as more sales occur under conventional conditions, said Paul Diggle, property economist with Capital Economics.

“The recovery is not dependent on cash buyers and investors snapping up cheap distressed homes, as many had feared,” Mr. Diggle said. “That’s an encouraging sign that the recovery will be sustained.”

The number of homes for sale rose for the third straight month as sellers sought to take advantage of the spring buying season. The inventory of previously owned homes listed for sale at the end of April increased 11.9% to 2.16 million homes, but was still down 13.6% from year-ago levels. The figures are not seasonally adjusted.

The inventory represented a 5.2-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.7 months a month earlier. Compared with a month earlier, sales rose in the Northeast, South and West, but dropped in the Midwest.

Inventories typically rise around this time of year as homeowners ready their properties for the spring selling season. Existing-home sales may have been restrained in recent months by a limited availability of homes, and an expansion in inventories with fewer distressed properties could increase sales and allow prices to keep rising, analysts said. Still, too much inventory can weigh on home prices, as seen during the housing market collapse.

“Perhaps the rising value of homes is prompting sellers to test the waters” by putting more homes up for sale, said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

By  SARAH PORTLOCK and ALAN ZIBEL The Wall Street Journal May 23th, 2013

The sluggishness of the U.S. economy is keeping a lid on inflation, leaving companies unable to increase prices and raising doubts about the durability of the recovery.

Consumer prices fell 0.4% in April, the second straight month of declines, the Labor Department said Thursday. Over the past year, prices have risen just 1.7%, omitting food and energy, below the roughly 2% level that Federal Reserve officials consider healthy for the economy.

While tame inflation is good news for consumers, it also reflects the considerable slack in the economy—including factories with spare capacity that isn’t being used and the nearly 12 million Americans who are looking for work but can’t find it. Until the economy starts firing on more cylinders, with more workers getting jobs and factories ramping up production, U.S. companies will find it hard to raise prices without losing customers.

That’s the case at PFI Western Store, a Springfield, Mo., retailer of clothing and cowboy boots. Business has perked up in recent months, spokeswoman Cortney Little said, but that isn’t translating into higher prices. Indeed, the store is using promotions to bring people in.

Thursday’s report raised concerns about the risk of deflation, or falling prices, which can kick off a dangerous cycle with long-term damage to the economy.

The slowing price growth—and the risk of deflation, however small—gives the Federal Reserve more room to continue its easy-money policy, designed to boost growth. The Fed could also increase the amount of bonds it is buying to help push more money into the economy and perhaps lift inflation toward its target.

“If inflation continues to decelerate, we would not be surprised to see the Fed buy at a fast pace for a time,” said Michael S. Hanson, senior U.S. economist at Bank of America BAC +0.05% Merrill Lynch. “Until inflation moves meaningfully back toward the Fed’s long-run 2% target, it will be too soon to expect the Fed to taper—let alone end—its purchases.”

Some Fed officials have said the recent easing of inflation could be transitory. “I don’t think we should overreact to temporary deviations, as long as we’re confident that’s what they are,” Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said in a speech on Wednesday, before the latest consumer-price data were released.

Falling prices in some areas, such as gasoline, could encourage consumers to spend more in other areas, boosting the economy. A Commerce Department report earlier this week showed households spent less at gas stations in April as fuel prices fell and deployed some of that savings at other retailers.

The latest figures, combined with reports earlier this week showing declines in U.S. import and wholesale prices, raise concerns about the underlying health of the economy. In a separate release Thursday, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims increased by 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted 360,000 in the week ended May 11, the largest one-week gain in new benefit requests since November 2012.

World economic conditions aren’t helping the inflation picture. A recession in Europe and concerns about slower growth in China have weighed on energy and commodity prices. Demand for gasoline in the U.S. has been further depressed by improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency and changes in driving habits. Europe is grappling with even weaker inflation due to its moribund economy: Data released Thursday showed that, excluding food and energy costs, consumer prices in the 17-member euro zone rose just 1% in April from a year earlier.

The biggest factor behind the falling inflation numbers is a persistent drop in energy prices, including gasoline, which fell in price last month before stabilizing. Prices of clothing and airfares also slumped in April.

Lower gas prices are helping consumers like Steve Nelson in Houston, who is unemployed but used to work in the equipment-leasing industry. The 64-year-old has been looking for a job for two years and is trying, along with his wife, to keep his expenses to a minimum. A drop in prices at the pump means Mr. Nelson’s wife, who still works and has a relatively long commute, can trim her costs. “It all helps,” he said.

 By NEIL SHAH and JONATHAN HOUSE The Wall Street Journal May 17th, 2013

Home prices in metropolitan areas saw their biggest year-over-year gains in more than seven years in the first quarter, evidence that the housing recovery is spreading across the nation.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that the national median closing price for an existing single-family house was $176,600 in the first quarter, up 11.3% from the first quarter of 2012. That was the largest year-over-year gain since the end of 2005. Of the 150 metro areas tracked by the NAR, sale prices rose in 133 and declined in 17.

“The supply/demand balance is clearly tilted toward sellers in a good portion of the country,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

The biggest gain was in Akron, Ohio, where the median sale price rose 32.7% to $108,300. Following Akron, prices were up 32.6% in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area; 32.1% in Reno-Sparks, Nev.; 31.7% in the Silicon Valley area surrounding San Jose; 31.1% in Atlanta; and 30.1% in Phoenix.

Prices are still falling in Kankakee-Bradley, Ill., where they were down 18.8%. Prices declined 8.6% in Edison, N.J.; 8.3% in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.; 5.5% in Champaign-Urbana, Ill.; and 5.0% in Erie, Pa.

The NAR’s quarterly report is a good measure of general price trends, but the results can sometimes overstate the magnitude of price gains because they don’t control for shifts in the number of homes sold in various price categories. As a result, the median price can rise sharply if sales of higher-end homes increase faster than sales of lower-priced homes.

A companion study showed that despite the rise in prices, homes remain relatively affordable and low mortgage interest rates have given home buyers “ample buying power” in the current market, NAR said.

By  Robbie Whelan The Wall Street Journal May 9th, 2013

Near record-low mortgage rates have been luring potential homebuyers to the real estate market. But are you armed with the basics to take on the commitment of a home loan?

A recent survey from real estate website Zillow shows consumers incorrectly answered mortgage questions about one-third of the time. Potential and current homeowners had misconceptions about how mortgage rates work, the minimum required for down payments and the importance of shopping around for mortgages to get the best rate.

What you don’t know could get you in trouble financially and cost you thousands more over the course of your mortgage.

Some misconceptions:

• Half of would-be buyers incorrectly believed mortgage rates were set once a day. They actually change throughout the day.

• More than a third of would-be buyers incorrectly believed it was impossible to get a mortgage with less than 5 percent down. Consumers can actually get a mortgage backed by the Federal Housing Administration, FHA, for as low as 3.5 percent down.

• Twenty-six percent of buyers incorrectly believed they have to get a mortgage with the same company that got them pre-approved. You can actually use any mortgage company. In fact, it’s important to shop around to get the best rates, said Erin Lantz, Zillow’s director of mortgages. Shopping around can help you save thousands of dollars throughout the life of your mortgage, she said.

Lily Leung • U-T May 20, 2013

Arthur Patterson received an unusual request from a real-estate agent in February: Would he consider selling his two-bedroom townhouse in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood to a buyer ready to place an offer—even though the home wasn’t on the market?

The timing made sense for Mr. Patterson, a 25-year-old software engineer who at the time was planning a move overseas. But instead of selling at a price that would have left him with less than he paid, he decided to rent the house out. “If I could have walked away with cash in hand for what I had paid for it four years ago, I would have done it,” he said.

Mr. Patterson’s decision highlights the latest hurdles for the housing market. Would-be sellers aren’t eager to list at home prices that, while rising, remain sharply off their peak. That, in turn, is creating supply shortages as the spring sales season gets into gear.

Sales of previously owned homes in March fell 0.6% from February after adjusting for seasonal factors, the National Association of Realtors said on Monday. Sales were still up by 10.3% from a year earlier, marking the 21st consecutive month in which sales have increased from their year-ago levels.

In a reversal from just two years ago, the biggest challenge facing housing markets today is too few homes being offered for sale, according to industry executives. The lack of supply is fueling activities that are reminiscent of the housing boom of the past decade: bidding wars, lotteries to purchase new homes, home flipping, and letters like the one Mr. Patterson received.

“Almost everyone wants to buy a home right now—interest rates are low, the market has turned, and they want to get in on the bottom—and they can’t,” said Glenn Kelman, chief executive of real-estate brokerage Redfin, which does business in 21 markets. While the housing-market revival shows few signs of reversing, Mr. Kelman worries that the “inventory crunch has become self-perpetuating: people can’t find a new house, so they’re hesitant to sell their old house.”

The number of homes for sale in March totaled 1.93 million, up by 1.6% from February but down by 16.8% from one year ago. It was the lowest level of inventory for the month of March since 2000, according to the Realtors’ group.

Inventories are falling because banks have been pushing fewer homes through foreclosure and many homeowners are either unable or unwilling to sell. “A lot of people have in their mind a reservation price, and until they get close to it, they’re not going to list,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. Until more sellers can get that price, he said, “we could see some very strong price growth.”

The median home price in March rose to $184,300, up 11.8% from one year ago, but still well off the peak of $230,000 in July 2006. Median prices rose by 26% in the West, reflecting an increase in sales of more expensive homes. Homes are also selling more quickly: Some 37% of homes sold in March were on the market for less than a month, and half of all homes sold within two months, down from three months one year ago, according to the NAR.

Angela Creech, a real-estate agent at Redfin, marveled as prospective buyers streamed through an open house at a three-bedroom condominium in Aliso Viejo, Calif., earlier this year. Last year, Ms. Creech said she would have been lucky to sell the home for $460,000. It listed for $515,000, drew 29 offers and sold for $30,000 above the asking price. “There’s just nothing to choose from,” she said.

Investors in many markets are competing for homes and making attractive bids by offering to pay in cash. Paul Reid, a real-estate agent based in nearby Mission Viejo, Calif., says two of his clients have suspended their home-shopping searches because of “how crazy it is.” He began noticing hand-drawn signs on street corners saying “Sell Your House for Cash” late last year. “It’s a little disheartening for buyers. I haven’t seen those since 2006,” he said.

Some are turning to the new-home market, boosting the fortunes of builders that have been sidelined for the past four years by high levels of foreclosed properties. In San Ramon, Calif., local builder Shapell Homes drew dozens of buyers for a lottery in January to sell four model homes at Solaire, a new development with homes priced from the low $700,000 range.

By  Nick Timiraos The Wall Street Journal April 23, 2013