InvestFloridaRealty

No EHLP Foreclosure Prevention Help for Floridians

2011-06-30T12:09:00.000-04:00

In danger of foreclosure? You have until July 22 to apply for the federal government's Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program.

By Emily Glazer, WSJ

[Unfortunately, Florida is not included in the participating states, but Puerto Rico is included. Interesting!

EHLP will be available in the following states: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. EHLP is also offered in Puerto Rico. ]

Eligible homeowners can qualify for an interest-free loan to pay a portion of their monthly mortgage for up to two years, or up to $50,000, whichever comes first. The money also can be used to pay missed mortgage payments and past-due charges including principal, interest, taxes, insurance and attorney's fees.

Requirements include household income no greater than $75,000 or 120% of the area median income. Homeowners also must be at least three months delinquent on mortgage payments and have received notification of their lender/servicer's intention to foreclose.

Loans will be given out to as many as 30,000 borrowers, with an average loan amount of about $35,000, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The program is available in 27 states, including Massachusetts, New York and Texas. In most states, you must apply through a participating credit-counseling agency, such as CredAbility or Money Management International. Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maryland and Pennsylvania operate and administer the program directly.

Go to http://FindEHLP.org or call 855-346-3345 for more information.

Written by Emily Glazer, Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304569504576408220945889118.html?link=SM_spn_re_res

2 Major Banks Offer Cash Incentives to Homeowners to Short Sell

2011-06-29T22:41:00.001-04:00

‘Secret’ short sale reward in Florida?

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – June 29, 2011 – Two lending giants are reportedly offering homeowners who are behind on their mortgage a cash reward to agree to a short sale in Florida.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. aren’t releasing many details about the short-sale incentives, but defaulting homeowners in Florida have confirmed that they’ve received anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 from the banks in order to agree to a short sale.

To help homeowners avoid foreclosure, banks have offered a “cash for keys” program, offering money in exchange for surrendering the home, but banks offering incentives for a short sale would be new, industry insiders say. Usually the perception is that banks agree to do a short-sale transaction as almost a favor for homeowners, experts note.

The banks won’t say why only some homeowners are being chosen to receive the cash incentives, nor its criteria for choosing who gets the reward, only saying it’s determined by “individual circumstances,” according to the Florida Sun-Sentinel.

The short-sale incentives are a way for the two banks to write off the bad loans as soon as possible and avoid the lengthy process of foreclosure, experts say.

Wells Fargo says it offers the cash incentives to homeowners in Florida and other states "where the foreclosure process is lengthening," spokesman Tom Goyda told the Florida Sun-Sentinel.

In the first three months of 2011, the average foreclosure in Florida took 619 days, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

Source: “Chase Borrowers Getting Cash to Complete Short Sales,” South Florida Sun-Sentinel (June 27, 2011)

© Copyright 2011 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=1&id=261702

Fort Myers High-Rise Finally Draws Crowd

2011-05-03T10:19:00.000-04:00

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: April 29, 2011

FORT MYERS — For two years, Victor Vangelakos was the only resident of a 32-story riverfront tower in Fort Myers.

Now, he has dozens of new neighbors at the Oasis, thanks to new ownership and a new push to sell homes at the high-rise condominium development.

Vangelakos has been out of town, but says he can't wait to see the neighbors. Meanwhile, the Weehawken, N.J., firefighter and the developer remain locked in a bitter legal dispute.

"I'm coming there at the end of the month for just two days" on the way back to New Jersey from Miami, where he's giving a deposition in the lawsuit, Vangelakos said.

"I have yet to see it. I'm looking forward when I get down there to asking all the neighbors how things are going," he said.

The sales push, started with an auction Nov. 20, by new owner Oasis Associates LLC of 40 units to get sales going. Those units were sold at absolute auction, meaning the high bid took the unit with no minimum price by the seller.

Five months later, units have been selling steadily, said Wendy Payton-Enriquez, spokeswoman for The Related Group, which is still managing the project and handling sales.

According to Lee County Clerk of Court records, 12 units at Oasis have been sold in the past two months. The price varied from $155,000 for a one-bedroom condo on the 15th floor to $284,000 for three bedrooms on the 23rd floor.

In Tower 1, where Vangelakos lives, 82 of 200 units are sold or under contract. With a bulk sale of 224 units in Tower 2 in February, that means "the project's about 70 percent sold," Payton-Enriquez said.

The riverfront condominiums are selling briskly, Payton-Enriquez said - and most buyers are paying cash.

It has been a turbulent year for Oasis.

Bank of America, which financed the two towers' construction, filed for foreclosure a year ago on its $154 million loan to Oasis' developer, Miami-based Related. Four months later, the bank assigned the mortgage to a company with connections to Related.

Most of the buyers are using the condos as second homes, although a few are living there full time, Payton-Enriquez said.

Jeff and Carol Turcotte bought a three-bedroom unit on the 14th floor for $165,000 at the auction and now split their time between there and Bristol, N.H., Jeff Turcotte said.

"I think we ended up doing pretty well," he said. "We originally looked at Oasis when this was pre-construction. We liked the plans but thought the price was too high. We ended up buying a villa home at Moody River Estates" in North Fort Myers.

Also, Turcotte said, they moved because of the spectacular views and the project's location.

"We liked the way it was close to downtown Fort Myers," he said. "We like the restaurants, we like the proximity to the city."

Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson said he's glad to hear that, and that he's working to make the downtown even more of a magnet for the riverfront towers. They sprung up after the city hired Miami-based architect Andres Duany to draw up a plan to reinvigorate that part of the city.

Sales at the towers fell sharply, however, after the housing market imploded starting in early 2006. Units at Oasis, for example, now go for less than half their pre-construction prices.

"I'm a little guarded," Henderson said. "I don't want to get too optimistic, because things are going to taper off" after this winter's tourist season ends.

But he said all the signs are encouraging. City officials are in discussions to get a Columbia Restaurant downtown - the Tampa landmark dates back a century and has an enthusiastic following in Florida.

Fort Myers-based commercial real estate broker Steve Luta said he sees a general improvement in downtown real estate. "Things are selling," Luta said.

Payton-Enriquez said a lot of the buyers are Midwesterners, although Oasis is also getting interest from the West Coast and some European countries - notably Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The buyers tend to like the contemporary design of the building and also the assurance that the auction brought to pricing, she said.

"The effect was to jump start the sales process, which was the goal."

With so many cash buyers, Payton-Enriquez said, Oasis' stability is more assured. "There's no foreclosures or short sales in there," she said.

Meanwhile, Vangelakos wants the company to return his deposit and let him out of his purchase of the unit he bought in December 2008. All the other buyers either accepted a swap for a Tower 2 unit or simply walked away from their deposits.

He and his family have vacationed at the condo, where they're usually the only people in the building.

Vangelakos attended the auction but hasn't been in town since then. He said he's certain he'll like the place more than in the years when he was the only resident and Related provided minimal upkeep.

He may not know his new neighbors yet, but they know him because of media coverage, Vangelakos said with a chuckle. "At the auction, they all knew me," he said.

Originally Published: http://www2.tbo.com/business/breaking-news/2011/apr/29/fort-myers-high-rise-finally-draws-crowd-ar-203784

How to Assess the Real Cost of a Fixer-Upper House

2010-11-06T10:44:00.000-04:00

By: G. M. Filisko

When you buy a fixer-upper house, you can save a ton of money, or get yourself in a financial fix.

Trying to decide whether to buy a fixer-upper house? Follow these seven steps, and you’ll know how much you can afford, how much to offer, and whether a fixer-upper house is right for you.

1. Decide what you can do yourself

TV remodeling shows make home improvement work look like a snap. In the real world, attempting a difficult remodeling job that you don’t know how to do will take longer than you think and can lead to less-than-professional results that won’t increase the value of your fixer-upper house.

Do you really have the skills to do it? Some tasks, like stripping wallpaper and painting, are relatively easy. Others, like electrical work, can be dangerous when done by amateurs.

Do you really have the time and desire to do it? Can you take time off work to renovate your fixer-upper house? If not, will you be stressed out by living in a work zone for months while you complete projects on the weekends?

2. Price the cost of repairs and remodeling before you make an offer

Get your contractor into the house to do a walk-through, so he can give you a written cost estimate on the tasks he’s going to do.

If you’re doing the work yourself, price the supplies.

Either way, tack on 10% to 20% to cover unforeseen problems that often arise with a fixer-upper house.

3. Check permit costs

Ask local officials if the work you’re going to do requires a permit and how much that permit costs. Doing work without a permit may save money, but it’ll cause problems when you resell your home.

Decide if you want to get the permits yourself or have the contractor arrange for them. Getting permits can be time-consuming and frustrating. Inspectors may force you to do additional work, or change the way you want to do a project, before they give you the permit.

Factor the time and aggravation of permits into your plans.

4. Doublecheck pricing on structural work

If your fixer-upper home needs major structural work, hire a structural engineer for $500 to $700 to inspect the home before you put in an offer so you can be confident you’ve uncovered and conservatively budgeted for the full extent of the problems.

Get written estimates for repairs before you commit to buying a home with structural issues.

Don’t purchase a home that needs major structural work unless:

You’re getting it at a steep discount

You’re sure you’ve uncovered the extent of the problem

You know the problem can be fixed

You have a binding written estimate for the repairs

5. Check the cost of financing

Be sure you have enough money for a downpayment, closing costs, and repairs without draining your savings.

If you’re planning to fund the repairs with a home equity or home improvement loan:

Get yourself pre-approved for both loans before you make an offer.

Make the deal contingent on getting both the purchase money loan and the renovation money loan, so you’re not forced to close the sale when you have no loan to fix the house.

Consider the Federal Housing Administration’s Section 203(k) program, which lets qualified purchasers wrap up to $35,000 into their mortgages to upgrade their home before they move in.

6. Calculate your fair purchase offer

Take the fair market value of the property (what it would be worth if it were in good condition and remodeled to current tastes) and subtract the upgrade and repair costs.

For example: Your target fixer-upper house has a 1960s kitchen, metallic wallpaper, shag carpet, and high levels of radon in the basement.

Your comparison house, in the same subdivision, sold last month for $200,000. That house had a newer kitchen, no wallpaper, was recently recarpeted, and has a radon mitigation system in its basement.

The cost to remodel the kitchen, remove the wallpaper, carpet the house, and put in a radon mitigation system is $40,000. Your bid for the house should be $160,000.

Ask your real estate agent if it’s a good idea to share your cost estimates with the sellers, to prove your offer is fair.

7. Include inspection contingencies in your offer

Don’t rely on your friends or your contractor to eyeball your fixer-upper house. Hire pros to do common inspections like:

Home inspection. This is key in a fixer-upper assessment. The home inspector will uncover hidden issues in need of replacement or repair. You may know you want to replace those 1970s kitchen cabinets, but the home inspector has a meter that will detect the water leak behind them.

Radon, mold, lead-based paint

Septic and well

Pest

Most home inspection contingencies let you go back to the sellers and ask them to do the repairs, or give you cash at closing to pay for the repairs. The seller can also opt to simply back out of the deal, as can you, if the inspection turns up something you don’t want to deal with.

If that happens, this isn’t the right fixer-upper house for you. Go back to the top of this list and start again.

Great New Service in Florida

2010-10-23T16:43:00.000-04:00

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Foreclosure wheels begin to turn again for Bank of America, GMAC

2010-10-19T18:41:00.000-04:00

NEW YORK – Oct. 19, 2010 – Bank of America and Ally Financial’s GMAC Mortgage have begun to lift their freezes on more than 100,000 foreclosure cases in Florida and other states, saying they’re not finding flaws in their paperwork.

Late Monday, Bank of America issued a statement saying that it expects to begin going back next week to courts in the 23 states where foreclosures are a judicial process, including Florida. A statement from spokesman Dan Frahm said the lender is preparing to re-submit documents in 102,000 foreclosure cases already underway.

Also Monday, Ally Financial spokesman James Olecki confirmed that GMAC is re-submitting documents in some foreclosure cases including at least one in Florida “as each of those files is reviewed and remediated when needed.”

Among major lenders, Bank of America had called a halt to all foreclosure sales nationwide. It also, along with GMAC, JPMorgan Chase and PNC Financial Services, initiated reviews in the 23 judicial foreclosure states. Bank of America later extended its review nationwide. Wells Fargo did not undertake a review of its procedures.

Major lenders in September began announcing halts to all or parts of their foreclosure processes, after revelations – in sworn statements submitted in lawsuits in which homeowners are fighting foreclosures – showing that employees or representatives failed to verify mortgage paperwork before submitting foreclosure cases to courts.

The so-called “robo-signers” said, under oath, that they handled thousands of documents each month without knowing whether they were accurate, as required by court procedure.

The GMAC and Chase documents surfaced in Palm Beach County cases that are still going through the courts.

On Monday, Bank of America said its “initial assessment findings” have shown “the basis for our foreclosure decisions is accurate.”

GMAC’s Olecki wrote in an e-mail, “Again, we have been in the midst of a review for approximately two months and have found no evidence of any inappropriate foreclosures to date.”

A spokesman for PNC Financial said the lender hasn’t changed its position on reviewing foreclosure documents. A spokesman for JPMorgan Chase repeated the bank’s intention to review about 115,000 foreclosure files and delay foreclosure sales.

Monday’s developments won’t speed the foreclosure process in Florida’s overburdened courts, said Alexander Fernandez, director of homeownership preservation for Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida. He noted there are more than 50,000 cases in Broward County alone that are still pending. And renewed cases, he said, would probably go to the back of the line.

Foreclosure defense attorneys questioned how the process can be re-started. “Do they simply get to resubmit the document and go on like nothing happened?” said Matthew Weidner, a St. Petersburg foreclosure defense attorney.

Beyond Florida, Bank of America said it would continue its halt of foreclosure sales in the 27 states that do not handle foreclosures through the judicial system.

Reprinted courtesy of the Florida Sun-Sentinel and Florida Realtors: http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=248980
Foreclosures in Florida: Remedies, Defenses, and Lender Liability The mortgage foreclosure crisis in Florida: a 21st century solution.: An article from: Florida Bar Journal

Foreclosure investigation growing, state official says

2010-10-13T11:02:00.000-04:00

Plantation firm asks judge to toss subpoenas
By Diane Lade, Sun Sentinel

A lawyer with the Florida Attorney General's Office urged a Broward County judge Tuesday to allow the state to continue its investigation of a giant South Florida foreclosure law firm, saying regulators were uncovering "substantial, egregious activity."

Jeffrey Tew, representing the law offices of David J. Stern in Plantation, argued the state had no right to subpoena documents from the firm under the state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act because the company did not advertise to or directly deal with borrowers. Stern's operation, one of four being investigated by the attorney general, prepares foreclosure paperwork for lenders and loan servicers.

"I think it's laughable to contend that any of [Stern's] lawyers engaged in trade or commerce with anyone who was being foreclosed on," Tew told Judge Eileen O'Connor.

But Theresa B. Edwards, assistant attorney general, said the state has the right to investigate after receiving 200 complaints. "It is a broadening investigation," said Edwards, noting regulators have taken 100 sworn affidavits and looked at complaints going back as far as five years.

One claim being examined was that the foreclosure firms were giving kickbacks to the loan servicers, Edwards said. Tew called the allegation "totally untrue."

O'Connor is expected to issue a ruling in several days.

Three of the four firms under investigation, which are believed to handle most of Florida's foreclosures, are fighting their state's subpoenas. Attorney General Bill McCollum lost the first round last week when a Palm Beach County judge denied the action against Shapiro & Fishman of Boca Raton, saying, among other things, that regulating attorneys' actions was the responsibility of The Florida Bar or the court system.

Tew made the same claim Tuesday, although he focused on the deceptive trade statute. McCollum has asked for another hearing in the Palm Beach County case.

The state also is taking a hard look at lenders and servicing companies handling foreclosures and home loans. Complaints continue to mount about sloppy paperwork and "robosigners," the nickname for employees who have testified they signed documents — sometimes thousands a month — without verifying they were true or the figures accurate.

McCollum sent letters Tuesday to five major lenders and loan servicers: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Ally Financial's GMAC mortgage unit, PNC Financial Group and Litton Loan Servicing. He asked them to meet with him in Tallahassee "as soon as possible."

The partial or complete halt some of these companies have placed on their foreclosures, evictions or sales over the past several weeks is "counterproductive to obtaining the swift solution necessary," McCollum said. Reopening the foreclosure cases "may take many months, even years, given the state of our overburdened court system," he said, stalling the state's economic recovery.

Banking officials earlier this week were predicting the foreclosure reviews could be finished within two weeks to a month.

Peter Zalewski, a principal at the Bal Harbour-based CondoVultures consulting firm, said the lenders' foreclosure moratoriums could seriously slow real estate sales in South Florida. A third of the listings here are foreclosures or short sales.

GMAC spokesman James Olecki did not comment on McCollum's request but said the company has hired independent consultants to review its foreclosure process nationwide. Representatives of Chase and Bank of America said they would work with state attorneys general nationwide. State regulators, led by the Iowa attorney general, are launching a foreclosure task force this week.

PNC Financial did not comment on McCollum's request but said the company was reviewing its foreclosure procedures. Litton could not be reached for comment after several attempts to reach the company by telephone.

Deerfield Beach foreclosure defense attorney Peter Ticktin said state or federal agencies were welcome to examine 150 depositions from cases his firm had handled over the past year and a half, each involving robosigners. Ticktin piled the files, forming a small mountain, on top of a glossy marble table before calling a news conference in his office Tuesday.

Ticktin said the employees mostly were unaware they were committing perjury when verifying documents they never had seen were true, in part because some were so poorly trained. One signing agent was a beauty school graduate, he said, another a truck driver.

The servicers "were looking for [employees] with little or no secondary education who wouldn't question the banks," Ticktin said. "What we are looking at is nothing less than a conspiracy."

Reprinted courtesy of Florida Sun Sentinel: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-foreclosure-stern-20101012,0,6231808.story

Wells Fargo pays $24M to End Mortgage Probe

2010-10-09T00:06:00.000-04:00

WASHINGTON (AP) – Oct. 8, 2010 – Wells Fargo is paying $24 million to end an investigation by eight states probing whether lenders acquired by the company made risky mortgages to consumers without disclosing their perils.

The states said loans known as option adjustable rate loans, or “pick-a-payment” mortgages, were deceptive to borrowers. Those particularly toxic loans allowed borrowers to defer some of their interest payments and add them to the principal balance. Borrowers could make payments so low that loan debt actually increased every month.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. announced the agreement Wednesday with attorneys general in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Texas and Washington state.

The loans were made by Wachovia Corp. and a California company it acquired, World Savings Bank. Wells purchased Wachovia at the end of 2008. Wachovia had already stopped making those loans before the acquisition was complete.

As part of the agreement, Wells has agreed to offer loan assistance worth more than $770 million to more than 8,700 borrowers through June 2013, though that amount will depend on how the economy fares during that time. The $24 million will be used to help states reach out to customers who took out such loans.

The agreement includes no admission of wrongdoing by Wells Fargo. The states’ investigation centered on allegations that consumers were misled about the possibility that their mortgage amounts would increase.

Such “pick-a-payment” loans were made by many large lenders during the housing boom, but have defaulted in massive numbers after the market went bust.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, who led the investigation, said the loans were aggressively marketed in ways that misled borrowers by not making it clear that their mortgage amounts could increase.

This type of exaggeration caused many homeowners ... (to) take out these loans believing there were no risks,” he said.

Wells said the program will have no impact on its third-quarter financial results. It said “pick-a-payment” customers already have received about $3.4 billion in principal forgiveness.

Borrowers who already have received a loan modification from Wells will not be eligible for the new program. For information, call Wells at 1-888-565-1422.

Reprinted courtesy of FloridaRealtors and The Associated Press: http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=248603

Foreclosure Freeze Slows South Florida's Residential Real Estate Sales

2010-10-08T11:01:00.000-04:00

As banks suspend foreclosures, sales crucial in South Florida's troubled real estate market are in limbo.

By Toluse Olorunnipa

The decision by three major banks to freeze foreclosures will buy distressed homeowners months of extra time and temporarily block lenders from reclaiming homes.

But it also threatens to buckle South Florida's home sales.

Bank-owned properties make up about 40 percent of home sales in South Florida, and suspensions by JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and GMAC could deliver a debilitating blow to that crucial segment of the embattled real estate market.

``People don't realize that this is our market,'' said Matthew Murray, a Realtor with Pat Dahne Realty Group who specializes in bank-owned sales. ``It's what's selling. If you delay the process, it's going to delay the recovery.''

There are mounting reports of approved foreclosure sales being stopped pre-closing, and buyers being left in limbo as banks try to deal with exposed ``robo-signers'' and unverified affidavits.

As the foreclosure moratoriums play out, a slowdown in low-priced, bank-owned properties coming through the pipeline could further hamper sales in South Florida, which depends on foreclosures more than most parts of the country.

The lenders have put the brakes on their foreclosure operations after bank employees and affiliates confessed they had been individually signing thousands of legal documents each month without verifying the details of the cases. Those documents, which contain crucial information like the amount owed and the owner of the note, have sparked allegations that thousands of foreclosure filings are tainted by fraud and forgery.

As paperwork issues stall sales, the hottest sector of the local market -- bank-owned properties, or so-called REOs -- lies at risk of going cold.

Together, the three lenders represent nearly a third of the local REO market. Bank of America, for example, has nearly 500 REO properties listed for sale in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, according to its website. GMAC, now known as Ally Financial, has at least 200 REOs in South Florida and JP Morgan has at least 250. Many of those properties have buyers and are currently pending sales, the banks' websites show. Other banks could follow suit in stopping foreclosure sales, although Wells Fargo announced Wednesday that it would not go that route.

IN LIMBO

Realtor Matthew Murray pointed out that most of his sales have not yet been affected, but other Realtors said bank suspensions have left some current sales in limbo and the future of the REO market uncertain.

Ashton Coleman, a Realtor with Keller Williams, planned to close on the sale of a North Bay Village condo this Friday before he got a letter from Bank of America saying the sale was being stalled.

``We figured that it would be fine since the bank already owned the property, but we figured that the bank probably found something wrong,'' Coleman said. ``The bank will be delaying [the sale] for at least 15 days, and for as many as 90 days.''

GMAC sent out letters to real estate agents last month alerting them that pending REO sales would be delayed an additional 30 days, Realtors said.

Anthony Askowitz, who has a few pending deals on GMAC-owned properties in Miami, said many of his buyers are investors, and have been willing to wait.

``If it's an investor, the investor is going to be able to handle it a lot easier than someone who has to move out of their current home by a certain date,'' said Askowitz, a broker and owner of two Re/Max offices.

But the depths of the foreclosure mess have not fully been uncovered, and no one knows for sure how long it will take lenders to clear up paperwork problems and re-start the foreclosure machine. With banks facing new calls for federal investigations and full-on foreclosure moratoriums, 30 days might not be enough.

HIGH-LEVEL CALLS

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Al Franken and Florida Congressman Alan Grayson are among those calling for bank probes and foreclosure halts across the U.S.

Most REO sales contracts have provisions that allow banks to halt a sale if issues come up concerning the property's title, said Murray, who added that has happened to him just twice in 20 years.

``The only way that happens is if they can't give you free and clear marketable title,'' he said.

Banks have authority to push these sales back for months, but not all buyers will be willing to hang around. Bank-owned properties are often abandoned and unkempt, and the longer a home stays empty, the more vulnerable it is to vandalism and disrepair, which can affect the home's value.

``It's in the bank's best interest to get this rectified as soon as possible,'' Askowitz said. ``So I don't think that this is going to drag on.''

Dennis Donet, a Miami foreclosure defense attorney, said that the despite the banks' desire to fix things quickly, legal battles could stall foreclosure sales for a year or more.

One of his clients recently learned that the sale of his foreclosed property was being canceled by its new owner GMAC, because of problems with the lender's foreclosure affidavit. Jeffrey Stephan, the GMAC employee who signed the affidavit, was exposed last month as a so-called ``robo-signer'' during a deposition. Stephan said he had signed more than 10,000 foreclosure documents each month, indicating that he had not taken the time to verify the details of each case.

LONG-TERM ISSUE

Donet has been talking with attorneys that represent banks, and said the general consensus is that questionable affidavits and lost documents will leave foreclosures hanging in the balance for a long time to come.

``There isn't anybody saying that this isn't going to be at least a six-month to one-year delay on the process,'' he said. ``Anything that interrupts the flow of capital is bad for the community.''

Reprinted courtesy of The Miami Herald: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/06/v-fullstory/1861253/foreclosure-freeze-slows-home.html

PayBox.me - The New PayPal? Free $50 to Find Out

2010-10-05T11:53:00.000-04:00

Click to Join Free and Receive $50

For those of us who were online when PayPal first hit the scene, we remember the incentives that they offered to get folks to join their service. PayPal paid a referral fee for every person a member referred who joined their new 'revolutionary' service. While it certainly helped expand PayPal's reach in an effective and viral way, it also was a very lucrative referral system for those who referred their friends; a win-win scenario.

There is a new service now on the scene called PayBox. PayBox is in their pre-launch phase with the launch anticipated to be in 2011. As with any financial service, they need to have a solid customer base before they officially get off the ground.

As an incentive for new members, PayBox.me is offering
$50 Free just for signing up.

In addition, by logging in frequently to help them expand the service during the pre-launch phase, they'll pay you up to $20 per day.

Furthermore, earlybird users who refer their friends receive
$5 for every new member they refer.

Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, so what's the catch?

Best I can tell thus far, the only catch is that you have to actually log into your account on a weekly basis to keep in active during the pre-launch phase. When you sign up, they don't ask for any proprietary information (no social security number, no year of birth, no first born). All you do is create a username and password and then subscribe to their blog. Simple.

My wife and I signed up and thus far everything is going as they've described. With any luck, PayBox.me will have a successful launch and we'll have an alternative to PayPal... which could mean that PayPal will finally have some competition and will have to reduce some of their fees.

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or
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South Florida house prices: 'Price Reduced' becoming the new normal

2010-10-05T09:59:00.000-04:00

As South Florida house prices are reduced, thousands of dollars in phantom equity disappear.

By Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel 6:37 p.m. EDT, October 4, 2010

The "Price Reduced" sign in front of a house is showing up more and more on properties listed for sale in South Florida .

The percentage of homes with price reductions in Palm Beach County has risen to 26 percent of the market compared with 22 percent at the beginning of the year, according to the real estate research firm Trulia Inc. In Broward County, the percentage inched up to 18 percent from 16 percent.

Of the homes listed for sale in select ZIP codes in early September, the proportion with the wet blanket of a price cut ranged from 6 percent in Boynton Beach to 30 percent in Boca Raton andHighland Beach. And the average size of those discounts ranged from 7 percent in Boynton to 14 percent in Boca/Highland Beach.

In Broward, 14 percent of the listings in Coral Springs/Parkland had price reductions, while a quarter of the listings in Fort Lauderdale had price cuts. The average size of the reductions in those areas was 11 percent.

With the posting of every new "Price Reduced" sign on a street, thousands of dollars in phantom equity disappear.

"What we look at is the potential wealth lost, and the amount of equity they [homeowners] thought they had and didn't," said Ken Shuman, a spokesman for Trulia. "But if you live on a street with five houses for sale, and three are bank owned, you're going to have to adjust your price."

Discounts have become commonplace in South Florida . The median sales price in Broward fell last month to $206,700, about what it was in early 2004. In Palm Beach County, the median dropped to $227,800, a price last seen in 2003.

Michael Citron, a real estate agent for RE/MAX ParkCreek in Coconut Creek, said the first 30 to 45 days are the most important for a new listing.

If it's priced too high, it won't get any offers, forcing the buyer to cut the price. A house with multiple price reductions tells buyers that something's wrong, Citron said.

He said many sellers often have unrealistic expectations about their asking prices. "I always tell my sellers to price the home at or ahead of the market so they don't have to chase the market," Citron said.

If you have to unload the property as a "short sale" — that is, for less money than is owed on the mortgage — some agents suggest dropping your price 5 percent to 10 percent every seven to 10 days. Those attempting to sell a moderately priced home under ordinary circumstances should look at the competition in the neighborhood and adjust accordingly.

Reprinted courtesy of The Sun-Sentinel: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/os-house-price-breaks-zip-20100927,0,381799.story

Homes at Half Price for Firefighters, Police, Teachers

2010-09-29T11:51:00.000-04:00

Good Neighbor Next Door program (GNND) offers homes at half price

TUESDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2010 By Elizabeth Martinez

Miami, FL- With the current market situation, and since the bursting of the mortgage bubble, foreclosure sales are attracting many buyers. Special deals like the one offered by the Good Neighbor Next Door program (GNND) is one that has received much attention.

Under the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Good Neighbor Next Door program (GNND), homes are being sold at half price. This program is exclusively for buyers who are teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, or EMTs. The homes being sold were insured by the FHA and foreclosed on. Now, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is selling them at half price.

However, there is more to take into consideration when you apply for this program. Buyers who meet the professional requirements must be willing to live in the neighborhoods where this program is being offered. For example, if a buyer is a firefighters or EMT, he or she must serve in the jurisdiction where the house is located in order to qualify. Similarly, teachers must teach at a school in the neighborhood boundary of where the house is located.

Once the buyer has met all of those requirements, the buyer then pays half the appraised value as determined by HUD. The other half which is the discounted half is taken as a "silent second" mortgage, with no principal or interest payments. If the house becomes the buyer’s primary residence for at least three years, then the buyer is forgiven from paying the silent second mortgage at the end of that time period. The owner may then keep the house or sell it and keep any profit. Payment of the first half can be made in cash, or the buyer can even borrow some or all of one-half of the purchase price.

The neighborhoods covered by this program are what the FHA calls "revitalization areas." These neighborhoods offer a combination of low household incomes, low homeownership rate and high number of foreclosures of FHA-insured properties. Therefore, these areas are not necessarily ideal, and they need fixing up.

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the goal of this program is "to strengthen communities by encouraging employed, professional law enforcement officers, teachers and firefighters/emergency medical technicians to live in the community."

Reprinted courtesy of Mortage Lending News: http://www.mortgagelendingnews.com/top-news/11774-good-neighbor-next-door-program-gnnd-offers-homes-at-half-price

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2010-09-24T11:51:00.002-04:00

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Broward Law Firm Faked Foreclosure Documents?

2010-08-04T09:55:00.003-04:00

Lawsuit claims that Florida's largest foreclosure firm faked documents

By Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Florida's purported largest foreclosure law firm filed thousands of documents to take people's homes that contained deceptive and intentionally ambiguous information, according to a proposed class action lawsuit.

The suit, filed last month in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, says David J. Stern and his Plantation-based legal team violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by generating fraudulent mortgage assignments when pursuing foreclosures.

An assignment is held by the entity that has the right to receive mortgage payments.

Stern's practice, which the lawsuit claims filed up to 7,000 new foreclosure cases in Florida every month last year, also is alleged to have pursued foreclosures for lenders that didn't own the debt on the homes.

"There really is no proper plaintiff to sue and foreclose and that's what this charade is designed to cover," said Fort Lauderdale attorney Kenneth Eric Trent, who is seeking class action status and filed the suit on behalf of Oakland Park resident Ignacio Damian Figueroa. "There is no real holder of the note and the mortgage anymore because they broke it up and sold it to 10, 12, 20 people."

During the real estate boom, loans traded hands often, sometimes being bundled or split up and sold to investors.

Tracking the true owner of the debt sometimes can be a challenge. When pressed for proof of debt ownership, Trent said Stern's office would create an assignment signed by a Stern employee instead of a representative of the lender attempting to foreclose.

"The assignments were meaningless shells designed to pull the wool over the eyes of the judiciary and ease the burden upon the unknown real parties of interest," the lawsuit states.

Miami attorney Jeffrey Tew, of Tew Cardenas law firm, is representing Stern. He said Stern and his company have done nothing wrong, and that it is accepted practice for a firm employee to be given power to approve assignments.

"This foreclosure crisis was not created by David Stern, but it is so huge and a lot of people are in very bad shape, so some of the finger-pointing goes to him," Tew said.

Trent also named the Mortgage Electronic Registration Service Corp. as a defendant. The private entity, known as MERS, was created by banks in 1995 to track mortgage ownership electronically and reduce paper documents.

Trent says MERS helps hide the identity of loan ownership and that it conspired with Stern to "confuse everyone as to who owned what."

Tew called that claim "fantastical." He did acknowledge, however, that errors can happen.

West Palm Beach foreclosure defense attorney Thomas Ice found 21 examples last year of assignments from Stern's office that had been executed with a date before the notary's commission was issued.

In a deposition, a Stern employee agreed with Ice that "sloppiness" was to blame for the irregularity.

Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Meenu Sasser, who handles the county's foreclosures, said she's dismissed cases when she found problems with assignments. She wasn't speaking directly about cases filed by Stern, and said it's only happened a few times.

"I haven't seen any widespread problem," Sasser said.

Reprinted courtesy of The Palm Beach Post, original article appears here: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/lawsuit-claims-that-floridas-largest-foreclosure-firm-faked-839393.html

Florida Real Estate Market Has Hit Bottom - Univ of Florida

2010-04-29T18:14:00.002-04:00

UF: Florida real estate market has hit bottom

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – April 29, 2010 – Florida real estate markets show the first tentative signs of recovering from the most painful recession in the state's history, according to the latest University of Florida (UF) report.

"Results of our first quarter survey indicate that the real estate market in Florida has hit bottom and is in the process of stabilizing across most property types," says Timothy Becker, director of UF's Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies.

But while most of the survey respondents report the market probably won't get any worse, few say it has actually begun to improve yet, Becker says. "One of our respondents summed it up by stating that 'if anything, we will get less bad.'"

On the positive side, private capital – both foreign and domestic – is continuing to enter the state in search of quality investment deals. As banks start to deal with their problem assets, more deals will come to market.

Another good sign: Life insurance companies have started to re-invest in commercial properties after backing off for the last year and a half, Becker says. Because these companies use premiums from life insurance policies to make investments, they are not deterred by the lack of available bank financing.

"(Life insurance companies) see the fundamentals of the economy stabilizing and they see the opportunity to get quality assets at a good price," Becker says. "So if they think things aren't going to get worse and they may actually get better, it follows that they're going to want to start investing again."

On the negative side, unemployment continues to be one of the state's biggest problems, edging up to 12.3 percent in March, its highest level since the state began keeping count in the 1970s. Florida has lost more than 880,000 jobs since 2007.

Although there is a potential for job growth later in the year, even under the most optimistic assumptions it will take three to four years to return to 2006 levels, Becker says.

Also of concern is the continued reluctance of commercial banks to lend money because of pressure from regulators to manage risks along with depressed values that make it difficult to refinance mortgages.

The retail and office markets are the worst off, Becker says. "Until there is an increase in job growth, there is no need for more office space, and people aren't spending as much money as they used to."

Apartments continue to be the best market in the state due to high demand from people moving out of foreclosed homes. "More people are going to be living in temporary spaces than trying to buy homes just because it's gotten a lot more difficult to buy homes from a financing perspective," Becker says.

Statewide, Florida's new housing market will continue to be slow, a result of more foreclosed homes becoming available. "That competition makes it very difficult for new homes to get built and purchased because buyers can often get an equal or nicer home for a much cheaper price on the foreclosure market," Becker says.

One of the strongest areas of the state is South Florida, especially Miami-Dade and Broward counties, with their diverse economies, steady migration and influx of foreign capital. "The glut of condos in South Florida is actually starting to change hands – they're beginning to rent them – and I think there is more life in downtown Miami than there has been in a long time," Becker says.

Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville also are picking up. "Florida's big cities – those four areas – are less bad off than the rest of the state, and they're going to recover quicker than other places," Becker says.

Jacksonville, in particular, is in a good position because its housing market never got as hot as other markets; and, as a result, it doesn't have as many foreclosures. "I think Jacksonville is primed to really take off, and with the expansion of the port is going to have a lot of jobs coming into the marketplace," Becker says.

A positive note overall is that survey respondents' confidence in their own business has risen for the fifth consecutive quarter. In previous breakdowns by profession, developers and lenders had extremely low expectations for their own businesses, and that has grown substantially in the last few surveys.

"It's always a good sign for us that the lenders think their business is going to get better," Becker says. "Maybe it means there is some light at the end of the tunnel, even though we're still not at a great spot."

Fannie Mae Sweetens Offer to Avoid Foreclosure

2010-04-26T18:55:00.001-04:00

Fannie sweetens offer to avoid foreclosure
WASHINGTON – April 26, 2010 – Struggling borrowers who give up their homes through a "deed in lieu of foreclosure" or a short sale will be able to obtain a new Fannie Mae loan in two years. Currently, these owners must wait at least four years.

The new policy, which takes effect in July, is designed to make foreclosure alternatives more attractive. The policy applies only to Fannie Mae's willingness to approve a mortgage, however. Homeowners' credit scores will still take a hit following a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure.

To qualify for a mortgage after the two year wait, Fannie Mae says borrowers must make a 20 percent downpayment; but those who lost a job or have other extenuating circumstances will be able to make a 10 percent downpayment.

Freddie Mac – which, with Fannie Mae, insures over half the mortgages in the U.S. – currently makes homeowners wait four years after a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure before it will back a new mortgage. Owners who go through a foreclosure wait five years. For both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the waits can be shorter in some cases if borrowers show extenuating circumstances.

State Gives Out More Appliance Rebates than Expected

2010-04-20T14:39:00.003-04:00

State gives out more appliance rebates than expected

Federal energy efficiency program brings $62 million in sales for Florida merchants

By Diane C. Lade, Sun Sentinel, April 19, 2010

State officials and retailers on Monday declared Florida's cash for clunker appliances program a success, with Floridians reserving about 72,700 rebates — almost 4,700 more than originally anticipated — before the $17.5 million in state funding ran out Saturday night.

Brenda Buchan, the chief analyst for the Governor's Energy Office who's managing the federally-financed program, said the state was able to hand out more 20 percent rebates on energy-efficient appliances because the average cost was less than expected. "There were some really good deals out there," she said.

The money also lasted almost a day longer than projected.

South Florida merchants were delighted with the response, with state officials saying the program generated at least $62 million in sales and $4 million in sales tax. Bobby Johnson, senior vice president for South Florida-based BrandsMart USA, said customers continued to buy appliances on Sunday even though the rebate funds were gone.

Now consumers' anxiety is shifting from snagging a priority number online, which helped guarantee them a rebate, to getting their appliances delivered in time to qualify. Rebate applications must be mailed by May 10, and customers need the serial numbers off their new products before they can complete them.

"I'm hoping the government gets enough complaints that they extend it," said Virgina Stewart, of Dania Beach. She bought a $1,700 refrigerator Friday at Sears store in Fort Lauderdale and wrangled a priority number, only to discover she might not be able to get her appliance until May 11.

Sears spokesman Larry Costello said he hadn't heard of similar complaints. "We've been preparing for almost a year … It's to our benefit to make sure customers get their products in time," he said.

When sending an application, include the original sales receipt and proof of recycling your old model from your installer for an additional $75, and make sure your priority number is on the application. Make photocopies of everything for your records.

Applications will continue to be accepted without a priority number but placed on a waiting list. For information, go to: http://www.rebates.com/florida.

Diane Lade can be reached at dlade@SunSentinel.com.

Florida's Appliance Rebate Program Starts Today

2010-04-16T10:49:00.002-04:00

Florida’s appliance rebate Web site down, but should be up by 11 a.m.

Posted: April 16, 2010 - 1:34am

WILL DICKEY/The Times-Union

-Customer Dustin Goldbrown (left) looks at washers and dryers with the help of sales associate Will Phillips at hhgregg at The Avenues early Friday morning, April 16.

By David Bauerlein

The Web site for Florida's long-awaited appliance rebate program was down this morning, but state officials said it should be up and running by 11 a.m. when consumer can start reserving their rebate funds.

The state's Web site is www.rebates.com/florida.

An alternative site consumers can check out is www.myfloridaclimate.com. The myfloridaclimate.com site contains information about the program and how it works. However, consumers cannot place reservations for rebates at that site. State officials strongly urge the reservations because it is a first-come, first-serve program until the money runs out.

The 20 percent rebate for appliances kicked off today amid the kind of retail buzz that usually accompanies high-tech gadgets rather than clothes washers.

Sears and Best Buy opened stores at 6 a.m. for early-bird shoppers. Lowe’s and Home Depot also promoted the rebates to their shoppers.

The $17.5 million rebate program, funded by federal stimulus money, will provide the rebates to Florida residents purchasing select Energy Star-rated appliances. Those are refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, dishwashers, tankless gas water heaters, and room air conditioners.

Shoppers have been asking about the program for the past month, said Tom Crosby IV, owner of Crosby & Son Appliances on the Westside.

“We’re a third-generation business but I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said Thursday.

His store opened an hour early at 7 a.m.

State officials expect the rebates will be enough for 68,000 appliances and all the rebate funding could be sucked up by purchases made the first day. Appliances must be purchased at Florida stores. Online purchases won’t qualify.

After buying the appliance, the next step will be to go to the state’s Web site, www.rebates.com/florida, and reserve rebate money for your purchase. The Web site will start taking reservations at 11 a.m. The site will keep a running tally of how much rebate money is left.

Consumers will then mail in rebate forms that can be downloaded from the state’s site. The state doesn’t have a phone number for the program.

david.bauerlein@jacksonville.com Courtesy of http://jacksonville.com

Foreclosure Filings Jump in South Florida

2010-04-16T10:28:00.001-04:00

Foreclosure filings jump in South Florida
Mounting job losses, “underwater” mortgages lead to more foreclosure filings in South Florida

By Paul Owers, Sun Sentinel, April 15, 2010

Foreclosure filings rose last month by 38 percent in Broward County as homeowners struggled with unemployment and "underwater" mortgages, RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

Broward had 6,341 homeowners in some stage of foreclosure in March, up from 4,599 a year ago, according to the Irvine, Calif.-based company that tracks mortgage defaults nationwide. Broward had the eighth-highest foreclosure rate among Florida's 67 counties, with one in every 127 housing units receiving a filing.

Palm Beach County filings in March totaled 3,983, more than double the 1,509 in March 2009. The county had the state's 17th-highest foreclosure rate.

The problem isn't likely to improve soon, as job losses mount and home price declines add to the number of homeowners who owe more than their properties are worth.

"We're going to continue to have a dark cloud hanging over our real estate market for some time," said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com in North Palm Beach.

Initial foreclosure filings in both counties were down substantially compared with February, perhaps an early indication that a government-sponsored foreclosure-alternative program started recently is working, RealtyTrac said.

The plan is designed to remove barriers to so-called short sales and promote deeds in lieu of foreclosures, in which homeowners hand back their properties to the banks. The plan took effect April 5, but some lenders were using it earlier this year.

The program is sure to be popular with people who want to get out from under onerous mortgages. But it will drag down home prices, creating more underwater borrowers who may fall into foreclosure, Fort Lauderdale real estate lawyer Shari Olefson said.

"I don't know that this is the answer," she said.

RealtyTrac spokesman Daren Blomquist said it's important to speed up short sales because that will clear the inventory of available homes and ultimately help the housing market recover.

Meanwhile, South Florida remains one of the busiest areas in the nation for loan modifications. A Treasury report on the Making Home Affordable program showed that the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metropolitan area accounted for 4.7 percent of loan modification activity under the program.

But those efforts aren't likely to ease the foreclosure crisis, according to the Congressional Oversight Panel, a watchdog agency monitoring the federal government's bailout program.

RealtyTrac compiles default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions. Not all homeowners who get notices lose their properties.

Florida had the nation's fourth-highest foreclosure rate in March, with one in every 149 housing units receiving a filing, RealtyTrac said.

In December, the Florida Supreme Court ordered the creation of a statewide mediation program for homeowners and lenders before a property can be sold through foreclosure.

Broward's 17th Judicial Circuit Court has appointed the American Arbitration Association to administer its mediation program starting July 1. Program details for the 15th Judicial Circuit Court in Palm Beach County are not yet clear.

A bill in Florida's Legislature that would allow banks to foreclose without going before a judge appears to have died.

While the state's clogged foreclosure system needs an overhaul, the proposed bill was too radical, said Rod Petrey, president of the Collins Center for Public Policy. The nonprofit group provides mediation services for four state circuit courts.

"With someone's home, where their family is, we ought to move very slowly in taking that away," Petrey said.

Staff writer Harriet Johnson Brackey contributed to this report. Paul Owers can be reached at Powers@SunSentinel.com. Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Provided courtesy of Florida Sun-Sentinel: http://www.sun-sentinel.com

Our Economy 80 Years After The 1929 Stock Market Crash

2009-10-31T12:37:00.001-04:00

80 Years After Black Tuesday
Posted: October 30, 2009 8:29AM by Katie Adams

Eighty years ago, the stock market experienced the most significant day of its infamous 1929 crash. Dubbed "Black Tuesday," 16 million shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The ticker tape was running more than three hours behind. When the market bell rang at 7:45pm, the losses were tallied and the one-day slide totaled nearly a $14 billion loss in value. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost just over 30 points in one day, which represented a nearly 12% loss. America has endured approximately 13 recessions including our present economic slump since that dark day, but what else has occurred during those eight decades? (Learn about the series of events that triggered the Great Depression, in The Crash Of 1929 - Could It Happen Again?)

Automobiles and Domestic Production
U.S. automobile production reached a peak of 4 million in 1929 and quickly dropped off, not to see that same point again until well after World War II. Today, the beleaguered auto industry is expected to produce just 8.7 million cars, off from a previous high of 17.4 million in 2000. However, the increase in the price of a barrel of crude oil has exponentially outpaced auto production – from 65 cents eight decades ago to approximately $78 today.

In 1929, the gross domestic product stood at $103.1 billion. Today, our country's GDP is approximately $14.3 trillion, an increase of 13,492% (not adjusted for inflation) in 80 years, or approximately 1,687% per decade since 1929.

Education
In 1929, fewer than one in five Americans (19% of the U.S. population) had completed high school, and only 3.9% of Americans completed four or more years of college. In 2009 more than 85% of Americans are projected to complete high school and nearly 29% will earn at least a Bachelor's degree.

Employment and Wages
The U.S. unemployment rate stood at just over 3% in 1929. There were just over 88 million Americans and a labor force of just 49.4 million, of which only 1.5 million were unemployed. Today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a labor force of 153 million and a national unemployment rate of approximately 9.8%.

In 1929, there were 553,000 paid civilian employees of the federal government. Today more than 1.8 million civilian employees work for the federal government (not including the post office), making it the nation's largest employer.

Before the 1929 stock market crash, there was no national minimum wage standard. That was established in 1938 through the Fair Labor Standards Act. At its inception, the minimum wage was 25 cents per hour; it is $7.25 today. In 1929, the average annual salary was $1,236, and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2009 the U.S. real median household income is $50,303.

Home Ownership
Home ownership steadily grew from 49% in 1929 to just over 67% today. The home ownership rate hit its high (of a little more than 69%) in 2005. In response to massive losses during the Great Depression, the government created a secondary mortgage market in 1938. The first government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) – Fannie Mae – was given $1 billion in purchasing power from its federal creator to buy loans from banks and increase liquidity. Before Fannie Mae (and its twin, Freddie Mac) were seized by the federal government in September, 2008, they held or guaranteed more than $5 trillion in debt.

Inventions
It would be nearly impossible to list all of the inventions that have been introduced since October, 1929, but some of the most significant ones for American consumers, investors and corporations include:

the integrated circuit, microchip, computer, modem, microprocessors, the internet
ballpoint pens, scotch tape, fax machines, photocopiers
helicopters, jet engines
radar, transistors, optic fiber, lasers
color television, mobile phones, microwave ovens
atomic and hydrogen bombs
bar codes, credit cards, ATMs
penicillin, MRIs, the artificial heart, oral contraceptives
Life Expectancy
The average American born in 1929 could expect to live just 59.1 years, whereas a baby born in 2009 can look forward to living, on average, 80 years.

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has rapidly evolved since Black Tuesday. The NYSE volume reached the 10 million daily share volume mark in 1929, and its highest single volume day since then was 7.3 billion on October 10, 2008. Notable NYSE changes since 1929 include:

1943 - Women traders allowed onto the floor
1953 - Automated quotes introduced
1966 - Real-time ticker arrived
1977 - Foreign brokers admitted
1978 - Intermarket trading system (ITS) established
1997 - Wireless data system used
2000 - First NYSE global index launched
2001 - Trading switched from fractions to decimals
2007 - NYSE Euronext, the first global marketplace, established

Population Growth
The world's population has burgeoned from to 1.8 billion to 6.8 billion, and the U.S. population has jumped from 121 million to more than 307 million. There have been seven national census undertakings in the U.S. since 1929. The 23rd is slated for 2010. (See how people's movements, ages, deaths and buying patterns affect portfolios worldwide, in Demographic Trends And The Implications For Investment.)

U.S. National Debt
The national debt currently stands at more than $11.9 trillion, representing a 74,275% increase (not adjusted for inflation) from its level of $16.9 billion in 1929.

War
The U.S. has fought in six major wars since 1929: World War II, The Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. (Blitzkrieg? Dawn raids? Sounds like the markets and the battlefield have a few things in common! Find out more in War's Influence On Wall Street.)

Conclusion
While this is by no means an exhaustive list, it begins to give you an idea of the scope of change we've experienced as a nation since that ominous day on Wall Street 80 years ago today. Without doubt, the next 80 years will usher in another unforetold number of changes.
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1009/Eighty-Years-After-Black-Tuesday.aspx?partner=basics10

What Happens When You Stop Paying Your Mortgage?

2009-10-29T23:27:00.001-04:00

What happens if you don’t pay the mortgage?

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Oct. 29, 2009 – We all talk about what if's. One big “what if” that many homeowners have today has to do with mortgages.

About one-third of South Florida mortgages are underwater, meaning the homeowners owe more than the home is worth at today’s depressed prices, according to First American CoreLogic. Some homeowners are certainly wondering why they’re sending in the payment on, say, a $300,000 mortgage, when the house today would sell for only $210,000.

Your options: Keep paying or try to change your loan’s terms.

But some people wonder, what if I just stop paying the mortgage? It may be a tempting idea, but it quickly leads to trouble.

Here’s what could happen if you don’t pay the mortgage.

Report to the credit bureau

If your payment does not arrive, your lender or servicer will report this late payment to the credit bureau by the first day of the next month. This can happen in as little as two weeks from due date and put a negative mark on your credit report. Your credit score drops.

The late payment report whacks your credit rating. Your credit score starts to drop, by up to 200 points, if this is your only late or missed payment.

Cards are closed, rates rise

In the next 30 days, you can expect your other creditors to take note of the late payment and to take action. They can raise your interest rates, shut off your credit card entirely, or lower your credit limit. You also could face other changes in your financial life, because auto insurance, student loans and other forms of credit are pegged to your credit score.

Tightening of credit lowers your score

Credit scores feed on themselves. If your credit card limits are lowered and you are carrying a balance, you are then using more of your available credit, something known as your utilization rate. When that goes up, it lowers your score some more.

The negative mark stays on your credit report for seven years. But the impact on your credit score lessens over time. The biggest impact is for the first two years.

Lender response

The phone will start ringing. Your lender will try to contact you, try to persuade you to go into a loan modification of some kind.

But after 90 days, you cannot just start making payments again. The lender may actually send your payment back, if you send it this late and have not been in contact.

What happens next

After four months of not paying your mortgage, you will likely be served with a foreclosure notice.

If you don’t respond within 20 days, then the lender, in the following 60 days, will ask a court to issue a judgment against you.

A county sale will be arranged 50 to 120 days after the judgment. Next, 120 days after the sale, the sheriff will be at the door. Ten days after that, you’ll be thrown out of your home.

(Tip: This schedule is a general one. Courts are facing a backlog of foreclosure cases and could take longer to go through these steps. If you hire a lawyer and fight the foreclosure, you may be able to delay the sale for many months or avoid it altogether.)

Sources used for this column included: John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for Credit.com; Barry Paperno, consumer operations manager at FICO; Attorney Roy Oppenheim of Weston, whose practice centers on foreclosure defense; and Jessica Cecere, president of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Palm Beach.
http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=225965
© 2009 Sun Sentinel Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service, Harriet Johnson Brackey.

Strategic Foreclosure - Knowing When to Fold

2009-10-26T14:36:00.001-04:00

Florida homeowners walking away from underwater mortgages

MIAMI – Oct. 26, 2009 – Andres Duque thought he got a real steal when he paid $125,000 for his Little Haiti condo. But four years later, similar units are selling for $35,000 and even less.

And so, faced with the prospect of being underwater on his mortgage – owing more than the unit is worth – for the next 20 years, Duque, 33, made what seemed to him like a rational choice: to cut and run.

He stopped paying the mortgage, basically forcing the lender to take the condo off his hands through foreclosure.

“I was able to pay off all my credit cards,” said Duque, who is biding his time in the condo, waiting until they come and evict him. “In a way, it was the best thing that happened to me because all my income is not being consumed by this freaking monster of a debt.”

Duque’s game plan is known as a strategic default – when borrowers walk away from loans, even if they can afford the payments. Here is a look at the benefits, the risks and the ethics of such a move.

As property values have plummeted by an average of 50 percent, such strategic defaults now make up a sizable chunk of South Florida’s foreclosures. In the fourth quarter of last year, they accounted for an estimated 28 percent of all defaults in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, according to recent research from the credit bureau Experian and Oliver Wyman, a New York-based international consulting firm.

That’s up from 8 percent in the same quarter two years ago. With property values down even further now, researchers are certain the numbers have risen even more.

With the social stigma of foreclosure eroding, experts say it is becoming easier for discouraged borrowers to justify throwing in the towel.

“People are saying, ‘Everyone is doing this, and I do not feel any compunction in fashioning my own bailout,’” said Roy Oppenheim, a Weston real-estate and foreclosure defense attorney who conducts weekly seminars that discuss strategic defaults and other financial options for distressed borrowers.

South Florida is already a veritable Atlantis of underwater borrowers. In September, homeowners here collectively owed $62.7 billion more than their homes were worth, according to an analysis by First American CoreLogic. The analysis found that about half of all outstanding mortgages in Miami-Dade and Broward are underwater.

Among those who bought in Broward in 2006, the median negative equity was $75,000 as of March. In Miami-Dade, the figure was $63,000, the Web-based real-estate service firm Zillow.com reports. Negative equity refers to the difference between a loan balance and the market value of a home.

“I wouldn’t blame borrowers who knew they were facing significant losses even if they could afford to stay,” said Andrea Heuson, a finance professor at the University of Miami. “Every day you wake up, you are reminded how much you paid for something, and then you read every day in the newspaper how much prices have fallen.”

The many consequences

Walking away, however, is fraught with financial, legal and ethical dilemmas. Lenders, government and the credit industry are starting to pay more attention to how strategic defaulters think and behave – in an effort to convince them to tough it out.

“It’s a huge problem, and it doesn’t get addressed in the process right now,” said Ron Kaniuk, a Boca Raton foreclosure and bankruptcy attorney. He said lenders are encouraging the trend by primarily offering loan modifications only to those who have fallen behind or are seriously at risk of foreclosure.

Duque, in fact, said he shunned a modification because it didn’t reduce his balance.

“It’s really a social change in the way debtors think, and it’s taking creditors some time to absorb that,” said Mark King, an attorney with the Miami office of Jones Walker who represents banks in commercial foreclosures. Commercial property owners also have started walking away.

William Hardin, a real-estate professor at Florida International University, said people have a moral obligation to honor their mortgages when they can.

“The vast majority knew what they were doing and were taking a risk, and the fact of the matter is [the mortgage] is a contract. We live in a world where contracts have to be honored. It’s the way our economy works.”

High default rates have already meant higher loan costs and tougher underwriting standards for all borrowers.

Tracking strategic defaults is an inexact science. Experian researchers identified possible strategic defaulters as homeowners who have gone straight from current on their payments to not paying at all, but remained in good standing on other credit obligations. Nationally, Experian estimated 588,000 borrowers defaulted on purpose in 2008.

Also fueling the phenomenon has been a shift from viewing a home as a place to live to an investment, valued insofar as its potential resale price goes up.

Frustration with the tax-funded bailout of banks and Wall Street may have also emboldened depressed borrowers to default out of anger and a desire to stick it to the banks. Duque’s resolve, for example, hardened after watching Michael Moore’s movie Capitalism: A Love Story. In the movie, Moore makes a case that corporations preying on consumers led to the housing crisis and recession.

“In the movie, there were Congress people telling the American public to stay in their homes, to squat and do what you have to do to fight. A lot of it struck home in many, many, many ways, and I am going to stay here until [my bank] comes to get me out,” Duque said.

Aside from the new philosophical justification for stopping his payments, Duque said his decision was fundamentally an economic one. “My mortgage was killing me, even before things went to hell. I was being choked by the property,” said Duque, who works at the Mondrian Hotel in Miami Beach.

Most strategic defaulters find themselves weighing whether the hit to their credit scores is easier to bear than paying underwater mortgages for years to come.

The most optimistic analysts say it could be three years before prices begin to appreciate. Others say prices have another 30 percent-plus to fall before flat-lining.

Prepared for the worst, Duque has been surprised by the seemingly minimal consequences so far. His credit limits on two cards were slashed by a few thousand dollars, but they were not canceled.

“I went to BrandsMart and applied for a card, and they denied me, so my credit score must be pretty low,” he said. “That’s fine with me, as long as I have a couple of credit cards.”

Surprisingly, strategic defaulters with good credit scores who remain current on their other credit lines can quickly rehabilitate their credit scores after foreclosure – faster than many realize, according to Sarah Davies, a senior vice president at VantageScore, a credit scoring and consumer analytics firm owned jointly by the nation’s three major credit reporting agencies. “You can pull yourself out of any major impact from foreclosure in 24 months,” she said.

And five years down the road?

“A foreclosure is going to be very easy to explain, seeing there are thousands of others who have also defaulted. So, there is a safety-in-numbers issue there,” Heuson said, referring to a possible borrower rationale.

Consumers are essentially putting a price on their credit score, said Piyush Tantia, a partner in the retail and business banking practice of Oliver Wyman.

But there are other risks.

Foreclosure defense attorneys warn of the growing threat that lenders will obtain deficiency judgments against borrowers. Such judgments allow them to collect the difference between the loan balance and the market value of the properties. They also allow lenders to garnish wages and seize assets.

While the risk is not great now statistically, Marc Ben Ezra, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who files foreclosures for banks, said it’s possible that lenders may begin pursuing legal rights to collect.

Jim Angleton, senior vice president of Miami-based Republic Federal Bank, estimated lenders are going after borrowers 15 percent of the time. “You know they are not being forthright with you about their assets when they are keeping their credit cards, their very fine cars and other assets current.”

Oppenheim recommends homeowners bulletproof themselves by hiring a lawyer and perhaps an accountant to explore the possible consequences.

Other real-estate experts say walking away may not be worth it in the short term, when you factor in the cost of finding new shelter and the increased consumer interest rates that stem from any foreclosure.

Tactic not for everyone

Defaulting, though, is not for everybody whose mortgage is underwater, and plenty of people stick with their homes out of a sense of financial responsibility, integrity and faith that prices will recover eventually. There are also people who forked over tens of thousands of dollars in down payments and face a real financial loss by walking away.

Analia Vence, who is renting her underwater town house in Homestead to a tenant for less than the monthly mortgage payment, said she has no intention of walking away. She paid $170,000 in 2006, and now nearby foreclosed homes are selling for $80,000.

“We bought the property as an investment, and we never thought to sell it immediately. We’re only paying $200 or $300 for the mortgage, so it doesn’t make sense to hurt our credit for that much,” Vence said.

Copyright © 2009 The Miami Herald, Monica Hatcher. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=225799

First-Time Homebuyer $8,000 Credit -Fraud already?

2009-10-21T13:44:00.001-04:00

IRS investigates home tax credit claims

WASHINGTON (AP) – Oct. 21, 2009 – Key congressional leaders want to extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers beyond its scheduled end-of-November expiration despite complaints of fraud and Obama administration concerns about the costs.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan says the administration is not sold on the idea. For the past several weeks, Obama administration officials have been talking about possibly extending the credit to help spur the economy and create jobs. But at a congressional hearing Tuesday, Donovan said the administration needs better cost estimates.

“To truly understand the costs, we will not know that until Americans have filed their tax returns,” Donovan told the Senate Banking Committee. “We believe it’s critical to have the information necessary to make a fully informed decision about the costs.”

Tax filing season doesn’t start until next year. But Donovan said he expects to get cost data in the next few weeks. “We understand the urgency of this situation,” Donovan said.

The Internal Revenue Service has opened 107,000 examinations of questionable claims and identified 167 criminal schemes involving the tax credit since it was expanded as part of the economic stimulus package enacted in February.

But lawmakers understand the program is popular and has helped the struggling housing industry recover.

Lawmakers said they might add protections to help prevent fraud. But there is a growing consensus among congressional leaders that the housing market is still fragile enough to justify extending the program.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said he favors extending the existing credit through the end of the year as lawmakers work to “find out about how ethically and how honestly this policy is being pursued.”

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd said, “We still need to use every tool at our disposal” to help the housing market. Dodd, D-Conn., has joined Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in sponsoring a bill that would extend the credit until June 30 and expand it to people who already own homes.

It would cost about $1 billion a month to extend the existing credit, according to congressional estimates. The bill sponsored by Dodd and Isakson is estimated to cost $16.7 billion.

The existing credit allows qualified first-time homebuyers to reduce their federal income taxes by 10 percent of the price of a home, up to a maximum of $8,000. Homes purchased after Jan. 1 are eligible. The full credit is limited to single filers making less than $75,000 a year and joint filers making less than $150,000.

About 1.4 million first-time homebuyers have qualified for the credit through August. The National Association of Realtors estimates that 350,000 of them would not have purchased their homes without the credit.

“The housing market would not have moved without this tax credit,” said Lucien Salvant, spokesman for the National Association of Realtors. “It’s a fragile recovery, which is why we think it should be extended.”

The IRS began special screening procedures for tax returns claiming the credit after it was enacted, said IRS spokesman Frank Keith. For example, taxpayers who previously claimed the mortgage interest deduction would warrant a second look if they claimed the first-time homebuyers credit, he said.

Processing claims presented special challenges for the IRS during the spring tax filing season because homebuyers were eligible for different credits, depending on when they purchased their homes.

First-time homebuyers who purchased homes in 2008 were eligible for only $7,500 in tax credits, and the credits had to be repaid over the following 15 years. Those who bought homes in 2009 were eligible for up to $8,000, and there was no requirement to repay the money. Also, people who bought homes in 2009 were allowed to claim the credit on their 2008 tax returns.

An audit by the agency’s inspector general found that 93 percent of the returns claiming credits for homes bought in 2009 were coded incorrectly, meaning those taxpayers could be incorrectly identified as liable for repaying the credit. The audit was released in September by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. It reviewed 47,276 electronically filed returns.

The IRS, in a response to the audit, said it plans to track the returns and confirm that taxpayers are liable to repay the credit before pursuing them.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press, Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press writer.
http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=225590

Even Celebrities Aren't Immune to Foreclosure

2009-10-20T12:13:00.002-04:00

Foreclosures of Rich and Famous People
Published on Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 8:16 PM Last Update: 18 hour(s) ago by Kimbrough Gray
Category: All Articles » Economy and Politics
Although the rich and famous are rich and famous, it doesn't mean that they are impervious to the popping of the real estate bubble. Many have succumbed to real estate woes as of late.

Ed McMahon had tabloids a talking when his real estate troubles became front page news last year. The now deceased celebrity attributed his dollar difficulties to alimony paid out to ex-wives and the economic downturn.

Aretha Franklin set the record straight about her exclusive Detroit suburban home. It went into foreclosure due to non-payment of property tax. She could have lost her $400,000 home to foreclosure due to $445 in back property taxes that accumulated into $20,000, since 2005. She said it was an oversight by her attorney. Once alerted of the situation, the Queen of Soul satisfied the debt.

Amber Frey, infamous ex-mistress of convicted murderer Scott Peterson lost her home northern California home to foreclosure. At auction, the asking price was over $200,000 less than the original purchase price. No one snatched up the deal at a low $305,000. She ended up surrendering the property to the bank.

Fantasia of American Idol fame came close to losing her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. The R&B singer settled with her Florida lender just days before the auction was scheduled to sell her pond-front home.

Extreme Makeover scandal hit the Harper family home in Atlanta, Georga when it went into foreclosure and would have been sold had it not been for ... even more ... generous donations. The most expansive Extreme Makeover ever seen was completed with much dedication, sweat and effort by volunteers, along with a deluge of donated dollars. Taking out a $400,000+ loan for a construction business that went belly up put the Harper's home in harm's way.

Laura Richardson, California Congresswoman, fell behind on property tax and mortgage payments in 2008. To the disdain of Sharon Helmar who sold it to her, the Long Beach home went into foreclosure and was sold. Neighbors noted that she did not keep up the lawn or take out her garbage.

Sports figures are not unfamiliar with foreclosure, either. Latrell "Spree" Sprewell, former NBA guard known for choking his then Coach P. J. Carlesimo, lost his 70-foot yacht and his Milwaukee home to foreclosure. Assessed at a mere $668,000, the home's value was nowhere near what most other sports professionals in his pay range own.

Jose Conseco experienced women woes, which caused him to lose his expansive 7,300 square foot Encino, California mansion. At least, that's his story. He said he lost $7 to $8 million on his two divorces that left him hard up for cash and was unable to pay his mortgage.

Not to anyone's surprise, Michael Vick's home was in foreclosure, since he was in prison and no longer could come up with the cash. Once NFL's highest paid player, the dog-fight diva was convicted and was to serve 23 months in prison. He was released earlier this year to serve out the rest of his sentence in home confinement.

Evander Holyfield, famous for his fight with Mike "I'll Bite Your Ear Off" Tyson, had his Fairburn, Georgia home in foreclosure. He was also behind on child support payments to a mother of one of his eleven children, and being sued for not paying $550,000 he loaned he owed to a consulting company.

Michael Jackson (King of Pop), MC Hammer (Hammertime fame), Veronica Hearst (Randolph Hearst widow), Scott Storch (previous hip-hop producer), Damon Dash (hip-hop mogul), Doug E. Fresh (rap icon), Vin Baker (former NBA star), Wyclef Jean (Fugees' frontman) and other famous actors, performers and sports professionals have all experienced foreclosure.

Ki graduated from UT with a CS degree. Now he works with Austin real estate. He has a website allowing buyers to search Austin MLS listings. He also keeps an updated blog on Austin Texas real estate.
http://www.brokeragentsocial.com/article/530/foreclosures-of-rich-and-famous-people

FHA Lenders Offer Cash for Keys (Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure)

2009-10-13T17:06:00.001-04:00

FHA lenders offer cash for keys 

WASHINGTON – Oct. 13, 2009 – The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is giving struggling borrowers an opportunity to deed their property over to the lender in exchange for up to $2,000.

Under the Cash for Keys program, borrowers with FHA-backed loans who agree to a deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure do not have to repay the mortgage.

To qualify, owners must face long-term financial hardship, put the house on the market at a fair price for at least 90 days, face no additional claims or liens other than the first mortgage on the house, and leave the property clean and in good condition.

Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) (10/12/09) P. D12; Bayles, Tom
http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=225149
© Copyright 2009 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD

New Florida Rental Scam on Craigslist

2009-07-23T11:17:00.002-04:00

The local Realtor Boards have been advised of a clever new scam on Craigslist. The fraudster copies a legitimate real estate rental ad from Craigslist or from other online sources, and then re-posts the ad on Craigslist with their contact information.

They usually post the rental rate far below what normal market price would be so they attract a lot of interest. They may likely have difficulty actually showing you the property you are interested in, but in some cases, they've actually been able to get access to the house or condo to show it. Once it comes time to rent, they claim to be headed out of town, or need the money right away so they don't rent to someone else and ask that the rental money be sent via FedEx (in cash), Western Union or some other wire service.

Once the funds are sent, the fraudster has free use of the money with little ability for the potential renter (victim) to get it back. Of course, these people do not own the property or represent the owners, they're simply committing fraud, and taking the money and running. Sometimes the funds are sent to the Caribbean, Africa, or Europe... but most folks will not ask you to mail cash or use a wire service for your rent money.

Obviously, a bit of common sense is in order, but apparently, these are professional con-artists and seem pretty convincing.

If the person you're dealing with claims to be a Realtor - ask to see their license and their ID. You can check on the status of ALL Florida Realtors here: http://MyFloridaLicense.com

If you're dealing with someone claiming to be the owner, pull up the tax record for the property and check their ID against the tax record:

Broward:
http://www.bcpa.net/search.asp

Miami-Dade:
http://www.miamidade.gov/pa/property_search.asp

Palm Beach:
http://www.pbcgov.com/papa/aspx/GeneralSearch/GeneralSearch.aspx

If the person you're dealing with claims to be representing the owner, they should have some formal document acknowledging this, like a Power of Attorney... but these are a bit more difficult to verify.

Again, let common sense prevail, and don't fall for the scam just because it sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime deal.

All the best,

--Dr. Branon A. Edwards, ePRO
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker and Mortgage Broker
Direct Phone: 786-417-4910
Private Fax: 786-524-5747
mailto:Branon@InvestFloridaRealty.com

VISIT OUR WEBSITE:
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com

VISIT OUR BLOG:
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.BlogSpot.com

Real Estate Office:
Aqualand Realty, Inc
8359 Stringfellow Road
Saint James City, FL 33956

Mortgage Office:
Mainland Mortgage Corp
351 S. Cypress Rd. Ste. 303A
Pompano Beach, FL 33060

CAN A MORTGAGE PREAPPROVAL FALL THROUGH??

2009-07-19T23:18:00.003-04:00

CUSTOMER QUESTION: Can a Mortgage PreApproval Actually Fall Through?

ANSWER: Yes, of course it can fall through. Generally speaking, what you get when you first apply for a mortgage is a PreQualification, not a PreApproval. The mortgage broker checks your credit, enters all your income data into the computer system, and then puts in basic information about you and the property you want to buy.

Based on this information, the mortgage broker generally issues a PreQualification Letter, which basically says that given the information you've provided thus far, you seem qualified for the mortgage you're requesting.

A PreApproval actually comes from ALL of your information not only being in the system, but also verified by the underwriter. In other words, they've seen your tax returns, spoken to your employer, and know that if the property appraises, they'll give you the loan. Most companies do not go this far until they're actually in the process of trying to actually close your loan. Frankly put, the underwriters want EVERYTHING before they commit.

Regarding either of these documents falling through - they can fall through for a variety of reasons including information not being verified, the property not appraising for the proper amount, the buyer not having the proper amount of funds in reserve to provide the lender with a proper comfort level, etc. In addition, most mortgage companies pull a copy of the buyer's credit report again just before closing to make sure there haven't been any major changes.

The changes that most frequently sabotage a prequalification or approval are change in credit score due to recently reported new information (like an old collection just popping up finally), or the buyer actually changing their credit patterns. If you normally make your regular monthly payments and you suddenly pay your balances in full, this actually causes a temporary drop in your credit score - basically, the scoring system assumes you paid it off using a balance transfer from another account, so it deducts points for a cycle or two to double-check. Other credit-changing items include additional credit reports being pulled by other creditors - including other mortgage brokers, if you're shopping around. A lot of people make the mistake of financing the furniture for their new house before they close, which can show up at just the wrong moment. Still others make lots of major changes all at once - like buying a car as well.

By the way, shopping around for a good mortgage rate is not a bad idea. The scoring systems generally count any inquiries that happen within a 14-day period as one inquiry - but only after the end of the cycle. In other words, if I pull your credit today, another broker pulls it tomorrow, and another one in 8 days, all 3 will lower your score as you go, but at the end of the cycle, they'll be re-counted as one inquiry since they all fell within a 2-week period. The same holds true for inquiries when car shopping.

The best idea, however, is to have your credit pulled initially by the company you think has the best chance of earning your business - since they'll actually show the best score. Then, you ask the broker for your actual credit scores - rather than allowing the other companies to pull your credit - just give them the scores, they should be able to do their jobs without needing to actually pull the report. Of course, if you opt to go with one of the other companies, they'll eventually need to pull the actual report.

That's just a general overview... hope it answers your question. If you have additional questions, please just ask.

Thanks for the opportunity to earn your business.

All the best,

--Dr. Branon A. Edwards, ePRO
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker and Mortgage Broker
Direct Phone: 786-417-4910
Private Fax: 786-524-5747
mailto:Branon@InvestFloridaRealty.com

VISIT OUR WEBSITE:
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com

VISIT OUR BLOG:
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.BlogSpot.com

Real Estate Office:
Aqualand Realty, Inc
8359 Stringfellow Road
Saint James City, FL 33956

Mortgage Office:
Mainland Mortgage Corp
351 S. Cypress Rd. Ste. 303A
Pompano Beach, FL 33060

Thank you for the opportunity to
EARN your business.

30-Year Fixed Rate Falls to At Least a 37-Year Low

2008-12-19T11:36:00.008-05:00

30-YEAR FIXED RATE FALLS TO AT
LEAST A 37-YEAR LOW

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.19 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending December 18, 2008, down from last week when it averaged 5.47 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.14 percent. The 30-year FRM has not been lower since Freddie Mac started the Primary Mortgage Market Survey in 1971.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.92 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 5.20 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.79 percent. The 15-year FRM has not been lower since April 1, 2004, when it averaged 4.84 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.60 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 5.82 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.90 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.94 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 5.09 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.51 percent.

(Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total cost of obtaining the mortgage.)

"Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates fell for the seventh consecutive week, moving these rates to the lowest since the survey began in April 1971," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "The decline was supported by the Federal Reserve announcement on December 16th, when it cut the federal funds target to a record low and stated it stood ready to expand its purchases of mortgage-related assets as conditions warrant."

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation's residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than five million renters.

Courtesy of Freddie Mac. © 2008 Freddie Mac
http://www.freddiemac.com/dlink/html/PMMS/display/PMMSOutputWk.jsp?week=51&ending=20081218

New Condominium Laws: A Lot to Digest

2008-12-01T14:35:00.001-05:00

New Condominium Laws: A Lot to Digest
BY ROBERT L. KAYE (SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD)

If you have lived in Florida for any time, there is a high probability that you have had some form of contact with a condominium. There are more than 5,000 condominiums occupied or under construction in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, accounting for more than 20,000 individual units. For those who currently live in or will move to a condominium as a permanent or seasonal residence in Florida, the newest changes to condominium laws are important to understand.

The good news is that the Condominium Act (Chapter 718 F.S.) has been significantly amended with several changes benefiting current and future condominium residents.

There also are significant provisions, however, that are poorly written, ambiguous, vague and open to interpretation.

The scope of the statute is diverse but there are three critical areas for residents: insurance, board qualifications and collection of delinquent assessments. The laws affecting insurance and assessment collection were effective as of July 1, and those involving board qualifications went into effect on Oct. 1.

INSURANCE

One of the hottest topics for all involved with condominiums is insurance. The statute provides that for hazard (casualty) policies which begin Jan. 1, 2009, covering such events as storms, hurricanes or even relatively minor water leaks, the association is required to provide primary coverage for all areas of the condominium property as originally installed and any replacements of the same kind or quality.

The associations are also required to cover alterations properly made by the association through the years and places the onus on the association for reconstruction payments after a casualty loss, such as extensive damage from a hurricane.

Condominium unit owners' insurance policies issued after Jan. 1, 2009 for portions of the property that they are to cover will also be required to include extra coverage that includes loss-assessment insurance for no less than $2,000 per occurrence. Additionally, if the association requests proof of a unit owner hazard and liability insurance coverage and the unit owner fails to provide that proof within 30 days, the association has the authority to purchase coverage for the unit owner and assess that unit for the cost.

Other revisions further clarify what falls under the association's responsibility as a common expense. This includes hazard insurance deductibles, uninsured losses and other damages in excess of coverage. All reconstruction and/or repair responsibility following a casualty loss falls to the association to complete, although some of the costs may be apportioned between the association and the affected unit owners.

BOARD QUALIFICATIONS

Generally speaking, to be an effective leader, one should be knowledgeable in all areas under his or her jurisdiction. The new legislation recognizes this and the statute has been revised to address the qualifications necessary to become a board member, requiring that candidates who wish to be board members submit a certificate as proof of their knowledge of their governing documents, as well as the provisions of the Condominium Act.

The goal is to assure condominium residents that new board members will be knowledgeable in the condominium statutes and documents that apply to their condominium, and be better able to effectively manage their community. Also, any director who is delinquent for more than 90 days in assessments is automatically deemed to have abandoned his or her office.

ASSESSMENTS

Another revision to the statute places a larger burden on a condominium association when it is pursuing delinquent unit owners by adding a new step to the process. The association is now required to provide owners 30 days written notice via certified and regular mail before they can place a lien on the property.

Robert L. Kaye, Esq., is the founder and managing shareholder of Robert Kaye & Associates, a commercial law firm based in Fort Lauderdale.

Courtesy: Miami Herald: http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/793086.html

Home Sales in Broward County Up 46% from a Year Ago

2008-11-25T09:58:00.005-05:00

Bargains drive up home sales in Broward County
With foreclosure glut, more price drops likely

By Paul Owers | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
November 25, 2008

Find Broward County Homes: http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/search.htm

Even as job losses mount and mortgage lending remains tight, South Floridians still are buying homes.

Bargain hunters continue to respond to plunging prices, with October sales of existing homes in Broward County rising 46 percent, to 625 from 428 a year ago, the Florida Association of Realtors said Monday. The median price plummeted 29 percent, to $252,500 from $354,000 last October.

Sales have shot up since July, but that doesn't mean the region's nearly 3-year-old housing slump is ending, analysts say.

The October figures reflect home sales contracts signed during the summer, before the financial free-fall on Wall Street. Prices are expected to keep dropping as long as the foreclosure problem persists.

"We would be lucky if the market bottoms out in South Florida in 2009," Miami-based housing consultant Lewis Goodkin said.

Broward's condominium sector followed a similar trend last month. Condo sales increased 30 percent while the median price fell 28 percent, to $115,200.

Distressed properties are popular targets among people trying to buy now.

Roger Palermo, a building maintenance supervisor for the city of Pompano Beach, said he looked at almost 50 houses. Many needed new roofs and other major repairs. And most were foreclosures or short sales, in which lenders take less than what's owed on the mortgages and forgive the remaining debt.

Overwhelmed with properties, some banks said they wouldn't consider Palermo's offers for three months or longer. One lender came back with a counteroffer higher than the asking price.

Earlier this month, Palermo and his fiancee finally bought a two-bedroom house in Boca Raton after the previous owner's death. They paid $225,000, $34,000 less than the asking price.

"At least 75 percent of the homes for sale are either foreclosures or short sales and need a lot of work," said Palermo, 48. "But it's hard because you can't even get answers from the banks."

In Palm Beach County, October sales increased 37 percent, and the median price dropped 24 percent to $264,600.

Statewide, sales increased 15 percent last month, while the median price fell 24 percent, to $169,700, the Realtors' group said.

Nationally, sales fell 3.1 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million units. The median sales price fell 11.3 percent from a year ago to $183,000. That was the largest year-over-year drop on records since 1968 and the lowest median sales price since March 2004. The median is the level at which half sold for more, half for less.

In South Florida, the recent sales momentum is helping reduce the number of properties on the market.

Broward County had a little more than 28,000 homes and condos for sale at the end of October, down 5 percent from a year ago, according to the Miami-based Keyes Co.

But demand still is lagging. It takes longer to sell a house in South Florida, an average of 172 days, than anywhere else in the nation, according to an October housing report from California real estate firms Altos Research and Real IQ.

"The inventory news is starting to get a little better, but the question is, how much more pressure are we going to get from new foreclosures that come on the market?" said Mike Larson, a housing analyst with Weiss Research in Jupiter.

Regardless, real estate agents here are enjoying the renewed interest among buyers, many of whom are coming from the Northeast.

"We're hoping for a really cold winter up north," joked Pamela Orr, an agent with Balistreri Realty in Lighthouse Point. "If it's priced right, people are buying."

Find Broward County Homes: http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/search.htm

Courtesy: Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/sfl-flzhousingbr1125sbnov25,0,6508022.story

Palm Beach County sales up 37% from a year ago

2008-11-25T09:54:00.003-05:00

Home Prices Fall, Triggering Sales

By JEFF OSTROWSKI, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 24, 2008

Find Palm Beach Homes: http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/search.htm

The region's housing picture remained gloomy in October, a month when prices continued to plunge even as sales volumes recovered.

The median price for a Palm Beach County home fell to $264,600, the Florida Association of Realtors said Monday.

That's down 24 percent from a year ago, off 9 percent from September and the first time since February 2004 that Palm Beach County's median home price slipped below $270,000.

Bargain hunters took the bait. Realtors sold 618 houses in October, up 37 percent from a year ago and up 18 percent from September.

"There's buyers out there who are buying, but the mind-set is they want a deal," said Bob Graeve, an agent at Illustrated Properties Real Estate in Palm Beach Gardens. Graeve, for instance, recently advertised a foreclosed home and got three dozen calls.

Even so, the number of October home sales didn't exactly soar - they simply returned to October 2006 levels.

Nationally, of the homes that did find buyers in October, nearly half were the result of a sale after a foreclosure.

That trend helped send home values down at the fastest annual rate since the Realtors association began keeping records in 1968. The nationwide median price of a home was $183,300 last month, down 11.3 percent from October 2007.

The Treasure Coast showed similarly plummeting prices, but with a rebound in sales volume.

The median price of an existing single-family home in Martin and St. Lucie counties was $134,600, down 33 percent from a year ago, while sales jumped to 383 in October, up 76 percent from a year ago.

Housing analyst Brad Hunter of Metrostudy expects Palm Beach County prices to fall another 10 percent to 15 percent, and he sees the housing market weakening, in spite of the sales volume bounce.

"It's good news if you're a Realtor," Hunter says of the uptick in sales. "More transactions fuels that business. But it's bad news for the home builders, because what it means is that there's more pressure on them in terms of how much price discounting they have to do to sell homes."

It can be bad, too, for sellers who are facing intense price competition among banks selling foreclosed properties and by short sales, in which the bank agrees to accept a price that is less than the balance owed on the property and forgive the difference.

Frank Ortiz first placed his 2,600-square-foot, fully remodeled home on the Miami market in September 2007, then took it off the market seven months later because of a lack of buyer interest.

He listed it for sale again this summer for $389,000, and despite lowering the price $10,000 and holding several open houses over the past few months, he's yet to get a nibble.

"I haven't even gotten a call with interest in the house," Ortiz said. "It's not like a dilapidated house or anything. It's a remodeled house."

His agent, Pam Mayers of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors in Miami, says, "It's easy pickings for anybody buying a house right now. For sellers it's horrible. People are like vultures, flying around and picking whatever's left."

Eric Sain, president of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches, is urging his clients not to sell now.

"I'm telling my clients that if you can rent it and hold on, that's great," Sain said. "Most economists I've heard are looking for another 10 to 15 percent decline in prices before we hit bottom."

The housing market's meltdown has sent the entire economy into a tailspin.

On Monday, the Florida Home Builders Association said that as banks tighten their lending practices, they're pushing even solvent builders to "the brink of financial disaster."

"Not only are banks making additional capital calls, they are calling in loans not in default, eliminating lines of credit, and in many cases, altogether doing away with construction financing," Florida Home Builders Association President Jay Carlson said. "The current method banks are using to recapitalize is exacerbating Florida's economic problems."

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors is calling on Congress to approve $100 billion in incentives for home buyers as the housing market continues to crater.

Nationally, existing-home sales fell 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million units in October, 1.6 percent below the 5.06 million-unit pace in October 2007, NAR said.

Find Palm Beach Homes: http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/search.htm

Courtesy: Palm Beach Post http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2008/11/24/1124homesales.html

Lee County's Ft. Myers; Existing Home Sales Pace Up 44%

2008-11-25T09:44:00.004-05:00

Lee County's existing home sales pace looks promising
BY DICK HOGAN • NOVEMBER 25, 2008

Find Lee County Homes: http://www.AqualandRealty.com

Lee County's existing-home market experienced a slight dip in sales and prices in October - and that may be good news.

That's because the pace of homes being sold continues to be quick while prices slowly fall.

The price of an existing single-family home in the county sold with the help of a Realtor dropped 2 percent to $139,500 in October while the number of homes sold fell 3 percent to 720, according to statistics released Monday by the Florida Association of Realtors.

Experts aren't saying the real estate market is healthy, but compared to the wild gyrations of the stock market, real estate now seems relatively stable.

Compared to a year ago, sales are strong, said Brett Ellis, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Realty Group in Fort Myers. There were 405 houses sold in October 2007, 44 percent fewer than October 2008.

High sales are good because once the 15,000 houses listed for sale and the 30,000 foreclosure properties backed up in the court system are sold, the laws of supply and demand kick in, he said.

Although October's sales were slightly off September's pace, Ellis said, that could be because those sales were based on deals that went on through August and September - two of the slowest months of the year.

In a separate report issued Monday by the National Association of Realtors, sales nationally of existing homes fell 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million homes in October, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.14 million in September. Sales had been expected to fall to a rate of 5.05 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

The national median sales price plunged 11.3 percent from a year ago to $183,000. That was the largest year-over-year drop on record going back to 1968, and the lowest median sales price since March 2004.

Lee County's median price is the lowest since February 2003, when it was $135,900.

That's more good news for the market, Ellis said.

Sales are staying strong because "our prices are where they ought to be" after a long slide following the collapse of the market, he said. The median price reached its all-time high of $322,300 in December 2005.

Still, for people trying to sell a house, competition is heavy from foreclosures and short sales.

"I don't know, man, everybody wants to buy houses," said contractor Mike Kelly, who's trying to sell his house on Devonwood Court in south Lee County for $270,000. "I'm going to cut the price a little bit and then wait. I'm hoping that January through March, in season, maybe they'll get more buyers."

But, he said, it's a tough environment to be selling a house. "Business is really slow, and I don't want to have to eat into my savings."

Kelly's company, Southwest Florida Custom Electronics, installs burglar alarm, camera and sound systems, but demand is soft, he said.

Around the nation, sales were down in October compared to September. But sales were up 40.5 percent in the West compared with October last year, without adjusting for seasonal factors. Buyers in places such as Las Vegas and Orange County, Calif., snapped up distressed properties at bargain prices.

Nationwide, the Realtors group estimates that sales of distressed properties made up 45 percent of all property sales in October.

Having money in the stock market has been a wilder ride than real estate in recent weeks: The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank from 9,625 on Nov. 4 to 7,552 on Nov. 20.

- The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
Courtesy Fort Myers News-Press: http://www.news-press.com/article/20081125/RE/811250378/1014/business

Florida’s Existing Home, Condo Sales Rise in October 2008

2008-11-24T14:12:00.003-05:00

Florida’s existing home, condo sales rise in October 2008

ORLANDO, Fla. – Nov. 24, 2008 – For the second month in a row, Florida’s existing home sales rose in October, with Florida Realtors® reporting a 15 percent increase in activity in the year-to-year comparison; last month’s sales of existing condos statewide increased 5 percent in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR).

A total of 10,443 existing homes sold statewide last month, up 15 percent over the 9,118 homes sold in October 2007, according to FAR. Florida Realtors also reported higher statewide existing home and existing condo sales in September compared to the year-ago levels.

Thirteen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased existing-home sales in October; seven MSAs also showed gains in condo sales, marking the fourth consecutive month that a number of markets have noted higher sales activity.

Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $169,700; a year ago, it was $222,200 for a 24 percent decrease. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in September 2008 was $190,600, down 8.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In California, the statewide median resales price was $316,480 in September; in Massachusetts, it was $295,000; in Maryland, it was $271,520; and in New York, it was $215,000.

Market conditions continue to range widely, according to the latest housing outlook from NAR. “A pattern of sharply higher sales in areas with large price declines is well established,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Affordability conditions have consistently been a major factor in driving sales. Historically during recessions, buyers have responded to incentives and it’s important for government to keep that in the forefront of housing stimulus decisions.”

In Florida’s year-to-year comparison for condos, 2,956 units sold statewide compared to 2,805 sold in October 2007 for a 5 percent increase. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $147,600; in October 2007 it was $192,300 for a 23 percent decrease. In the latest data available at press time, NAR reported the national median existing condo price was $199,400 in September 2008.

Last month, interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.20 percent, down from the average rate of 6.38 percent in October 2007, according to Freddie Mac. FAR’s sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

Among the state’s large to medium-size markets, the Miami MSA reported a total of 453 homes sold in October compared to 367 homes a year ago for a 23 percent increase. The existing home median sales price was $246,800; a year ago, it was $354,800 for a 30 percent decrease. In the year-to-year comparison for the existing condo market, a total of 439 units sold in the MSA last month, up 1 percent compared to 436 condos sold the previous October. The market’s existing condo median price was $197,400; a year ago, it was $268,300 for a 26 percent decrease.

Courtesy: FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS © 2008 http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n1-112408.cfm

Housing Affordability Rises to Highest Level in Four Years

2008-11-21T00:42:00.002-05:00

Housing affordability rises to highest level in four years

WASHINGTON – Nov. 19, 2008 – With home prices decreasing and interest rates holding at historically low levels, the number of potential homebuyers nationwide who can afford to buy new and existing homes has reached the highest level in more than four years, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI).

According to the third-quarter HOI readings, 56.1 percent of all new and existing homes sold were affordable to families earning the national median income of $61,500 – far more than the 40.4 percent of families who could afford homes at the peak of the housing boom.

“If there is a silver lining to this crisis, it would be that some housing markets have become more affordable with a larger inventory to choose from,” said NAHB Chairman Sandy Dunn. “But this is undeniably a crisis and Congress needs to act on housing stimulus to get the market moving again.”

The two most affordable major housing markets in the country during the third quarter of the year were Indianapolis, Ind., and Youngstown, Ohio, according to the HOI. In both Indianapolis and Youngstown, 91.0 percent of homes sold in the third quarter were affordable to families earning the areas’ median household incomes of $65,100 and $52,000, respectively.

Also near the top of the list for affordable major metropolitan areas were Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.; Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich.; and Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., in that order.

One smaller metro market (fewer than 500,000 people) outranked all others in terms of housing affordability during the third quarter of 2008 – Springfield, Ohio, where 92.9 percent of all homes sold in the period were affordable to families earning that area’s median household income of $54,500.

New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., was the nation’s least affordable major housing market for the second consecutive quarter. In the New York market, 10.6 percent of the new and existing homes sold during the third quarter were affordable to those earning the area’s median family income of $63,000.

Other major metro areas at the bottom of the housing affordability chart included San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif.; Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y.; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.; and Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla., in that order.

Among smaller metro areas, the other markets at the bottom of the affordability chart were San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.; Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.; Napa, Calif.; and Bend, Ore., respectively.

Courtesy FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® © 2008: http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n1-111908.cfm

Florida’s Existing Home, Condo Sales Increase in September 2008

2008-11-21T00:38:00.002-05:00

Florida’s existing home, condo sales increase in September 2008

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 24, 2008 – For the first time in almost three years, Florida’s existing home sales rose in September, noting a 24 percent increase in activity in the year-to-year comparison; last month’s sales of existing condos statewide increased 11 percent in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR).

A total of 10,817 existing homes sold statewide last month, up 24 percent over the 8,725 homes sold in September 2007, according to FAR. The last time Florida Realtors reported higher statewide existing single-family home sales was for year-end 2005, FAR records found. In July of this year, six more homes sold statewide than in July 2007, but that increase was statistically insignificant.

Fourteen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased sales of existing homes in September; nine MSAs also showed gains in condo sales, marking the third month in a row that a number of markets have noted higher sales activity.

“The September sales report from the Florida Association of Realtors shows a 24 percent increase in the sales of existing homes in the state; this represents the sixth month in a row that the sales figure has exceeded its 12-month moving average (average of the previous 12 months),” says Dr. Sean Snaith, economist and director of the University of Central Florida Institute for Economic Competitiveness. “This is a clear sign that the significant price declines that have occurred across the state are leading to a more rapid absorption of the housing inventory.”

Snaith noted that September 2007 was a volatile time for the housing industry. “The large percentage increase of sales this September versus September 2007 is inflated by the sharp decline in sales that took place in September 2007,” he explained. “That was the month following the initial wave of global fallout precipitated by the subprime mortgage meltdown that roiled markets in August 2007.”

Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $175,100; a year ago, it was $224,700 for a 22 percent decrease. But, looking back to September 2003, the statewide median sales price for single-family homes was $158,800 – an increase of 10.3 percent over the five-year-period, according to FAR records. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in August 2008 was $201,900, down 9.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). In California, the statewide median resales price was $350,140 in August; in Massachusetts, it was $325,000; in Maryland, it was $295,283; and in New York, it was $225,000.

The latest housing outlook from NAR points out the importance of available credit to the mortgage market. “Home sales will be constrained without a freer flow of credit into the mortgage market,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “The faster that happens, the sooner we’ll see a broad stabilization in home prices that in turn will help the economy recover.”

In Florida’s year-to-year comparison for condos, 2,878 units sold statewide compared to 2,595 sold in September 2007 for an 11 percent increase. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $153,800; in September 2007 it was $197,000 for a 22 percent decrease. In the latest data available at press time, NAR reported the national median existing condo price was $212,600 in August 2008.

Last month, interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.04 percent, down from the average rate of 6.38 percent in September 2007, according to Freddie Mac. FAR’s sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

Among the state’s large to medium-size markets, the Daytona Beach MSA reported a total of 536 homes sold in September compared to 478 homes a year ago for a 12 percent increase. The existing home median sales price was $160,000; a year ago, it was $193,200 for a 17 percent decrease. In the year-to-year comparison for the existing condo market, a total of 74 units sold in the MSA last month, up 1 percent compared to 73 condos sold the previous September. The market’s existing condo median price was $237,500; a year ago, it was $277,100 for a 14 percent decrease.

Courtesy FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS © 2008:http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n1-102408.cfm

Pending Homes Sales Up Strongly

2008-10-13T23:25:00.002-04:00

Pending Home Sales Up Strongly

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Pending home sales activity surged as buyers took advantage of low home prices and affordable interest rates, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in August, jumped 7.4 percent to 93.4 from an upwardly revised reading of 87.0 in July, and is 8.8 percent higher than August 2007 when it stood at 85.8. The index is at the highest level since June 2007 when it stood at 101.4.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home buyers were responding to improved affordability. “What we’re seeing is the momentum of people taking advantage of low home prices, with pending home sales up strongly in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Rhode Island and the Washington, D.C., region,” he said. "It’s unclear how much contract activity may be impacted by the credit disruptions on Wall Street, but we’re hopeful most of the increase will translate into closed existing-home sales.”

The PHSI in the West surged 18.4 percent to 109.5 in August and remains 37.8 percent above a year ago. In the Northeast the index jumped 8.4 percent to 79.8 and is 2.0 percent higher than August 2007. The index in the Midwest rose 3.6 percent to 84.5 in August and is 6.6 percent above a year ago. In the South, the index increased 2.3 percent to 96.0 but is 2.1 percent below August 2007.

Yun notes the unusual timing of contract activity in August. “Home buyers in July were hampered by overly stringent lending criteria in the months before the government takeover of Fannie and Freddie,” he said. “August shows some unleashing of pent-up demand before the credit crisis accelerated in September.”

He cautioned that the sampling size for pending home sales is smaller than the track on existing-home sales, so there is more volatility in the forward-looking series. “We need to see just how much of this gain holds up,” Yun said.

NAR President Richard F. Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif., said despite all the turmoil in world financial markets, home mortgages are available. “Mortgages have been harder to find, and availability and terms vary depending on credit score and location, but Realtors® can help buyers find reputable lenders while helping them navigate the transaction process,” he said. “The recently enacted economic stimulus package should help housing by gradually freeing the flow of credit.”

Yun now expects growth in the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) to contract for two consecutive quarters, in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2009, before expanding in latter part of 2009 as the housing market begins a steady improvement.

Looking at middle-ground assumptions, existing-home sales are forecast at 5.04 million this year and 5.41 million in 2009. Following national declines of 5 to 8 percent in 2008, home prices are projected to increase 2 to 3 percent next year.

New-home sales should total around 503,000 this year and 471,000 in 2009. Housing starts, including multifamily units, are likely to fall 28.2 percent to 973,000 units this year, and come in around 843,000 in 2009 as builders continue to clear the accumulation in inventory.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will probably average 6.1 percent in the fourth quarter and rise gradually to 6.6 percent by the end of 2009. NAR’s housing affordability index is expected to average 18 percentage points higher this year than in 2007.

The unemployment rate is projected to average 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter and then average 6.6 percent in 2009. Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, is estimated at 4.0 percent for 2008 and 2.0 percent next year. Inflation-adjusted disposable personal income is forecast to grow 1.7 percent this year and 1.0 percent in 2009.

Reprinted from National Realty News:
http://nationalrealtynews.com/content/templates/standard.aspx?articleid=1278&zoneid=1

Why Wait for a Wall Street Recover - Use Your Stock Portfolio Now

2008-10-11T08:11:00.003-04:00

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"As they say one man's misfortune is another man's opportunity. Looking at the massive drops in the stock market I have to think there are bargains galore for the stocks of otherwise soundly managed companies. I'd love to get into that but I want to stay protected. My IRA is worth about $500,000. What can I do with this?"

The Stock Solution: We'll place you into our IRA Stock Loan program and handle the stock loan side of the process while our partner firm (made up of licensed financial planners and insurance experts) will guide you to a temporary dissolution of your IRA, purchase of stocks, placement of stocks in to a Stock Loan, and re-purchase of annuities to re-stock your IRA within the statutory limit. Our firm provides the loan only; all other facets are handled 100% by licensed professionals in compliance with regulations.

The result? You'll have a healthy IRA producing annuity income (or building value) while remaining "in the market" as beneficial owner of your carefully selected 'bargain' stocks. By the time the loan term is up in 3-5 years, if you picked with care, your portfolio will be worth much more in a healthy economy and you can use that to have the lender sell enough shares to pay off the loan, while you recoup the upside profit as shares or stock, whatever you prefer. You've thus profited from the market, while retaining your IRA.

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Home Sales Up, Prices Down in South Florida

2008-09-26T11:03:00.004-04:00

Realtors: August home sales up, prices down in South Florida
Reprinted from The Miami Herald
BY Matthew Haggmann

South Florida home sales jumped in August amid signs that lower prices are drawing buyers back into the region's long-struggling housing market.

Sales of existing single-family homes in Miami-Dade County increased 22 percent and Broward County sales increased 12 percent compared to the same period a year ago, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Florida Association of Realtors.

Condominium sales were up 13 percent in Miami-Dade, while condo activity in Broward for the month was even compared to August 2007.

A big reason for increased sales appears to be healthy price drops. Prices were at least 20 percent lower in August than a year ago for single-family homes and condos in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

The median price for a Miami-Dade single-family home was $276,000 in August, amounting to a 30 percent drop from last year. For Broward single-family homes, the median price was $269,800, down 27 percent.

The median condo price in Miami-Dade was $210,400; it was $133,300 in Broward.

The outsized inventory of residences for sale also declined in August. Market watchers say the number of homes on the market must shrink significantly -- creating a better balance between buyers and sellers -- before prices start rising again.

The South Florida results were in contrast to the rest of the country.

Nationally, sales of existing U.S. homes fell by 2.2 percent in August, though the number of unsold homes on the market also dropped sharply from the previous month's record high.

The National Association of Realtors said sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.91 million units, from an upwardly revised pace of 5.02 million in July. Sales had been expected to fall by 1.6 percent, according to economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR.

The median price of an existing home dropped to $203,100 from $224,400 a year ago. For single-family houses, the median price dropped 9.7 percent, the biggest decline since records began in 1968.

Resales account for about 90 percent of the market, while purchases of new homes make up the rest. Sales of existing homes are compiled from contract closings and may reflect contracts signed one or two months earlier.

There were 4.2 million unsold homes on the market, a 7 percent drop from the record set in July. It was the steepest drop in inventory since December 2006.

Reprinted from the Miami Herald: http://www.miamiherald.com/business/real-estate/story/699288.html

What the Government Takeover of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Means to the Housing Industry

2008-09-09T10:33:00.002-04:00

What the Government Takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Means to Housing Industry
Reprinted from the National Association of Realtors

In short-term, home sales should improve as mortgage rates fall

Washington, D.C. (September 8, 2008)-The federal government's takeover of secondary mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should cause a drop in mortgage rates in the short term that benefits home buyers, but the long-term outlook is too early to call. NAR fully supports the action of the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The federal government had no choice. The capital situation of the two companies was not enough to handle the fallout from rising mortgage defaults in the near future. In addition, investors who purchase Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt have lost confidence in the two.

In a statement, NAR commended the Treasury's action, announced yesterday, to bring stability and continued liquidity to the mortgage market.

"The plan will help restore confidence in the secondary mortgage market," said NAR President Richard F. Gaylord.

"We appreciate the steps taken to calm the market, make mortgages more widely available and protect taxpayers. We look forward to working with the administration and Congress to ensure the continued vibrancy of the secondary mortgage market.

Summary of what the Treasury actually did and what it means

In the takeover, Treasury placed the GSEs into a conservatorship-similar to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy- which fully protects taxpayers from conflicts of interest between taxpayers and shareholders or current management.

The federal government is authorized to take up to an 80 percent stake in the companies, will review their financial condition quarterly, and inject money into the operations as needed. That means the market for GSE securities will be treated more like Treasury obligations, which should push mortgage interest rates down. That in turn, is expected to speed up home sales and help stabilize home prices.

The GSEs will be allowed to increase their mortgage funding over the next year and a half to help stabilize markets. Starting in 2010, the plan calls for them to reduce their portfolios.

The heads of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been relieved of their duties. Treasury selected Herbert Allison, former Merrill Lynch vice chairman, to lead Fannie Mae, and David Moffett, former U.S. Bancorp CFO, to guide Freddie Mac.

Talking Points

NAR, as the leading advocate for homeownership and housing issues, has closely monitored the market turmoil affecting the stock and debts of the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Their mission is crucial to the economy to make fair and affordable mortgages available to home owners and home buyers. That mission must not be interrupted.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a vital role in the U.S. economy by making fair and affordable mortgage loans available for home buyers and owners. That must not be interrupted. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and James B.Lockhart III, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have issued strong statements assuring the public that credit will continue to flow over the next 12 to 18 months.

Short term, the takeover will result in government money driving down interest rates, which is expected to spur an increase in home sales.

Long term, the action will lead to a major reorganization of the two GSEs as privately owned models. The brunt of that work will fall to the new administration and new Congress. NAR will help shape that process and the association is already working on a plan to do that.

The action taking by Treasury and the FHFA, which regulates GSEs, makes clear the government will not let the deteriorating conditions of the GSEs disrupt the flow of capital to the housing sector, or harm the national and international financial system.

The GSEs guarantee more than 40 percent of the nation's mortgages and own or guarantee more than $5 trillion in mortgages. Since the credit crunch began in August 2007, the private sector mortgage securitization market has virtually disappeared and the market share of the GSEs has jumped to about 70 percent.

NAR will continue to follow events closely and develop recommendations on the future of the GSEs' mission to ensure there will be a robust secondary mortgage market in all markets.

Florida Condo Prices Hit Bottom?

2008-09-04T16:55:00.004-04:00

Real Estate Vultures Think Florida Condo Prices Have Hit Bottom
Reprinted from Florida Association of Realtors

MIAMI – Sept. 4, 2008 – Trying to time the real estate market and planning to buy once it hits bottom? Get your checkbook.

Condo Vultures LLC owner Peter Zalewski believes the recent purchase of 120 condominiums in Miami’s 50 Biscayne Blvd. tower, by the Philadelphia-based private equity firm Lubert-Adler Partners LP and Related Group of Florida, will usher in a wave of investors looking to snap up distressed properties in the region.

Jack McCabe of McCabe Research & Consulting LLC believes these vulture buyers are an indication that the housing market has bottomed out, and he believes ongoing foreclosure sales could extend the bottom for a few years. He says that vulture investors plan to spend $30 billion or more on distressed housing in the Sunshine State.

However, Lewis Goodkin of Goodkin Consulting Group says prices need to be reduced to about 50 cents on the dollar to attract investors.

Downtown Miami will see the opening of 11,551 condos this year, which is a five-year supply, according to MetroStudy regional director Brad Hunter.

Source: Bloomberg (09/04/08) Ivry, Bob
© Copyright 2008 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688

Ready to Buy? Click Here

Building Lots on Pine Island from the $40s

2008-03-21T10:28:00.003-04:00

Located in the quaint historic fishing port of St. James City, on the southern tip of Pine Island, it is one of the most unique in Southwest Florida. Pine Island is part of the Intracoastal Waterway which connects the entire coast of Florida through the Pine Island Sound, Charlotte Harbor, and Boca Grande Pass. These northern barrier islands, form the gateway to what is commonly called the “Ten Thousand Islands,” they also produce some of the best tarpon fishing in the world. These islands form a waterway that runs along Florida’s west coast, south to the Florida Keys. St. James City is located a short drive to Cape Coral and Ft. Myers, which are some of the fastest growing areas in the country. They offer world class dining, an abundance of shopping, a variety of entertainment and many cultural events."Little Palm Village" has everything an active family could wish: small in-town home sites located within walking distance of all St. James City has to offer. The development is enhanced by the surrounding ambiance of this historic waterfront town and hundreds of beautiful estuaries and waterways that surround the islands. In addition, the development offers property owners close proximity to boat storage and docking facilities located within blocks of their property. The local channels offer deep water and easy Gulf access. Residents can further enjoy the full service marinas, charter fishing boats and multiple waterfront restaurants within walking distance from their home. Little "Little Palm Village" is designed to give you some of the best local “Old Florida” flavor and the famous “Key West” lifestyle that Pine Island offers its residents everyday of the year.

Cape Coral Gulf Access Home - Reduced $190,000!

2008-03-09T10:58:00.010-04:00

Priced Well Below Market Value for Quick Sale!

2540 SW 36th Lane
Cape Coral, FL
3-Bedrooms / 2-Baths / 2-Car Garage
U-shaped Captain's Dock with 7,000-lb Lift
Originally $650,000
Priced for Immediate Sale at $459,900!

Webpage:
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/gulf-access.htm

Virtual Tour:
http://www.realtourvision.com/tour.display.new.php?utl=RE-1066-BL41R1-01

Absolutely gorgeous waterfront home in Cape Coral on saltwater canal with access to the Gulf of Mexico. This lovely home has been exquisitely maintained and decorator furnished. The decorator furnishings are available, but are not included in the asking price. The split floor plan provides privacy with a separate master suite with pool access and beautiful water views. The master closet also includes a secure 'owner's closet' as well. The home features stylish neutral ceramic tile throughout and cathedral ceilings with custom light fixtures. The living room offers a built-in entertainment center with lighting and overlooks the pool with floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that literally open the entire expanse of the living room to the pool deck. The pool area has a covered entertaining area and a full screened pool cage. With a Southern exposure, the heated pool also enjoys direct sun throughout the day. The 6-person jacuzzi also overlooks the boat dock and water views.

The modern gourmet kitchen includes a full pantry, custom silestone counter tops, raised panel cabinetry, double stainless steel sink, a large breakfast bar, and all the appliances. The spacious dining room also overlooks the pool and water views. There is a separate laundry room complete with large basin laundry tub and the washer and dryer are included in the sale.Energy efficient windows throughout the home offer custom draperies and plantation style shutters. The two-car garage offers additional storage cabinetry and a pull-down attic access for additional storage. The home also features an upgraded metal roof with additional strengthening added during the construction process.

Lush tropical landscaping adds to the beauty of this amazing home and a custom built Captain's dock provides not only a 7,000 boat lift to keep your yacht high and dry, but also walkway access on both sides of your boat. A custom tiki hut has also been added to the dock along with a direct walkway from the pool area to the dock. You will have Gulf Access under one fixed bridge (approximately 9-feet) and through the Cape Harbour boat lock, with exceptionally convenient attended operating hours. Take your boat to dinner at Rum Runner's at the marina, to any of the many restaurants on the Caloosahatchee River, or maybe escape for a day of fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. At leisure speeds, you are just 35 minutes to the lock and a total of 45 minutes to the River. Sanibel Pass Bridge that welcomes you into the open Gulf is just an hour away.

Of course, the home is conveniently located just minutes away from downtown, but is also just minutes to Burnt Store Marina and on to Punta Gorda. The location puts you in the heart of it all without the hustle and bustle of city life.

Even your pickiest buyers will be impressed by the loving care that this home continues to receive from its current owners. If you're looking to move right in without a care in the world, this home will be perfect for you and your family. Easy to show - just give us a call!

As always, thank you for the opportunity to earn your business.

All the best,

--Branon A. Edwards
Licensed Real Estate Broker
Aqualand Realty, Inc
786-417-4910

What's REALLY Happening in Florida - Winter 2008 Newsletter

2008-02-27T16:37:00.006-05:00

**Greetings from Branon Edwards and Jelena Panfilova
from Aqualand Realty in sunny South Florida!

Welcome to another edition of InvestFloridaRealty.com's Florida real estate newsletter. There have been a lot of changes to the real estate landscape including the increase of foreclosures and sale inventory, new homestead exemption and portability for property tax reductions, as well as phenomenal opportunities for buyers and investors. We hope to dispel some of the misinformation being touted by the media while also giving you some solid information you can use.

In this issue:
-Homestead Portability Thanks to Amendment 1 (Action Required)
-Time to Refinance?
-Featured Property: Porpoise Point Fishing Resort
-Our Real Estate Listings (Homes, Condos, Land, Vacation Rentals)
-What's REALLY Happening in Florida's Real Estate Market?
-Buyers' Market Highlights including Currency Exchange

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Homestead Portability Thanks to Amendment 1 (Action Required)

What you should do to receive benefits of Amendment 1
To receive some of the benefits of the changes enacted January 29th, certain citizens must take action by March 1, 2008. The Constitutional amendment created four new opportunities for taxpayers to obtain tax relief:

1. Increased homestead exemption
2. Portability of "Save our Homes" benefit
3. $25,000 exemption for tangible personal property
4. 10% annual assessment limitation for non-homestead property

What taxpayers must do to receive these new benefits:

1. Increased homestead exemption - Homeowners that are currently receiving the homestead exemption will automatically receive the increased homestead exemption. No action is necessary.

2. Portability of "Save our Homes" benefits - If you received the homestead exemption in 2007 on a home that you sold or otherwise abandoned during 2007 and have purchased a new home by January 1, 2008, you are eligible to take some or all of the benefit of "Save our Homes" to your new home. In order to receive this benefit, you must apply by March 1, 2008 to your property appraiser for your new homestead exemption and for the transfer of the "Save Our Homes" benefit to your new homestead for 2008.

3. $25,000 exemption for tangible personal property - Tangible personal property taxes apply only to certain taxpayers in Florida - typically businesses and certain owners of mobile homes. The tax does not apply to homesteaded property. In order to receive the $25,000 exemption for tangible personal property, taxpayers subject to the tax must file a tangible personal property return with their property appraiser by April 1, 2008.

4. 10% limit on annual assessment increases for non-homestead property - The 10% limitation does not apply until next year. No application is necessary for 2008.

If you have any questions about what action you must take to receive these new benefits, please contact your local property appraiser. For information on how to contact Florida's property appraisers, go to http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/appraisers.html

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TIME TO REFINANCE?

If you're like most Americans who purchased a property between 2004-2006, chances are that you have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). It's also very likely that this mortgage is about to convert from the original 'teaser' low interest rate to a much higher interest rate that will push up your monthly mortgage payment substantially.

If your current interest rate is higher than 8%, then you will likely benefit enough from refinancing your mortgage to make it worthwhile. Even if you interest rate is 7%, you could benefit from a refinance if you plan to keep the property longer than 5 years.

With recent cuts in the interest rate by the Federal Reserve (and more on the way), interest rates are very attractive presently. However, your actual interest rate will vary based on your credit score, the type of property (primary residence, second home, investment, etc), how you plan to prove your financial situation (full documentation, bank statements, stated, etc), and the purpose of the loan (cash-out or just rate change).

If you would like a complimentary mortgage consultation, please call Branon at 786-417-4910 or send an email to Branon@InvestFloridaRealty.com

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FEATURED PROPERTY: Porpoise Point Fishing Resort

Aqualand Realty is happy to present to our customers a new bay front townhome development on the island community of Matlacha. Matlacha (Mat-Luh-Shay) is a quaint fishing village located between Cape Coral and Pine Island on the West Coast of Florida. On a broader geographic scale, it is located between the larger cities of Fort Myers and Sarasota. It is within a 30-minute drive of Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers (Airport Code RSW).

The best way to describe Matlacha is that it looks like the Florida Keys 25 years ago. There are no high-rises and the historical society and local building regulations will keep it that way. In fact, there is a height restriction in place that limits buildings to no more than 3 stories.

Porpoise Point Fishing Resort is a new 20-unit townhome community that is located right on a wide expanse of Bay on the South side of the island. We can tell you from personal experience that the name is justly earned. We have yet to spend any time at the community without seeing the local pod of dolphins swimming by during the day. There are also families of Osprey and a Bald Eagle, not to mention a plethora of tropical birds and wildlife. Matlacha and Pine Island are perhaps one of the few unspoiled islands left in Florida that you can actually reach without a boat. Of course, the fishing in the area is phenomenal and it’s home to the World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament – the entry fee for the tourney is a mere $100,000!

This exclusive community will offer owners a 2,000-square foot private residence with 3 balconies, 3-bedrooms, and 3-and-a-half baths. In addition, the third bedroom can be converted to a guest suite with nightly renting potential. The community's zoning permits the main part of the residence to be rented with a 5-night minimum. There will also be deeded boat docks available including approximately six shoal-draft slips that should accommodate up to 26-foot boats, and deep water slips that should accommodate larger vessels with approximately a 5-foot draft at mean low tide. These slips should be large enough for a +40-foot sailboat with direct access (no bridges) to the Gulf of Mexico.

Click Here for More Information About or to Schedule a Private Tour of Porpoise Point:
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/porpoise-point.htm

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OUR REAL ESTATE LISTINGS (Homes, Condos, Land)

1,129 Acres
Evans Road, Labelle, FL
90-1,129 Acres of Mostly Cleared Land
Currently Zoned AG and Operated as Farm and Pasture
Could be Single Family Homesites, Dirt Mine, or Farm for BioDiesel/Ethanol
Priced from $20,000 Per Acre
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/792-labelle.htm

Galt Island Estate
4981 Galt Island Ave
Saint James City, FL
3-Bedrooms / 3-Baths / Boat Dock with Lift
3-Story on Private Island
Originally $2.5 Million
Reduced to Just $2.2 Million
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/galt-island-home.htm

Waterfront Castle with Gulf Access!
3651 Turtledove Blvd
Punta Gorda, FL 33950
Brand New Construction
3-Bedrooms/3.5-Baths/Boat Dock with Lift
Gulf Access for Sailboats
Originally $2 Million
Blow Out Priced at $1,499,900!
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/pgi.htm

Porpoise Point Fishing Resort
Matlacha, FL (Pine Island)
3-Bedroom/3.5-Bath/3-Balcony/3-Story Bayfront Townhomes
Preconstruction Prices from $875,500
Private Boat Docks Available
CHECK OUT THE VIRTUAL TOUR ONLINE
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/porpoise-point.htm

Trump Towers One
Brand New Beachfront Construction
2-Bedrooms/3-Baths + Den
Direct Ocean Views
3 Units to Choose From
Purchase Preconstruction Contract for 50% of Deposit!
Prices from the $800,000s to High $900,000s

Ocean Four
17201 Collins Ave, Unit 1506
Sunny Isles Beach, FL
2-Bedrooms / 2-Baths / 2-Balconies
Beachfront Building. Unit has direct West views
of Intracoastal, City, and Fabulous Sunsets.
Over $750,000 Invested
Blow Out Priced at Just $635,000!!
Rented Short-Term @ $2200/month until May 2008
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/ocean-4.htm

Marina Walk on Pine Island
Saint James City, FL 33956
Gated Waterfront Community with Boat Docks
Homes from the high $400,000s
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/marina-walk.htm

Cape Coral Gulf Access Home – Reduced $190,000!
2540 SW 36th Lane
Cape Coral, FL
3-Bedrooms / 2-Baths / 2-Car Garage
U-shaped Captain's Dock with 7,000-lb Lift
Originally $650,000
Priced for Immediate Sale at $459,900!
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/gulf-access.htm

Saint James City Gulf Access Building Lot
2395 Sycamore Street
Saint James City, FL
New Sea Wall plus Dock Permit
Originally $500,000
Reduced to $475,000
Reduced Again to $460,000
Blow Out Priced at $375,000!
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/sycamore.htm

Axis at Brickell Village
Brand New Construction in Downtown Miami
Close to EVERYTHING, Great Amenities!
Contract Now, Close with Developer in February
Unit #3404-S - 2/2 Bay View @ $459,900
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/axis.html
Unit #1412-S - 2/2 City View @ $400,000
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/axis.htm

Hollywood Hills
3701 Washington Street
Hollywood, FL 33021
3-Bedroom / 2-Bath / 2-Car/Fenced Yard
Fenced Yard, lots of upgrades
Tenant at $2,100/month until July 2008
Originally $384,000 (below Appraisal)
Priced to Sell at Just $373,900
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/3701-washington.htm

Saint James City Acreage
4094 Sunshine Blvd
Saint James City, FL 33956
5 Acres Building Lot on Paved Road
Road frontage on 3 sides
Could Possibly be Subdivided
Should be $400,000
Asking Just $316,000 ($63,500 per acre!)
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/sunshine-blvd.htm

Latitude on the River
185 SW 7th St, #1708
Brand New Construction in Downtown Miami
1-bedroom/1-bath with Bay Views
Was $269,900
Blow-Out Priced at $259,900! - UNDER CONTRACT
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/latitude.htm

BUSINESS FOR SALE
Cash Cow High-End Flower Shop in Downtown Fort Lauderdale
High Profits, Low Overhead, Over $100,000 in Inventory Included
Unbelievable Price of $249,900
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/flower-shop.htm

401 Blu
401 69th Street, #311
Miami Beach, FL 33141
1-Bedroom / 1-Bath
Newly renovated building
Tenant at $1300/month until June 2008
Originally $275,000
Priced for Quick Sale at $239,900
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/401-blu.htm

Meadowbrook Towers
610 NE 12th St
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
1-Bedroom/1-Bath Condo in 55+ Community
Overlooking Pool and Clubhouse, Recent Upgrades
Was $138,900
Now Just $129,900!
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/meadowbrook-towers.htm

Little Palm Village
Saint James City, FL 33956
Single Family Home Building Lots
Buy Now, Build Later
Priced from the high $40,000s
Various Olde Florida Home Plans Available
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/little-palm-village.htm

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VACATION RENTALS – TurnKey Furnished with Ocean Views:

2080 Ocean Drive, Hallandale Beach

2-Bed/2-Bath Penthouse-09 from $3250/month
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/rental/hallandale-beach.htm

2-Bed/2.5-Bath Corner Penthouse-01 from $3750/month
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/rental/2080-ocean-dr.htm

2-Bed/2-Bath Lower Penthouse-10 from $3250/month
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/rental/2080-ocean-drive.htm

Hollywood Beach Resort - #438
Large Oceanfront Studio with 2 Queen Beds from $1600/month ($999/week)
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/rental/hollywood-beach.htm

Alexander Towers - #806
2-Bed/2-Bath Oceanfront, 3 Queen Beds + 1 Twin Bed
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/rental/alexander-towers.htm
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What's REALLY Happening in Florida's Real Estate Market?

We know the media has basically been saying that the sky is falling for over a year now. In fact, if you listen to everything on the news or believe everything you read in the papers, you're likely standing on the edge of a tall building at the moment. However, you'll probably be surprised to know that things really aren't as horrible as they would like you to think. Step away from the ledge now please.

According to the media, housing values have dropped by 50% in some places - this is, of course, an exaggeration, but what's new? As an example, the Miami market hadn't depreciated at all until just this last quarter. And even then, it was an annualized depreciation of just 3.1%. That's a far cry from thinking your house had been devalued by 50%. In fact, over the last 12 months, homes in Miami-Dade County have actually APPRECIATED by 3.4% overall.

We subscribe to a very high-end real estate software system that tracks almost 400 large municipal markets throughout the USA. This system tracks the ACTUAL property appreciation for single family homes in these areas by sales, not by median home price. Median Home Price is the most commonly used gauge of how markets are performing, but if you know what the 'median' really means, you know it's not a good gauge at all. The system we use tracks individual homes in a given market over a 30-year period. By doing so, it can calculate what each home has sold for over time and thereby calculate the true appreciation rate.

By the way, if you would like more information on subscribing to this service, click here:
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/RealEstateToolKit

Here's the actual overview of several markets here in Florida:

Miami & Miami-Dade County
Last Quarter Annualized -3.1%
2 Quarters Ago Annualized +1.8%
Last 12 Months +3.4%
3 Years Ago +21.9%
5 Years Ago +14.9%
10 Years Ago +2.0%

Fort Lauderdale & Broward County
Last Quarter Annualized -13.7%
2 Quarters Ago Annualized -4.2%
Last 12 Months -4.7%
3 Years Ago +24.1%
5 Years Ago +14.1%
10 Years Ago +1.7%

West Palm Beach & Palm Beach County
Last Quarter Annualized -11.1%
2 Quarters Ago Annualized -9.8%
Last 12 Months -6.9%
3 Years Ago +26.1%
5 Years Ago +13.7%
10 Years Ago +2.3%

Fort Myers, Cape Coral & Lee County
Last Quarter Annualized -16.6%
2 Quarters Ago Annualized -9.2%
Last 12 Months -9.7%
3 Years Ago +19.6%
5 Years Ago +13.5%
10 Years Ago +1.6%

Please keep in mind that these are the appreciation rates for single family homes - not for condominiums. Given the overbuilding of condos in recent years in Southeast Florida, the condo market is substantially different than the market for houses. Condos tend to be even more localized markets with individual buildings acting as neighborhoods and fluctuating based on the individual investor mix in that particular building. Our condo market is wide open presently with units that originally sold in preconstruction for $600 per square foot being offered for $400 per square foot, etc. If you don't plan to sell in the next year or two, condos can be an excellent addition to your portfolio right now - particularly in buildings that allow seasonal rentals.

If you would like more information on subscribing to the market tracking service, click here: http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/RealEstateToolKit

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BUYERS’ MARKET HIGHLIGHTS including Currency Exchange

What is a Buyers' Market? Simply put it is a real estate market when the market conditions favor the buyer more so than the seller. Typically it means that there are more properties listed for sale than there are buyers to purchase them. In this specific market, it also means that in addition to the large amount of available inventory, sellers are also experiencing increased motivation to sell.

Florida experienced a huge increase in property values during the heat of the market in 2003-2005. This wave of appreciation attracted vast numbers of inexperienced investors into the market. Many of these investors are now sitting on properties that are vacant with mortgages that are inching upward as their rates adjust. Lots of these folks are now offering their properties at a substantial loss from what they paid for them just a few years ago. Foreclosures are looming across the United States, which again adds to the seller motivation.

From an investor's perspective, a Buyer's Market is exactly that - a great time to BUY. It's not a great time to sell, especially if you're artificially motivated, but the opportunities in the Florida market are exceptional. However, in any market, people are always buying and selling because of changes in their housing needs.

If we factor in the weak US Dollar, Florida real estate is an unbelievable bargain for foreigners or those buying with non-US currencies like the Canadian Dollar, the Euro, and the British Pound. These buyers have the benefit of additional incentives because of the attractive currency exchange rates.

At this writing, the exchange rates for these currencies are:
1 Euro = $1.48
1 British Pound = $1.97
1 Canadian Dollar = $1.01

Historically, the Canadian Dollar traded in recent years for about 60-cents in US Dollars. With this in mind, it means that Canadian buyers are now buying US real estate at about a 40% Discount! Many of these buyers are paying cash now with the anticipation of the market eventually normalizing. Once the exchange rate 'goes back to normal', these buyers will refinance their properties and take cash out. They can then convert the resulting US Dollars to Canadian Dollars and reap a nice profit once again from the exchange rate - leaving them with very little actually invested in the property.

In short, if you're considering investing in Florida, now is a great time to do so. Even if we haven't technically reached a 'bottom' of the market, many sellers are sufficiently motivated that negotiating the few points between the present market and 'the bottom' that you can often get an even better deal. Granted, highly sought after properties are still selling well and prices are holding steadily in established areas without high investor concentrations. As always, location is still the dominating factor in determining value in the real estate market.

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We hope you found this information useful. Of course, if you have any questions about the market in general or your specific situation, please feel free to give us a call at any time.

As always, thank you for the opportunity to earn your business. We also appreciate your trust and welcome the opportunity to assist your family and friends with their Florida real estate needs as well.

All the best,

--Branon A. Edwards, Licensed Florida Real Estate and Mortgage Broker
--Jelena Panfilova, Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker-Associate

Branon Direct: 786-417-4910
mailto:Branon@InvestFloridaRealty.com

Jelena Direct: 786-417-4911
mailto:Jelena@InvestFloridaRealty.com

Our Private Fax: 786-524-5747

VISIT OUR WEBSITE:
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com

VISIT OUR BLOG:
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.BlogSpot.com

---- Office Information ----

Real Estate Office:
Aqualand Realty, Inc
8359 Stringfellow Road
Saint James City, FL 33956

Mortgage Office:
Mainland Mortgage Corp
2803 E Commercial Blvd, Suite 210
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308

Apply Online: http://www.mainlandmortgage.com/apply-fora-loan.shtml

Thank you for the opportunity to
EARN your business.

To Subscribe from our newsletter, please click here:
mailto:branon@investfloridarealty.com?subject=SUBSCRIBE-INVESTFLORIDAREALTY

To unsubscribe from our newsletter for any reason, please click here:
mailto:branon@investfloridarealty.com?subject=UNSUBSCRIBE-INVESTFLORIDAREALTY

Waterfront Castle in Punta Gorda Isles

2008-01-06T11:35:00.000-05:00

For Sale:
3651 Turtledove Blvd
Punta Gorda, FL 33950 USA

Original Price: $2 Million
Reduced to Just: $1.5 Million

International Currencies:
1,356,104 Euro / 969,173 GBP / 1,996,227 CAD / 71,980,593 RUB

Property Website:
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/pgi.htm

3-Bedrooms/3.5-Baths
3-Car Garage with 40-Ft RV Garage
Pool
Boat Dock with Boat Lift
Sailboat Gulf Access (no bridges)

Unbelievable luxury! Imagine living in your own American castle in exclusive Punta Gorda Isles. No detail has been overlooked in this amazing luxury waterfront home built on nearly a half-acre point lot with Direct Sailboat Access to the Gulf of Mexico! Park your boat at your own concrete dock with boat lift, walk up the cobblestone stepping stones to your screen-enclosed pool. Your paver pool deck welcomes you to your heated swimming pool with built-in seating area with cocktail table plus a built-in jacuzzi to relax you after a nice day on the boat. Your outdoor kitchen features stainless steel gas grille and storage cabinet.

Your master bedroom, gym, family room, and living room all overlook the pool and have magnificent water views of the boat basin and fabulous Florida sunsets through floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. Both your family room and living room have built-in entertainment centers and every room in the house has a luxurious ceiling fan to keep those breezes flowing throughout the home. Your gourmet kitchen features a wraparound cabinet design complete with island, stainless steel appliances, range hood, exceptional cabinetry and fixtures, and of course, granite counter tops.

In addition to having 3-bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms, this luxurious home features a gym facing the pool and an office/den as well. These two additional rooms could be converted to bedrooms in the future making the home a grande 5-bedroom residence. Each room in the house is prewired for sound as well as high-speed internet service.

Your new master suite offers tray ceiling with accent lighting, his and hers closets with custom cabinetry, plus your very own Tower Shower. This exclusive home features a castle turret on the front of the home that contains a dual-station two-story shower enclosure with marble tile and benches. A large mural is planned for the second story of the tower. It's almost like taking a shower in a cathedral waterfall. Granite counter tops are featured on all of the bathroom counters and each vanity offers a framed mirror and convenient electrical outlet.

The guest suite has its own oversized bathroom, which lends itself to a mother-in-law's quarters or simply a private split bedroom plan. Porcelain tile adorns the floors throughout the residence with neutral tones to accentuate your decor. There is a separate laundry room with front-loading high-boy washer and dryer as well as a basin sink and plenty of spacious cabinetry.

You'll enjoy a full 2-car garage plus a 40-foot RV garage complete with 50-amp electrical service. The outside of the home is also prewired for an external power generator and comes complete with an energy efficient 2-zone air conditioning system that is integrated with the hot water system. All of the water pipes are individually controlled by way of a Mantiloc water system. Your circular driveway with turn-around area as well as your pool deck are cobblestone pavers for an elegant multi-tonal feel.

Needless to say, this exquisite home would make an exceptional winter retreat or would serve as a year-round boating enthusiast's residence. Live everyday like you're on vacation.

--Branon A. Edwards
Licensed Real Estate Broker and Mortgage Broker
786-417-4910 Direct Phone
786-524-5747 Direct Fax
Branon@InvestFloridaRealty.com
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com

TRUMP: Time to Buy Real Estate

2007-11-03T09:36:00.001-04:00

On October 22, 2007, Donald Trump was the featured guest on CNBC's "The Millionaire Inside." Of course, the show was renamed "The Billionaire Inside" in honor of Trump's appearance on the show with host, Erin Burnett.

Among his many insights and suggestions, Trump suggested that viewers thing big, be tenacious, and guard against negative thinking.

During the question and answer portion of the show, Trump as asked about his insights into the current real estate market. His reply: Now is a great time to buy real estate!

He stated that during the height of the market, he didn't personally buy any properties. He obviously partnered with other developers to move forward on several projects including Trump Grande with the Dezer Group and Trump Towers with Jorge Perez and Related Group, both of which are located in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.

He went on to explain that one of the most attractive reasons to buy now is that buyers will now be able to create deals that would have been impossible even a year ago. There are a lot of motivated sellers in the present real estate market and as such, bargains can definitely be had.

Click here for CNBC's notes about the show:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/21268909

True, there are LOTS of motivated Sellers in today's real estate market and South Florida is particularly ripe for the picking. If you're interested in purchasing undervalued real estate in Florida, please contact us today.

All the best,

--Branon A. Edwards
Real Estate and Mortgage Broker
786-417-4910
Branon@InvestFloridaRealty.com

Price Reductions - Lots of Great Deals!

2007-09-14T10:56:00.001-04:00

It is definitely a Buyer's Market! With the increase of inventory on the market, Buyers have many more choices than they had during the upswing markets a couple years ago.

Here are some great price reductions that make these already well-priced homes even more attractive bargains!

Galt Island Waterfront Estate
4981 Galt Island Ave
Saint James City, FL
3-Bedrooms / 3-Baths / Boat Dock with Lift
3-Story on Private Island
Originally $2.5 Million
Reduced to Just $2.2 Million
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/galt-island-home.htm

Ocean 4 Condominium
17201 Collins Ave, Unit 1506
Sunny Isles Beach, FL
2-Bedrooms / 2-Baths / 2-Balconies
Beachfront Building. Unit has direct West views
of Intracoastal, City, and Fabulous Sunsets.
Originally $750,000
Reduced to $684,000
Blow Out Priced at Just $674,900!!
Also for rent @ $2400/month
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/ocean-4.htm

Gulf Access Custom Luxury Home
2540 SW 36th Lane
Cape Coral, FL
3-Bedrooms / 2-Baths / 2-Car Garage
U-shaped Captain's Dock with 7,000-lb Lift
Originally $650,000
Reduced to $620,000
Reduced Again to $599,900
Priced for Immediate Sale at $555,000!
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/gulf-access.htm

Gulf Access Building Lot with Seawall
2395 Sycamore Street
Saint James City, FL
New Sea Wall plus Dock Permit
Originally $500,000
Reduced to $475,000
Reduced Again to $460,000
Blow Out Priced at $375,000!
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/sycamore.htm

Hollywood Hills Charmer
3701 Washington Street
Hollywood, FL 33021
3-Bedroom / 2-Bath / 2-Car
Fenced Yard, lots of upgrades
Tenant at $2,100/month
Originally $384,000
Reduced to $379,900
Priced to Sell at Just $374,900
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/3701-washington.htm

Cape Coral Bankruptcy
623 SW 39th Terrace
Cape Coral, FL
3-Bedroom / 2-Bath / 2-Car
Pool and Boat Dock
Granite Counters, tile throughout
Originally $329,000
Priced as Short-Sale at $299,900
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/623-sw-39-terr.htm

401 Blu Condominium
401 69th Street, #311
Miami Beach, FL 33141
1-Bedroom / 1-Bath
Newly renovated building
Tenant at $1300/month
Originally $275,000
Reduced to $265,000
Priced for Quick Sale at $249,900
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/401-blu.htm

Many more properties available. Please contact us with your Wish List and we'll be glad to help you find the perfect property!

Thank you for the opportunity to earn your business.

All the best,

--Branon A. Edwards
Licensed Real Estate Broker and Mortgage Broker
786-417-4910 Direct Phone
786-524-5747 Direct Fax
Branon@InvestFloridaRealty.com
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com

Real Estate Office:
Aqualand Realty, Inc
8359 Stringfellow Road
Saint James City, FL 33956 USA

Mortgage Office:
Mainland Mortgage Corp
2807 E Commercial Blvd
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308

Apply for a Mortgage Online:
http://www.MainlandMortgage.com/apply-fora-loan.shtml

Beachfront Luxury Under Market

2007-07-15T22:52:00.000-04:00

Ocean IV on Sunny Isles Beach!
New Listing! Brand New! Never Lived In!
Originally $698,000
Priced Well Below Market at $684,000
Plus Seller Pays $5,000
Toward Closing Costs or Upgrades
Also for Rent at $2,550 Per Month (Unfurnished Annual)

17201 Collins Avenue, #1506
Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160 USA

Click Here for Photos and Info:
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/ocean-4.htm

Ocean 4 is a brand new luxury building on fabulous Sunny Isles Beach! This West-facing condominium home offers incredible sunset, city, Intracoastal Waterway, and Park views from the 15th floor. Walk across the street to Starbucks, grocery, shopping, restaurants, and entertainment.

Brand new travertine marble floors ($30k) throughout, plus built-in and stainless steel appliances, European style cabinetry, Cat-5 wiring, 2 private balconies and much much more!

Your New Condo Home Features:

2-Bedrooms - Both with Beautiful Views
2-Full Bathrooms
2-Private Balconies with Glass Railings
LOTS of Closet Space
All Travertine Marble Floors
Modern European Kitchen
Sub-Zero Refrigerator
Flat Top Range
Miele Wall Oven
Built-In Dishwasher
Granite Counter Tops
Master Bathroom
His and Hers Sinks with Vanity Mirror
Glass Enclosed Shower with Adjustable Rainfall Showerhead
Oversized Waterfall Jacuzzi Tub
Guest Bathroom
Granite Counters
Marble Floors
Glass Enclosed Shower
Laundry Room with Combination Washer/Dryer

Your New Building Offers:

Semi-Private Elevators
24-Hour Valet Parking
24-Hour Attended Lobby
Secure Pass Elevators
Spacious Gym with Magnificent Views
Large Sundeck Overlooking the Ocean
Heated Infinity Pool
Jacuzzi/Spa
Private Beach Access
Several Lobby Greeting Areas
Several Community Rooms
Flat Screen TV Lounge
Lounge/Bar Room
Pool Skydeck Entertaining Area
Billiards Room

Click Here for Photos and Info:
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com/listings/ocean-4.htm

Please contact us today for a personalized showing of this lovely property. As always, thank you for the opportunity to earn your business.

All the best,

--Branon A. Edwards
Licensed Real Estate Broker and Mortgage Broker
786-417-4910 Direct Phone
786-524-5747 Direct Fax
Branon@InvestFloridaRealty.com
http://www.InvestFloridaRealty.com

Real Estate Office:
Aqualand Realty, Inc
8359 Stringfellow Road
Saint James City, FL 33956 USA

Mortgage Office:
Mainland Mortgage Corp
2807 E Commercial Blvd
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308

Apply for a Mortgage Online:
http://www.MainlandMortgage.com/apply-fora-loan.shtml