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Will a new president be able to fix the housing market? The most critical questions facing President-elect Obama are: How will he divvy up the remaining $450 billion from the financial industry bailout? Who will lead those efforts when Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson steps down? And what will the government ultimately do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?
Read the full story here.
The Florida Supreme Court is reviewing a new proposed constitutional amendment. The citizen initiative would offer property owners tax relief by capping the amount local governments can collect each year.
Tags: cheapest florida property taxes, florida property taxes, property taxes in florida
As the luxury real estate market slows to a snail’s pace, real estate brokers find themselves struggling to sell a growing number of large, unique “trophy homes” that are quietly gaining a new title: white elephants.
Read the full story here.
Tags: florida luxury homes, luxury homes for sale in orlando florida, luxury homes in florida
How are we supposed to make sense of the conflicting signals? On the one hand, there are numerous stories reporting that the credit crisis has caused enormous changes in the real estate market - and in a very short space of time. We’ve gone from a situation where loans were handed out with virtually no restrictions to almost a lending freeze. So lease-to-own agreements are increasingly popular as more owners have trouble selling their homes and plenty of buyers can’t get a mortgage - but the deals are complicated, with pros and cons on both sides. Read the full story here.
Other reports are convinced that, with federal money recharging the financial system, many banks are ready to lend, but nervous consumers aren’t seeking loans and small businesses remain cautious about their borrowing. It’s going to take time for things to change, say industry experts, who predict that loan demand will remain weak into early 2009. Here’s the full story.
Our experience? The big banks have definitely withdrawn many, many programs and can be a nightmare to deal with at present. Other smaller banks who were not as extravagant in the good times are better able to respond to lending requests and have funds available. So shop around!
Tags: rent a house to own, rent to own, rent to own homes, rent to own houses, rent to own property
Property taxes are based on the County’s assessment of what your property is worth. So when prices in Florida increased enormously in the years between 2001 and 2006, homeowners experienced monstrous increase in their property tax bills - so much so that there are anecdotal tales of families moving out of Florida to states with less expensive taxes rates. Many of our international clients saw their bills virtually double within the space of three years and began to question the sense in owning real estate in a place where costs were literally out of control.
So, with the recent fall in house prices, the County should factor that into your tax bill for next year and you’ll pay less, won’t you? Well, maybe not. This article explains why you should not have high expectations:
This January, local tax authorities will begin to send out property assessments for 2009, telling homeowners what their property is valued at, and how much their tax bill is.
But many assessments won’t reflect any of the steep home price declines that have been making headlines for the last year or so.
And even if property assessments do drop, property tax bills won’t necessarily be any lower.
“I think you’re going to see a lot more taxpayer protest this year,” said Bruce Hahn, president of the American Homeowners foundation, a non-partisan consumer advocacy group.
Read the whole article and then decide if it’s time to write to your local County Appraiser.
Tags: florida property taxes, lower propert taxes, property taxes in florida, will property taxes go down?
Katherine Salant, nationally syndicated columnist and author of The Brand-New House Book, says houses designed with both a master and second bedroom on the first floor have become the most popular because they appeal to all age groups. Young couples use the second bedroom as a nursery. Middle-age couples use it to keep aging parents close by, and older couples’ differing sleep patterns may make sharing a bedroom difficult, she says. Here are other home design trends, according to Salant:
• The newest variation on the home office is a completely separate office space, connected to the house by a hallway or a breezeway.
• Kitchens are getting smaller but connected to much larger dining areas, often with a center island where family members can sit for an informal meal.
• Oversized family rooms with high ceilings are giving way to smaller, cozier rooms with lower ceilings.
• Home theaters have lost some appeal because people don’t want to watch television in a separate area of the home. TV viewing is a more informal activity that people engage in while they’re doing other things like cooking or getting ready for work.
Source: The Washington Post, Katherine Salant (10/18/2008)
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Tags: home design, home interior design
Many renters in Florida and elsewhere have become victims of the mortgage crisis through no fault of their own: They’re forced to move because the property owner is in foreclosure. However, a few states recently passed or proposed laws to protect renters by requiring mortgage holders to provide notice to tenants if they’re living in foreclosure properties.
Read the full story here.
In hopes of sparking buyer interest, real estate professionals and home sellers are getting more creative when it comes to showing off properties through virtual tours. “Web appeal is the new curb appeal,” says Realtor.com spokeswoman Julie Reynolds.
In 2008, the majority of buyers begin their home search online:
Some 80 percent of homebuying interest begins on the Internet, says Delores Conway, director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast at the University of Southern California.
Read the full story here.
Tags: selling your luxury home, selling your own home, tips for selling your home
In the current climate of bail-out and guilty consciences, where it seems as if everyone who borrowed is a victim and all loan companies are villains, Bank of America will rewrite an estimated 50,000 Floridians’ home loans inherited through the takeover of Countrywide. The $1B program will convert most loans into FRMs, and the bank will notify eligible homeowners via e-mail or phone by Dec. 1.
Read the full story here.
Tags: countrywide home loans
According to mortgage and sales data from Zillow.com, more than four in 10 South Florida homeowners who bought in the last five years owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Some of those frustrated homeowners now wonder if they should default on their loans in order to take advantage of lender programs.
Read the full story here.
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