Perfect Florida Homes

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.

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More evidence that the housing market still contains a lot of uncertainties, and not only in Florida: despite price falls which have encouraged buyers, getting that elusive home loan remains a major obstacle:

The price may be right, but if buyers can’t borrow enough, the house isn’t affordable. Difficulty borrowing is keeping many Americans from buying. “The industry went from little or no credit standards to credit standards on steroids,” says Marc Savitt, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.

According to the Federal Reserve Board, about 85% of lenders, worried about falling prices and rising foreclosures, have stiffened requirements for borrowers in the past three months. Those with a credit score of 600 or lower cannot get loans at all, says Keith Gumbinger of HSH Associates, a mortgage information publisher.

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We’ve enjoyed helping a number of Canadian buyers and they’re great people to deal with. Now, apparently, the number of Canadian buyers in Florida doubled in one year, from 3,500 to 7,200, according to an NAR report. Canadians’ tendency to buy in clusters is starting to change the character of some Florida resort communities. A Canadian bank has also made it easier to secure a mortgage.

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A new door locking system, the Schlage LiNKsystem, can be wirelessly set and opened via the Internet or from a mobile phone. Users can lock or unlock the deadbolt, as well as change, activate or disable the locks using a secure four-digit code. If the high-tech approach isn’t reasonable, the lock can also be opened using a keypad or the old-fashioned way with a key. Through an online portal, homeowners also can program user codes for specific days and times, receive notifications when certain codes are used and track codes that have been used in a 90-day period. A Schlage kit, which the company says is a first, includes the lock and the wireless bridge to communicate with the lock. It sells for $299, plus there’s a $13 monthly fee to use the applications that control the locks remotely. The lock system will be available in October.

The Miami Beach Planning Board has approved a proposed ordinance that would allow owners of single-family homes to lease their properties for a minimum of 90 days up to three times a year - a change that eases existing short-term rental rules of less than six months and one day. However, parties on both sides of the issue disagree with the board’s ruling.

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