Perfect Florida Homes

Time to live up to promises

admin — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:02:03 +0000

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.

Florida property taxes may be capped

admin — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:59:26 +0000

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.

Read the full story here and here.

Luxury homes in Florida and beyond

admin — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:56:00 +0000

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.

Are Homes Loans Scarce? Are Rent To Own Homes The Answer?

admin — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:50:47 +0000

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 The big banks have definitely withdrawn many, many programs and can be a nightmare to deal with at present.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!

Don’t Be Surprised - Mortgage Fraud Is Still On The Increase

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:37:46 +0000

With all of the recent publicity, hysteria and fall-out from excesses in the loan industry that we’ve seen this year, rational people might have expected a fall in the level of bad lending. Not so, apparently:

The number of fraudulent loans issued during the second quarter this year increased 45%, compared with the same period in 2007, according to the Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), a service of LexisNexis.

The group counts as fraud any misrepresentation intended to get a better deal on a mortgage or a home sale.

During the boom, that might have meant a buyer who inflated his income to qualify for a bigger loan. Some went so far as to get a fake appraisal, invent a fake buyer, and after securing a mortgage, absconding with the cash.

Such ruses may not work in this environment, with lenders tightening up their standards.

But several scams still are effective, according to Jim Ronan of Interthinx, a provider to lenders of fraud-prevention services, and Robert Hagberg, a fraud investigator for mortgage giant, Freddie Mac.

Is it too much to expect that the mortgage industry cleans up it’s act, or are taxpayers just expected to foot the bill for even more excesses on top of the $700 billion bail-out? Enough is enough - what do you think?

Lower Property Taxes? Not So Fast!

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:28:50 +0000

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.

Home Design Trends

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:54:00 +0000

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.

Foreclosures Affect Renters Too

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:51:46 +0000

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.

Selling your home? Use the Internet

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:45:12 +0000

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.

Economic recession? Dont Worry! Improvements by 2011!

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:37:46 +0000

In case they didn’t know it from their own books, a group of Florida business executives heard this message from a pair of economists here Thursday: Business is pretty bad right now. But the pundits predict a turnaround by mid-summer of 2009, and a recovery by 2011.

Read the full story here.