For those of you waiting for ‘bottom' in Orlando - ask yourself this question: how will you know when that day comes? Are you waiting for the media to tell you it's ok to get back in the water? Or are you studying the market yourself each day, watching the numbers like a data-crazed economist; a coiled, human spring ready to pounce at a moment's notice - proof of funds in hand? My guess is that most folk will fall into the first category and that by the time the evidence of [...]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has backed releasing $91 million for Florida municipalities to deal with the foreclosure crisis. The U.S. Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 awarded the money to the state Department of Community Affairs to be distributed to 26 local municipalities to stabilize neighborhoods. Grantees have 18 months to obligate these funds and four years to spend them. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act allocated a total of $541 million[...]
Another Super Bowl has come and gone. Congrats to the Steelers for winning, and congrats to the Cardinals for putting on such a terrific back-and-forth contest. Arguably one of the best Super Bowls I've seen in recent history. And at this year's Super Bowl party, I heard plenty of people talking about the economy and the housÂing markets. Everyone, it seems, knows the correct way for our government to bail us out (and isn't quiet about it) and wonders why the powers that be [...]
I hate to beat a dead horse, but... each day we get folk calling in on Orlando condo conversions - foreclosed - that cost under $50K - and they want to finance them. When we tell them it will be very difficult, we get the "Oh that's not a problem - I have a great credit score and good job" line. But it's not about good credit scores any more, or even how much you put down in many cases. It's about whether the condo is FHA approved or Fannie Mae approved; whether it's has less than 50% owner [...]
With mortgages so hard to come by, investors who can't pay "all-cash" are having a hard time scooping up some of today's "fire sale" deals - which can be incredibly frustrating. It's like being (a diabetic) kid in a candy store. (I'm diabetic so I know how that feels.) However since first time home buyers are not subject to the same degree of scrutiny, they don't generally have this trouble, provided they're a good, old-fashioned loan prospect. (Imagine that.) There's tons of [...]
It's official: Barack Obama is the Commander-in-Chief, despite some impromptu rewording of the presidential oath. He even still has that new president smell. In the midst of two wars, rapidly increasÂing unemployment (Caterpillar, ING, Microsoft, Home Depot, Sprint, Pfizer, and US Airways all cut thousands of jobs today), and a sharp and growing international recession, Americans are hopefully hoping for all that hope that Obama talked about during his campaign. I can't personally [...]
High-end fraud. It's the latest blow that has been dealt to the investment markets. First, Bernie Madoff misappropriÂated $50 billion dollars of investors' money in a gigantic pyramid scheme (and no, it was not called Amway). Those affected include high-net worth individuals, hedge funds, pension funds, even charity funds. This event undermined the already faltering confidence that John Q. Public has in our financial system. Now, the owner of Satyam computers (one of India's [...]
Multiple Offers are soooo 2006... Well if you think so, take a deep breath because while it might seem ludicrous to make an offer on an Orlando condo - or any other home, if it means competing with another buyer, things have started to change. In the last few weeks, there has been a sharp rise in the number of multiple offers on Orlando real estate  - and all because foreclosures are finally making their way through the bank pipelines. Many banks, overwhelmed with homes are pricing their [...]
The new year is upon us. 2009. Wow. This time last year gasoline was over $4.00 a gallon, all five of the major investment banks still existed, our country hadn't ‘bailed out' any major institutions, and Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were still battling for the democratic nomination. Seems like so long ago already. 2008 shook the very foundations of our country's financial system. Between a banking collapse, stock market upheaval, skyrocketing unemployment and a [...]
What the left hand giveth, the right hand taketh away... After the good news that Fannie Mae will no longer treat vacant and foreclosed condos as non-owner occupied comes news of ever more underwriting restrictions. January 15, 2009 is the cutoff date when Fannie Mae toughens its policies on condo properties in the Sunshine state - potentially putting a damper on investors fishing for foreclosures or short sales. In a memo sent to lenders before in December, Fannie Mae said that [...]