News about properties and real estate
17 houses in Pine Hills: A story of race in Orlando [Central Florida] Ferdinand Drive is a short street of 17 houses in the most diverse, most dynamic, most maligned area in Metro Orlando: Pine Hills. The history of Pine Hills is the story of race in Orlando, what this city used to be and …
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Banks help keep borrowers afloat Andy Hallmark recently faced a financial squeeze familiar to thousands of Americans: The interest rate on his home-equity line of credit (HELOC) had shot up to uncomfortably high levels. But Hallmark decided to try something other than refinancing his loan or biting the bullet and paying big mortgage bills for …
‘Conversion, reversion’ As the market skyrocketed, area apartment complexes thought they could cash-in by converting the units into condos. After stale sales and little interest, many are reverting back to rental communities. Now come the reversions. In the past year, investors have flooded the market with apartments turned condo. While sales are moving slowly at …
Real estate bust hits home for area builders, buyers [South Florida] Leonard Sondheimer knows firsthand the perils of the real estate boom. The 68-year-old — retired until he and his wife sought to diversify their investments into the Southwest Florida real estate rush — now finds himself working full time again as a mattress salesman …
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More South Florida investors are upgrading existing buildings The 951 Yamato building in Boca Raton used to be spillover office space for IBM. It was big and gray and drab — “a battleship,” one real estate broker said. After the computer giant closed its sprawling Boca headquarters and slashed its local work force in the …
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REITs That Still Sport High Yields The average yield for property-owning real estate investment trusts has fallen below 4%. But one category — medical REITs — stands out. It used to be that when REIT yields dipped below 6%, it meant that the stocks were overvalued and it might be wise to stay away or …