News About Properties

In slow market, developers offer ‘test drive’ of condos

The Carruth, a mix of affordable apartments and market-rate condominiums in Dorchester, opened earlier this year, as the market for condos had turned sharply downward.

Sales of the 42 condos in the building languished, with only three sold to date.

So, developer Trinity Financial Inc. of Boston decided to offer the units as a variation of rent-to-own - leases with an option to purchase at a potential discount.

“We’ve had great success with it so far,” said Abby Goldenfarb, project manager for the developer, noting that nearly all of the 20 new renters have signed up for the purchase option. “We are really trying to respond to the market.”

Short sales help make home buying a reality

Three years ago, home ownership for Stephen and Cassie Treap seemed as likely as winning the Florida Lotto, because home prices were far above what the family of four could afford.

It’s getting more difficult to remember, but it was only three years ago this month that the median price of a single-family home in Brevard County reached its apex at $248,700. The median price — the point at which half the homes sell for more, half for less — now stands at $166,400.

While not good for some sellers, the Treaps this June bought a 1,746-square-foot, three-bedroom home in Palm Bay for $121,900 in a foreclosure transaction. Nearly three years earlier, the same property sold for $215,400.

New Citizens discounts kicking in for condos [Florida]

Local condominiums will see significant savings on their insurance premiums starting Monday.

Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which insures many of the condominium buildings in the state, is doubling the hurricane mitigation discounts for condo buildings with a replacement cost of $10 million or less, as policies renew on Sept. 1. The move is to comply with an order mandating the additional discounts for low- and mid-rise condo buildings that have roofs meeting the 2002 building code.

While the new discounts from state-sponsored Citizens will mean substantial savings for some area condo buildings, they also come with some controversy.

The discounts are being implemented nearly two years after Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet ordered property insurers to increase mitigation discounts. But more importantly, Citizens will take on additional risk as it doubles the premium discounts it now hands out annually to condos rising to $340 million. Citizens’ rates are frozen through 2009, even though state lawmakers admit that those rates are inadequate to cover potential hurricane risk.

Do you need flood insurance? [Central Florida]

You’ve seen the angst as hundreds of Central Florida homeowners try to battle the rising waters in Tropical Storm Fay’s aftermath.

Hundreds of homes are flooded and evacuated. More people still are anxiously watching the rising St. Johns River.

Folks such as Hans Anderson, who lives on Lake Harney, remain in a desperate race to save their homes and belongings.

Wondering whether this could ever happen to you? Here’s what you need to know to prepare for the worst.

Evans Report: Palm Beach condo sale prices fall, but homes rise [South Florida]

Single-family homes in Palm Beach continue to be immune from the nationwide downturn in real estate prices.

But even a Palm Beach address isn’t protection enough against the deflating value of condominiums.

That’s according to the Evans Report, a closely watched real estate study by local attorney and developer Leslie Evans.

The median price of a single-family home sold in Palm Beach during the period was $4.3 million. That is a 9 percent leap over prices during the first six months of 2007, according to the report.

Restructuring of mortgage loans gets tougher

In January, loan analyst Moe Bedard noticed a promising development in the mortgage-servicing industry: More lenders started restructuring distressed borrowers’ loans to avert foreclosure.

But in the months that followed, the trend reversed.

“Now, it’s even harder to get a modification than it was five months ago,” said Bedard, president of Loan Safe Solutions, based in Coronado, Calif. “They’re just stalling now.”

The “they” to which he referred are loan-servicing units, the bank departments that negotiate with troubled borrowers seeking lower rates and lower monthly payments on their subprime mortgage loans.