News About Properties

Florida real estate gains a new appeal

Prague resident Martin Urman has $5 million in his pocket and he is planning on spending it here.

Urman, 39, is a residential developer who has been riding a wave of post-communist capitalism that has infused huge sums of money into former Soviet states. Those clever enough to take advantage of the burgeoning free-market economies have made a killing.

He and his colleagues say they are now poised to invest a significant portion of that wealth in Southwest Florida’s ailing real estate market.

“Me and my business partners think the real estate market is down in its cycle,” Urman said by telephone recently from the Czech Republic. “We would like to take advantage of the down market and buy a residential building. We are looking not only for the rental income, but an appreciation in value in the next three years.”

Foreclosure king surfs troubled home waters

The South Bay’s reigning King of Foreclosures runs around barefoot, doesn’t own a cellphone and drives an 8-year-old Toyota Tundra pickup.

And without looking the part, Leo Nordine, an affable Hermosa Beach-based real estate broker, expects to average one escrow closing a day this year — something that would make most agents salivate.

Nordine, a 45-year-old native son and surfer didn’t just catch the current foreclosure tidal wave, he has sold 3,500 bank-owned homes during the last two decades. He credits his uncanny ability to time the real estate market’s cycles and position himself to reap its rewards as the key to his extraordinary success. And he does it all from the comfort of his home overlooking the Strand in Hermosa Beach.

Divorce can raise deed, loan issues on home

Q: I am recently divorced. We had two houses. In the divorce, I got one and he got one. We both signed quitclaim deeds to each other. However, I needed to refinance mine to pay off the bills I accumulated just to get my house back into livable shape. (It was a rental while we were married.)

Both houses have mortgages: Mine carries a rate of 6 percent and his is at 5.75 percent interest. Needless to say, there is no incentive for him to refinance that favorable loan rate.

My ex is not the healthiest man, and my name is still on his loan. I told my lawyer several times through the divorce process that I wanted it stated in the divorce agreement that we both have to refinance. It did not happen.

From Park Avenue to Park Slope

If your net worth has taken a hit, it might be time to relocate. Where are you going to go?

As thousands of people across the world who work in the financial-services industry and related fields lose their jobs or see their incomes slashed, many of them will be forced to rethink their economic priorities. All of a sudden, things that had seemed affordable last year now become albatrosses. Does it really make sense to hang on to that expensive Park Avenue apartment when a less pricey alternative is out there? Sure, you may give up such amenities as proximity to Central Park and a status address, but, face it, it’s way out of your budget these days.

So what to do? Relocate.

The Great Condo Escape Clause

Rather than close on condos that are worth less than the purchase price, some investor are turning to the courts to get out of their contracts.

Destin real estate attorney Craig Tingle told The Log that while he has seen some local efforts to get out of condo purchases with a lawsuit, “there’s significantly less than it has been in South Florida, particularly Miami, where they had a huge condominium boom. Most of the condominiums didn’t go through (and) in some cases that down payment had already been spent.”

Florida condominium prices have dropped 22 percent since 2005, according to the Wall Street Journal, and haven’t bottomed out yet.

That gives buyers — particular investors who hoped to profit from a quick resale — an incentive to wriggle out of the deal rather than close on the condo or walk away from their deposit. The Journal says the courts haven’t been sympathetic.

Celebrities among those bilked by Houston lawyer’s scam

A case including celebrities such as Tiger Woods and Chuck Norris, plus a $29,000 Rolex watch and the complexity of consolidated subprime mortgage investments ended in Houston on Tuesday with a 22-count guilty verdict against a Houston lawyer.

Ted Russell Schwartz Murray, owner of Premiere Holdings real estate investments, was found guilty by a jury in U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore’s court of conspiracy, fraud and filing false tax returns.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cedric Joubert told jurors that Murray and his two co-defendants, who entered into plea bargains and testified against him, stole $67 million from wealthy investors including Norris, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, retired baseball player Vince Coleman and others.

Murray and his co-conspirators promised investors high interest, low fees and quick cashouts, but instead stole most of their money, the prosecutor said.