At least four South Florida home builders are finding ways to buck the downturn [South Florida] Home-building success stories are rare these days but not unheard of. Several builders in South Florida are attracting buyers by focusing on first-time homeowners, Baby Boomers and people who want a village where they can live, work and play. …
Monthly Archives: March 2009
Miami Condo Colossus Is Monument to Excess
Miami Condo Colossus Is Monument to Excess Icon Brickell, a new condominium complex in downtown Miami, was intended to be Jorge Perez’s answer to the Time Warner Center, the massive mixed-use building developed in Manhattan by his longtime business associate, Stephen M. Ross. Mr. Perez, the chairman of the Related Group (an affiliate of Mr. …
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Florida county may declare itself an economic disaster
Florida county may declare itself an economic disaster Just five years ago, Port St. Lucie was America’s fastest-growing large city. Then the foreclosure crisis slammed it like a hurricane. Today it sits in one of the hardest-hit counties in the nation. Thousands of houses are empty or unfinished. Neighborhoods are littered with for-sale and foreclosure …
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Turn the foreclosure tables
Turn the foreclosure tables On Thursday, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that Florida ranks third in mortgage delinquencies, second in foreclosures started and first in foreclosure inventory. At year’s end, 22 percent of mortgage borrowers were at least a month behind on payments. Everyone pays, directly and indirectly, for these often vacant, blighted foreclosed properties. …
Help for Owners Near the Edge
Help for Owners Near the Edge Until recently, the only way for cash-strapped homeowners like Kevin and Jennifer Norris to renegotiate the terms of their mortgage was to default on the payments, because no bank would consider their request unless they were in arrears. “But I’ve never missed a payment on anything, and we have …
Tell Us Your Real Estate Story
Tell Us Your Real Estate Story After months of serious searching I closed Thursday on a home I’m planning to rent out. I paid $125,000 for a house that sold four years ago for $355,000. If you’re thinking about buying a bank-owned home I’ve learned a few things. One is that good ones go fast …