News About Properties

Like thousands of local homeowners in their golden years, Rosemary Chandler took out a reverse mortgage in 2005 to help pay her expenses and remain in the Elk Grove home that’s been in her family since the 1940s.

The decision worked out fine during her lifetime. But since her death in January 2010, it has created a legal mess for her son, who now faces foreclosure and eviction from the family home.

This month, Robert Chandler, 66, filed a class-action lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, alleging that the San Francisco banking giant routinely violated federal rules on reverse mortgages, forcing the homes of deceased borrowers to go into foreclosure instead of allowing family members to purchase them from the bank.

via Reverse mortgage turns sour for heir – San Jose Mercury News.

A vacant lakefront lot near Dolphin Road at 1348 N. Lake Way has sold for about $5.17 million, according to a warranty deed recorded Monday by the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office.

With 156 feet of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway, the lot is 253 deep and lies several blocks south of the island’s northern tip.

Broker Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate had listed the property at $7.495 million for its owner, the TAJA Realty Trust. Patrick Carney, chairman and CEO of Claremont Cos. in Bridgewater, Mass., is listed in state business records as manager of the limited liability company that bought the property. Claremont is a real estate investment, development and asset-management firm.

via Vacant North Lake Way lot with Intracoastal frontage sells for $5.17 million.

Lenders have long resisted cutting loan amounts for struggling homeowners, fearing it would entice more borrowers to default.

But one locally based servicer, Ocwen Financial Corp., believes it has found a solution.

The company is rolling out a new loan modification plan for underwater borrowers that lowers the amount owed on the loan – thus reducing the monthly payment – but asks for a share in the appreciated value when the house is either sold or refinanced.

via West Palm Beach firm rolls out a new loan modification for underwater borrowers.

Michigan’s vacation home market is crawling toward recovery with an uptick in sales, according to real estate agents across the state. But not all regions are seeing progress, most prices remain discounted, and more buyers are paying all cash.

Sales have risen in many areas, ranging from the lower west side to the northwest tip of the Lower Peninsula to the eastern Thumb, Realtors said. But others, like the northeast counties atop Michigan’s hand, are still reeling from foreclosures and dropping prices.

Boyne City, on the banks of Lake Charlevoix in the northwest Lower Peninsula, reflects both trends. It is seeing a burst of vacation home construction even as it grapples with a glut of properties for sale.

via Depressed prices spur sales of getaway cottages.

Q: If a 1985 amendment to our condominium bylaws provides for staggered terms, but our association did not hold a vote to affirm staggered terms in 2008 or any subsequent year, is our association in violation of the law if we still use staggered terms?

A: Yes. Section 718.112(2)(d)1 of the Florida Condominium Act was amended in 2008 to provide that “in the event the bylaws permit staggered terms of no more than 2 years and upon approval of a majority of the total voting interests, the association board members may serve 2-year staggered terms.”

via Community Law: Owners must OK staggered terms for condo board.

Q: If a 1985 amendment to our condominium bylaws provides for staggered terms, but our association did not hold a vote to affirm staggered terms in 2008 or any subsequent year, is our association in violation of the law if we still use staggered terms?

A: Yes. Section 718.112(2)(d)1 of the Florida Condominium Act was amended in 2008 to provide that “in the event the bylaws permit staggered terms of no more than 2 years and upon approval of a majority of the total voting interests, the association board members may serve 2-year staggered terms.”

via Community Law: Owners must OK staggered terms for condo board.