Luxury hotel, condo project is now dead

After nine years of work, a plan to build a luxury upscale hotel and condo project known as the Grand Bohemian is dead. City leaders Thursday agreed to a deal to let Orlando hotel developer Kessler Enterprise pay off its remaining debt from its $3.3 million purchase of the old Maas Brothers Store site that …

Phasing out Freddie and Fannie could hurt home buyers

Home buyers could be squeezed by higher interest rates and need larger downpayments if Congress agrees with an Obama administration plan to phase out mortgage-guarantee giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Southwest Florida lenders, home builders, real estate agents and other housing industry participants agree on the need to reform the nation’s housing finance system, …

Nearing retirement, with 3 tuition bills to pay

At 59 and 60, Kim and John Keuning are closing in on retirement — but they aren’t quite ready for it. Six years out from their target date, the Duluth, Minn., duo have roughly $500,000 saved. Selling the small ad agency they own could net them another $150,000, they figure. (None of their five grown …

Vacation home rentals gaining momentum

Angel Luna bought a three-bedroom bungalow five minutes from the water in Apollo Beach when she moved to Florida to launch her jewelry and clothing design business. She soon decided she would rather live where she worked in West Shore than commute from South County, but Luna wanted to retain ownership of the bungalow and …

After IPO, Builder Joins ‘Biggest’ Rankings

A wave of home builders debuting on the stock markets this year has slightly reordered the ranks of the largest publicly traded builders in the U.S. Since January, five home builders have conducted initial public offerings of their stock and raised nearly $1.46 billion cumulatively. That’s the most that the industry has reaped in IPOs …