House prices are still tanking in many parts of the country, mortgage rates are inching up, and job growth is subpar. So what are some homebuyers doing? They’re buying even more home—as in two-, three- and four-family homes—and playing a risky, but potentially lucrative, game of real estate investor and live-in landlord at the same …
Category Archives: Commercial Properties
Cape Marco: lavish island living
Cape Marco, an upscale, world-class beachfront community with 683 luxury residential apartments, is enhanced by 30 acres of manicured tropical gardens and gushing water fountains at the southernmost tip of Marco Island. This site showcases some of Southwest Florida’s most spectacular and picturesque views of the Gulf of Mexico, Caxambas Pass, Marco Island’s famous crescent …
Couple struggles to cope in condo still damaged from ’05 hurricanes
Rainy days are a bane for Adrian and Beatriz Sanchez, a Miami couple embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with their condominium association over a leaky roof. When a storm hits, the couple must cut off the electricity in half of their two-bedroom loft, bring out buckets to catch the droplets, and mop up pools …
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Sun Belt cities get fresh start
Beyond the gates of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, the fairy tale stops abruptly — with no happily-ever-after ending. Foreclosure signs dotting once-booming suburban developments that supported decades of growth here and across the rest of the Sun Belt are grim memorials to the recession and housing bust. One touch of magic remains: 70-degree days …
Family Value: Giving Away a Home
Depressed real-estate values and changes in tax rules make this a good time for older homeowners to transfer property to their children using a specialized trust designed to save on gift and estate taxes. Known as “qualified personal residence trusts,” or QPRTs, these vehicles allow a homeowner to continue to live in a house for …
Heafey picks up Claridge-built Florida condos
Ottawa-based Claridge Homes built the oceanfront Sonata Beach Club, a 64-unit luxury condominium building. Its suites, which are named after composers like Bach and Mozart, range from 2,763 square feet to 3,090 square feet. According to a media report, Claridge only sold 34 of those units and, in 2009, was the subject of a foreclosure …
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