Churches Find End Is Nigh

Residential and commercial real-estate owners aren’t the only ones losing their properties to foreclosure. The past few years have seen a rapid acceleration in the number of churches losing their sanctuaries because they can’t pay the mortgage. Just as homeowners borrowed too much or built too big during boom times, many churches did the same …

New real-estate sales tax is on the way Realty Q&A

Question: I am one of those anal-retentive people who starts working on his tax returns before the tax year even comes to an end. But forget about 2010. I have heard that there is a new real-estate sales tax for 2011. What do you know about that? —K.J.S., Laurel, Md. Answer: Not a lot, if …

Low prices spur sales at Riviera high-rise

Four years ago, the Marina Grande condominium in Riviera Beach was among the first Palm Beach County condos to experience the buyers’ remorse crowd. As the market for flipping real estate died during early 2007, dozens of investors at Marina Grande scrambled to try to undo their pre-construction contracts. Now Marina Grande is finding popularity …

The Best And Worst Cities For Home Values In 2011

Poor Florida. The state that is home to Disney World, key lime pie and the Daytona 500 hasn’t had much to crow about when it comes to real estate in recent years. Sorry to break it to Sunshine Staters, but they shouldn’t be expecting a rebound anytime soon either. That’s according to Local Market Monitor …

In Lakewood Ranch, land brings growing influence | HeraldTribune.com

By wielding its ownership of 54 square miles of land, Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch has coaxed one project after another to its master-planned community, removed from the urban cores of Sarasota and Manatee counties. In its latest potential coup, SMR is offering up discounted land for a proposed $14.4 million complex to house the …