News About Properties

Corcoran exec Pamela Liebman says realistic expectations are key to real estate sales success

It’s been six years since The Corcoran Group made its dramatic entrance from New York City onto the Palm Beach real estate stage, instantly acquiring local cachet by acquiring successful broker Paulette Koch’s namesake agency here in late 2003 and, shortly thereafter, purchasing McCann, Coyner & Clarke.

For the next five years, as the nation’s real estate bubble over-inflated, Corcoran enjoyed heady success. And so did Pamela Liebman, once the protege of the legendary Barbara Corcoran, who left the Manhattan-based agency after selling it to the massive NRT Inc. in 2001. The year before, Liebman had become Corcoran’s president and CEO, the position she still holds today, overseeing 2,300 employees and a company with sales totaling $10 billion last year.

Palm Beach was a natural fit for Corcoran, company officials said in 2003, as were the offices Corcoran was adding in The Hamptons, decisions that created a synergistic real estate triangle — with New York at its key point — to serve higher-end clients in all three markets.

Under Liebman’s leadership, Corcoran also expanded its reach in Palm Beach County, acquiring an office in Delray Beach and opening an office — since closed — in Palm Beach Gardens.

For some, mortgage relief ends up costing more

In 2008, Southwest Airlines flight attendant Kevin Parker slammed his shoulder so hard during severe turbulence that he was out of work for months.

His lender, Bank of America, allowed him to skip payments on his St. Petersburg home for 90 days. But when Parker sought a permanent loan modification, he began a journey as bumpy as anything he had encountered in the air.

“I sent the first e-mail probably last February and didn’t get a response, so I started e-mailing every other day trying to talk to someone,'’ Parker says. “Then it seemed like every time I called them, I was turned over to another caseworker who didn’t have the information I had sent.'’

Five months and some 40 e-mails and phone calls later, Parker got the bank to reduce his payments by about $126 a month. But there was a big tradeoff: His late payments were tacked onto the balance, increasing the amount he owes to $157,805 — $10,300 more than he originally borrowed.

Yes, you can buy a home

By now, everyone has heard there are some great real estate deals out there. Foreclosures and short sales, sad as they are for the people who endure them, mean opportunities for buyers — not only in themselves, but also because they drive down the prices of neighboring market-rate homes. And with the government extending its first-time home buyer tax credit of up to $8,000 to contracts signed by April 30 and offering a credit of up to $6,500 to some repeat buyers, who also must commit by April 30, who can resist jumping in?

Lots of people, it turns out. Many, seeing news reports about tightened credit, think they won’t qualify for a mortgage and so refuse to get their toes wet. “There is a perception out there that it is impossible to get a loan,” says John Battaglia, president of Cambridge Mortgage Group in Hingham. “People are gun-shy because they don’t think they can qualify, or they have to have 20 percent down, or they have to have tremendous credit.”

Miami-Dade foreclosure auction site baffles bargain hunters

A new online foreclosure auction system started with a mission of quickly moving a chunk of foreclosed properties while opening up the bidding process to regular folks.

A little more than a month later, some of the newcomers who bought property online say they were misled by the site and ended up spending thousands of dollars on condo liens and properties laden with hefty mortgages.

In some cases, after purchasing, they found the properties were still subject to foreclosure.

Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts Harvey Ruvin said the online auction process is working as planned, and the few complaints he has received have come from people who did not take the time to understand the process.

Skiers Buy Vacation Homes as Prices Melt

OVER the holiday season all was snowy and bright at ski areas across the country, with a festive jingle in the air. It wasn’t sleigh bells — it was the sound of money. Vacation-home seekers who saw recessionary opportunities were looking to buy.

Many were ready to pay in cash, and they wanted great deals, like a $900,000 slope-side condominium for $500,000 or a studio in town for half the asking price. They were getting what they wanted because it is the best buyers’ market in 20 years, real estate agents said, with inventory at levels not seen since 2001.

Homeowners responsible for property damages if sinkholes occur

Residents with sinkholes on their property should be aware of several key factors as they seek to recoup their losses, state officials said.

Because of Florida’s geology, more sinkholes form here than in any other state, so a homeowner’s insurance policy covering sinkhole damage is recommended.

And if a sinkhole appears on private property—even if the formation was triggered by outside factors such as drought, new construction, heavy rain or heavy ground-water pumping—the property owner is responsible for the damages and repair, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

State law does not require insurance companies to include sinkhole coverage on new homeowners’ insurance policies, according to the state Department of Financial Services. Insurance companies are required to inform clients that sinkhole coverage is extra, at an additional premium.