Mortgage Crisis [South Florida]

Mortgage Crisis [South Florida] As more South Florida homeowners fall behind on their mortgage payments, many lenders are slow to embrace a less costly alternative to foreclosure: short sales. In a short sale, lenders allow owners facing foreclosure to sell their homes for less than the mortgage balance. The lender absorbs the shortfall, but limits …

Buyers drive hard bargains in Puget Sound area real-estate market

Buyers drive hard bargains in Puget Sound area real-estate market With home sales soft, agents like Windermere’s Mark Corcoran say most sellers must make concessions to be competitive. Corcoran, whose main territory is North Seattle, recently represented the seller of a $700,000 home that quickly attracted two offers. Both were at least 10 percent below …

Lure of a deal starts to bring buyers back

Lure of a deal starts to bring buyers back Savvy buyers enticed by falling prices, decent inventories and low interest rates are beginning to test the waters again, local real estate experts say Kathy Hilstein watched the housing market carefully last year, waiting for prices to fall. In November, she decided to buy an investment …

Taiwan Real Estate Is Becoming Hot Property on Nationalist Win

Taiwan Real Estate Is Becoming Hot Property on Nationalist Win Anticipation that a wave of cash from mainland China will eventually reach Taiwan is helping to turn its real estate into a hot property. Markets in Taiwan, one of Asia’s worst laggards as an investment destination in recent years, were livened up by the Nationalist …

Boom & Bust, Part 1 [South Florida]

Boom & Bust, Part 1 [South Florida] They peeked in the closets. They sniffed the kitchen and breezed through the Spanish-style three-bedroom on San Lorenzo Avenue in Coral Gables, which was going for $653,900. Minutes later, they retreated to the cool air of the black limousine minibus waiting at the curb. The nine potential buyers …

Investors eye Southeast Texas rental business

Investors eye Southeast Texas rental business Earning $100 profit a month from one house, or breaking even, can be cause for celebration for first-time rental property owners. From an outsider’s perspective, renting property might seem almost like a turnkey operation – allowing landlords to sit back and reap the rewards of their investments with little …