Downtown Miami enjoys mini-boom over cut-price condos

Downtown Miami enjoys mini-boom over cut-price condos [South Florida]

In April, Regan Marock and his fiancée, renters at 500 Brickell, had the run of the sprawling twin-tower luxury complex — the pool, the gym, the spa and other amenities — with relatively few neighbors.

But in a few short months, all that has changed.

The Related Group, the developer that rented the unsold unit to Marock, recently closed its on-site leasing office because nearly all of the available apartments had been rented. The rest were tossed back into the pool of condos for sale, but that stock is also quickly evaporating.

Over the past several months, a new wave of investors and home buyers — almost reminiscent of the market’s heyday — has been pouring into Miami’s downtown condo market and snatching up half-priced condos. Several Brickell area buildings, in fact, have sold out or are close to it.

Rentable housing numbers vex cities [Arizona]

Rentable housing numbers vex cities [Arizona]

With mounting foreclosures, investors are snapping up homes and renting them to tenants at bargain rates. But in the long run, the trend could shake the stability of Valley neighborhoods and hurt cities’ efforts to promote homeownership, community leaders warn.

Some cities that have been hit hard by foreclosures are trying to wrap their arms around the problem.

Avondale, which grew rapidly during boom years, now has 46 subdivisions with single-family-home rental rates higher than 20 percent. Almost half of one neighborhood is made up of rental homes.

Local leaders say investors contributed to a housing boom that went bust and, now, are outbidding first-time homebuyers seeking to buy foreclosed properties.

Rentable housing numbers vex cities

Rentable housing numbers vex cities

With mounting foreclosures, investors are snapping up homes and renting them to tenants at bargain rates. But in the long run, the trend could shake the stability of Valley neighborhoods and hurt cities’ efforts to promote homeownership, community leaders warn.

Some cities that have been hit hard by foreclosures are trying to wrap their arms around the problem.

Avondale, which grew rapidly during boom years, now has 46 subdivisions with single-family-home rental rates higher than 20 percent. Almost half of one neighborhood is made up of rental homes.

Local leaders say investors contributed to a housing boom that went bust and, now, are outbidding first-time homebuyers seeking to buy foreclosed properties.

Birmingham banks going to great lengths to rid books of bad loans and real estate – Business News from The Birmingham News – al.com

Birmingham banks going to great lengths to rid books of bad loans and real estate

When Regions Bank has bad loans — and it has a lot of unpaid and delinquent ones right now — they get turned to Cash.

Jeff Cash, that is. He is Birmingham-based Regions’ point man on clearing out bad debt. Half-built strip mall in Ocala on the hook to Regions for the mortgage? Cash knows an investor in Chicago who specializes in buying and rehabbing troubled retail centers. Stalled condo development in Miami? Cash is the kind of guy who can put together a syndicate of buyers with a quickness.

“It often comes down to our last recourse, and that is selling the asset,” said Cash, who is based in Regions’ Florida zone. “We are talking about situations where there is no more collateral, and no more cash.”

Why should board check out renter?

Why should board check out renter?

I own a condominium that I rent. On the application for lease, it states that a background and credit check will be done at the owner’s expense. A board should not have the need for such a check, as the tenant pays the rent directly to me. What are the statutes that give an association board permission to do a background check?

L.F., De Bary

A: You must check your documents first to determine if the board has the right to screen and review prospective buyers and renters. Sometimes it is called right of first refusal (FS 718.612).

While the credit check would seem to only protect you, the facts are that residents do interact with other neighbors. It is a way to check that your renter does not have any skeletons in the closet. In addition, the board can inform you if you have a renter with a poor credit record, which might put you in a weak financial position to pay your fees.

Missing Miami Beach developer may face arrest [South Florida]

Missing Miami Beach developer may face arrest [South Florida]

Developer Michael Stern — the chief witness in a Miami Beach City Hall bribery probe — has repeatedly refused to return from Uruguay for hearings in his bankruptcy case, prompting a judge to threaten him with arrest.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Mark found Stern in contempt of court after the developer missed a Wednesday court hearing in defiance of a previous order. The judge said he would give Stern one last chance to appear; otherwise, he will order the U.S. Marshals Service to arrest Stern.

“Mr. Stern has willfully refused to cooperate in the administration of this bankruptcy case which he voluntarily filed,” Mark wrote in the contempt order.