Resort developer Ginn Cos. to liquidate 2 projects [Central Florida]

Resort developer Ginn Cos. to liquidate 2 projects

The credit crunch and slumping real-estate sales have forced struggling Central Florida-based resort developer and operator Ginn Cos. to file to liquidate assets in two of its Florida residential projects, the upscale Tesoro development in Port St. Lucie and Quail West, near Naples.

Ginn, based in Celebration, was unable to refinance its $675 million in debt owed to its lenders, led by Credit Suisse, and filed the voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petitions last week in West Palm Beach as part of an agreement reached with its lenders.

The filing listed liabilities of more than $717 million, with more than $1 million of that unsecured.

In a Chapter 7 liquidation, assets are typically ordered by the court to be auctioned off and whatever can be recovered is divided among secured creditors, after expenses are paid. Existing property owners would not be directly affected, and the golf course operations are expected to continue. None of the unsecured debt is expected to be repaid.

Scams preying on struggling homeowners

Scams preying on struggling homeowners

Valley homeowners facing foreclosure have something else to worry about: Firms and people who offer help but instead steal their money.

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office and state regulators are receiving a growing number of complaints about individuals and companies that promise to help people keep their homes for a fee.

The firms offer to negotiate a better rate or loan for the homeowner, but after cashing the check, they stop returning phone calls.

On Wednesday, the Attorney General’s Office announced the indictment of Glendale resident Bobby John Herrera on charges of fraud, money laundering and theft.

Deals on houses are around, but money isn’t

Deals on houses are around, but money isn’t

Joseph Kandel is itching to get hold of serious cash so he can take advantage of real estate deals he sees every day as an agent with Horizon Realty in Bradenton.

A 50-year-old entrepreneur who has written a book on dating, Kandel formed a company called 1st & 10 Properties in early 2008 and is trying to raise at least $10 million through a public stock offering.

Kandel wants to use the money to buy as many as 80 luxury homes and mid-range vacation properties at bargain-basement prices and hold those properties until the values appreciate by 50 percent.

“Ultra-luxury homes are expected to increase from $1 million to $1.7 million in the next four to five years, while multi-family properties in the $200,000 range are expected to appreciate to approximately $300,000 within four to five years,” Kandel says in his registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “It is for those reasons, 1st and 10 Properties will purchase as many units in those price ranges as possible.”

Real estate: ‘Timeless’ home exudes Southern charm, grace

Real estate: ‘Timeless’ home exudes Southern charm, grace

Pastels and sea shells have their place in Florida décor, just not at 950 Stratford Place in Suntree Estates.
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The mansion is modeled more after a European country home or a Southern plantation than a tropical Florida home. The site of many a fundraiser, the home has seen lavish entertaining in keeping with its grand scale.

Front rooms exude formal elegance, while rear rooms and upstairs areas provide plenty of space for casual family gathering. That’s thanks, in a way, to the hurricanes of 2004.

Damage after the twin storms required the home to be torn down to its block walls and concrete floors and renovated.

REIT Moves Rub Executives Wrong Way

REIT Moves Rub Executives Wrong Way

As if life wasn’t tough enough for chief executives of real-estate companies struggling with the recession, they are also having to cope with price swings in their stocks, which normally are relatively stable.

That is making it harder for them to do deals, raise capital, attract institutional investors and compensate employees.

It is also getting their dander up about a likely culprit: a popular trading strategy involving leveraged funds that investors are using to ride the daily trend in certain market sectors.

“It’s a very alarming, very disconcerting impact on the stock,” Equity Residential Chief Executive David Neithercut says of the funds. “Maybe somebody’s making money, but I think it’s a real problem for our business.”

Foreclosure forces family apart

Foreclosure forces family apart

Elvis Bravo’s American dream is underwater and for sale.

The Mexican-native and his extended family have been living for 2 1/2 years in a house in DeLeon Springs.

But the mortgage holder is foreclosing, and now Bravo is trying to sell the house. It’s the home his 20-month-old son, Bryan, came home to after his birth. Bravo’s brother and his wife also live there with their child, born about two months ago. Bravo’s mother also lives there.

Now a “For Sale” sign has been planted on its lawn on Dundee Avenue. And the hopes and dreams of Elvis and his wife are on hold.