Real estate a trap for metro Atlanta couple

Real estate a trap for metro Atlanta couple

When housing was hot and credit easy, Nadege Adam and Jude Valles gorged.

Together and separately, the couple bought a five-bedroom house in Smyrna, a condominium in Smyrna for his mother and another condo at an intown development that was creating a lot of buzz at the time — Atlantic Station.

Atlantic Station was so popular in 2005 and 2006 that a lottery was used to sell homes. Adam got lucky, she thought, and purchased a two-bedroom condo at Twelve for $387,700.

The couple’s gung-ho approach to real estate turned out to be an enormous mistake.

Even luxury real estate projects falling into foreclosure

Even luxury real estate projects falling into foreclosure

The rains fall on the just and the unjust.

And foreclosures happen to the high end and mid-range of the real estate market.

Earlier this month, Regions Bank filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Polo Field Estates LLC, developer of the luxury Azura community in suburban Boca Raton. The project, by Gordon Homes of Boca Raton, consists of tract mansions ranging in price from $1.3 million to more than $3 million, each. Azura is on Jog Road, just north of Clint Moore Road.

Alabama-based Regions Bank alleges various Gordon Homes entities have failed to repay $36.3 million in loans, according to a lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. The lawsuit seeks to foreclose on the Azura property, a former polo field. Only seven of 92 planned homes have sold in the unfinished development, according to county property records.

O.C. house prices seen rising in 2013 [Southern California]

O.C. house prices seen rising in 2013 [Southern California]

From where Evan Gentry sits, Orange County’s housing market looks pretty grim.

Gentry, 37, heads Ladera Ranch-based G8 Capital, a company he founded last year to invest in troubled loans and foreclosed homes.

As someone who constantly looks at the things lenders are trying to ditch, he has developed a pessimistic view of the county’s housing market. In an interview with Mortgage Insider, he explains his view of the housing market, of government bailouts and of people who can’t afford their mortgages.

But before getting to all that, it’s worth noting that things are heating up again in the market for troubled assets, Gentry said.

New-home prices keep falling in Orange, Osceola, Seminole [Central Florida]

New-home prices keep falling in Orange, Osceola, Seminole [Central Florida]

Prices for new single-family homes in the Orlando area continue to fall and will likely keep falling for months to come, according to the latest report by Charles Wayne Consulting Inc. in Maitland.

The average price paid for a new production-built home — not a custom job — fell 2.8 percent during the third quarter to $311,600 in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.

Since peaking in late 2006 at $388,700, the average price paid has declined about 20 percent, the real-estate consulting company said.

“Builders in this market have stepped up to the task of bringing affordability back to the Orlando new-home market,” company President Jim Lewis said. He expects the average price for a new house will continue to drop to about $290,000 next year, bringing prices back to levels more in line with historic trends.

New Florida condo law is about to take effect

New Florida condo law is about to take effect

In a situation that might qualify as a “be careful what you wish for” tale, several new Florida laws related to condominium insurance policies are slated to go into effect Jan. 1. The problem is they are essentially unworkable as currently written — leaving many condo owners, community associations and insurance agents in a state of confusion about how to proceed.

At issue is a bill passed during the last legislative session, one which was pushed in large part by condominium associations looking to deal with a particular problem: how to deal with condo units that became damaged or destroyed inside, but whose owners lacked homeowner’s insurance policies to fix them.

Condominium associations’ insurance generally only covers reconstructing things to the bare walls. Everything beyond that, including carpets, cabinets, light fixtures and the like, are the responsibility of the unit owner to cover with his or her own insurance policy, if they so choose. Some condo owners simply forego that expense, if they do not find it economically viable. Associations can require such coverage in their condominium documents, but they do not have to.

Promises of help with mortgages, but foreclosure is still most likely outcome

Promises of help with mortgages, but foreclosure is still most likely outcome

Federal and state officials, eager to stabilize the housing market, have leaned hard on mortgage companies to honor their pledges to help more homeowners avoid foreclosure.

But in California at least, the mounting pressure has so far produced only modest results, according to a survey released Tuesday by the nonprofit California Reinvestment Coalition.

For all the promises of leniency, foreclosure remains the most common outcome for borrowers who come to mortgage counselors seeking easier loan terms, according to the September survey of mortgage counselors statewide. Not only that, but counselors complained that lenders frequently give callers the runaround, lose documents or are slow to respond to borrowers’ inquiries.

Still, the survey showed some progress. When the same survey was conducted in April, 68 percent of counselors said foreclosure topped the list of common results for homeowners appealing for help.