A master insurance policy for your condo isn’t enough

A master insurance policy for your condo isn’t enough

Sometimes, we need a painful experience to prod us into doing what we should have done in the first place.

On Oct. 1, a serious fire ravished a condominium building in the Adams Morgan section of Washington, D.C. Fortunately, it does not appear that there were any serious injuries, but many condominium owners and renters will now have to relocate until the building — and the damaged units — are restored.

There was property loss, both in the common areas of the building and within those units where the fire occurred. And clearly there will be a lot of smoke and water damage to the personal property of many of the residents.

Let’s talk insurance: In every condominium and cooperative apartment building, there is what is known as the “master insurance policy.” The legal documents governing these associations require that a certain level of insurance coverage be obtained. When you went to buy your unit, your lender insisted on receiving proof that there was a master policy and that the coverage was consistent with the association’s legal requirements.

Tips to stay on top of finances in 2008

Tips to stay on top of finances in 2008

As we wind down 2007, certain financial trends seem to be accelerating: As a nation, we’re still spending more than we earn. Credit, which has been the backbone of our ability to live beyond our means, appears to be tightening. And, home values have fallen nationally (although they may be up in your particular neighborhood), eroding our home equity.

What does that mean for 2008? It may be harder to qualify for home equity loans and lines of credit to support all the consumer spending we’ve seen in recent years. And, if you carry a balance on your credit cards, you may pay a higher rate of interest even as the Federal Reserve lowers the federal funds rate.

If you’re already living beyond your means, and your adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) is scheduled to rise this year, you could be running into a brick wall. Since the U.S. bankruptcy laws changed several years ago, it’s harder to get your financial slate wiped clean.

Southeast Steady Performers

Southeast Steady Performers

Since Southeast cities like Charlotte, N.C.; Raleigh, N.C. and Nashville, Tenn. didn’t really follow the condo boom, they’re not likely to experience the same fall-off as cities that did, industry observers agree.

In fact, Integra Realty Resources, a real estate valuation and counseling firm, believes a number of key Southeast cities are in an expansion mode. These include Atlanta; Memphis, Tenn.; Nashville; Louisville, Ky.; Charlotte and Greenville, S.C. Integra also places Columbia, S.C. on an upward cycle, starting a bit farther back, from the recovery part of the cycle.

The flip side of being singled out, says David Ravin, president of the Charlotte-based Crosland LLC’s residential division, “is that it’s almost the kiss of death to be listed as a good market. So stay away—they’re all bad,” he jokes.

On a more serious note, Ravin and other industry veterans point out the dangers of self-fulfilling prophesies about doom and gloom. “We do that to ourselves sometimes—it’s a storm we’re brewing ourselves. Everyone has to remain calm; real estate really depends on a vibrant economy.”

Home prices may be leveling [Southwest Florida]

Home prices may be leveling [Southwest Florida]

Southwest Florida’s sagging housing market showed signs of stabilization in November, with Sarasota-Bradenton agents selling twice as many existing single-family homes as Miami and with prices perking up from fall lows.

“Our area was inflated for so long,” said Garrick Newman, a Re/Max agent in Bradenton. “But over the last six months, people really came down hard with prices.”

The state and nation are suffering lower sales rates and lower realized prices. But the Sarasota-Bradenton market fell out of bed faster than most after the boom that ended in 2005 and seems to be finding a solid footing sooner.

During November, Sarasota-Bradenton Realtors closed on 556 houses — down 16 percent from the 664 of a year ago — but a far less painful situation than in South Florida. In Miami, Realtors closed on only 263 houses in November, a 59 percent drop from a year earlier. In neighboring Fort Lauderdale, Realtors sold just 401 houses, down 29 percent.

The Gardner Family

The Gardner Family

Joann Gardner admits to feeling overwhelmed. Along with providing care each day for her elderly parents and 4-year-old great-niece, she worries about losing the family home. “I don’t know from one day to the next what’s going to happen,” she said.

Gardner, an outgoing woman with a warm demeanor, seems increasingly deflated as the drama plays itself out. The tidy bungalow in Oakland’s Sobrante Park neighborhood came to the brink of foreclosure twice this summer.

Both times, the courthouse auction was postponed at the last minute as a real estate agent tried to negotiate a “short sale” (selling for less than is owed on the mortgage) with the lender.

The Gardners hope to sell the house to an investor who would rent it back to them. At one point an investor seemed poised to buy it, but the deal fell through. Then the mortgage was transferred to a new servicing company, which has not taken the legal steps to initiate foreclosure.

New York City real estate market immune to malaise; home values rise again

New York City real estate market immune to malaise; home values rise again

None of the bad news about the U.S. housing market has seemed to matter to the big spenders lining up to buy homes and apartments in New York City.

The average sales price for a Big Apple dwelling climbed to $782,000 (€531,178) in the third quarter of 2007, an increase of 20 percent over the same period a year earlier, according to a report released Wednesday by the Real Estate Board of New York.

Prices were highest in Manhattan, where the average home sold for $1.33 million (€900,000), or around $1,176 (€799) per square foot. The cost of a home went up in every borough except Staten Island, which saw a 2.8 percent drop.

The price hikes stood in sharp contrast to what has been happening in the rest of the country, and even the New York City metropolitan region as a whole.