Harris Rosen: Orlando’s Hotel Magnate

Harris Rosen: Orlando’s Hotel Magnate

The year was 1974. The Middle East oil embargo hiked up the price of oil to (gasp) $12 per barrel. The price of one gallon of gas for U.S. drivers was (gasp again) 57 cents, which curtailed many Americans’ summer travel plans, so much so, that many of the hotels in the Orlando area closed their doors.

So what did Harris Rosen do? Buy a hotel, of course. The Quality Inn on Orlando’s International Drive, to be exact. Smack in the middle of the city’s tourism recession. Using most of the money he had in the bank as a down payment, Rosen closed on the hotel June 24, 1974.

That’s how bad Rosen wanted to work for himself. Armed with a degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, Rosen had spent 13 years working as a convention salesman for New York’s fabled Waldorf-Astoria, in various management positions with Hilton hotels, and finally as Director of Hotel Planning for the Walt Disney Co.

On many mortgages, reckoning day coming [Southern California]

On many mortgages, reckoning day coming [Southern California]

Hindsight, they say, is 20-20.

And with the benefit of two years of hindsight, it’s clear that June 2005 was the height of the wacky season for the San Diego County housing market – which has potentially fearsome implications for home prices this summer.

By June 2005, the local real estate market was beginning to fray. Home prices, which had been growing by double-digit percentages for more than five years, dipped to 9 percent appreciation in May and 6 percent in June. Home transactions in June were 9 percent lower than the year before, foreshadowing a major slowdown.

Nevertheless, there were thousands of eager buyers. And if they couldn’t afford a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 20 percent down payment, there were adjustable rates, zero down payments, interest-only loans and negative amortization.

For many, Wilma created an endless storm of bills [South Florida]

For many, Wilma created an endless storm of bills [South Florida]

Since Hurricane Wilma blew through in 2005, thousands of South Florida condominium owners have been caught in what seems like an endless financial whirlwind.

Juan Awais, 68, whose sole income is $484 a month from Social Security, has paid $2,200 in special assessments toward repairs at the Lauderdale Oaks complex in Lauderdale Lakes. More bills are on the way.

The experience at Awais’ 716-unit complex is common, particularly in older buildings. An insurer went bankrupt. The boards have exhausted reserves — if they had any — and levied thousands of dollars in special assessments for repairs. Some have threatened foreclosure on elderly neighbors who have run out of money.

”I can give you a hundred places” with similar woes, says Florida’s assistant condo ombudsman, Bill Raphan.

Best of times, worst of times in rental market

Best of times, worst of times in rental market

For real estate agents, rental income is rising. For investors, losses on rentals are common.

Sabrina Westenbarger isn’t frustrated by the housing slump. Last year, as the New Tampa real estate agent sensed that home buyers were disappearing, she branched into managing rental properties. Demand surged enough to bring her college-aged daughters aboard.

“Every day, ” says daughter Christina DuBose, “we have more people calling.”

Nearby, real estate investor Rob Duncan sensed the same trend. In January, Duncan launched Rent New Tampa Inc., a Web-intensive service that rents and manages houses and townhouses in the area.

New law alters condo landscape [South Florida]

New law alters condo landscape [South Florida]

The husband-and-wife real estate team of Norm and Janice Holloway sells more Venice condominiums than just about anybody.

But when the couple settled into their own waterfront abode at Pointe Whitecap in Venice nearly six years ago, Norm promised Janice that he would never sell it out from under her.

“I told her, ‘You can live here until you die.’ Because, you know, the man almost always dies first.”

Until this summer, Janice Holloway could depend not only on her husband’s promise, but also on the rules that govern this over-55 bayfront enclave. They prevent tearing the place down without the consent of the owners of all 32 units.

The home buyers’ quandary

The home buyers’ quandary

Like many thirtysomethings, Sarah Francis is hearing the call of homeownership.

With a recent price softening in some markets, the 32-year-old Chicagoan thinks it may be a great time to jump into a condo.

She worries about borrowing—she has no credit card or student loan debt—and she’s managed to accumulate about $40,000 in cash from her income as a nurse practitioner over the last several years, saving money by renting a room at a friend’s house. She’s also socked away almost $68,000 for retirement.

And buying a home seems like a popular move for people moving into their 30s: More than half (56 percent) of people 30 to 34 were homeowners in 2006, a big jump from the rate of 42 percent among people in their late 20s, Census Bureau figures show.