Insurance burden could fall on policy holders [Florida]

Insurance burden could fall on policy holders [Florida]

Picking up the pieces after Poe Financial Group’s breakdown will fall to the state’s insurance pool — and possibly Florida residents.

The downfall of Poe Financial Group, Florida’s largest insurance insolvency, is a burden that will fall to the state’s insurer of last resort — and eventually to every insurance policyholder in Florida.

A large chunk of the 316,000 policies held by the three Poe companies will likely wind up on Citizens Property Insurance’s books, catapulting the company to the state’s No. 1 insurer of homeowners, condo dwellers and apartment renters.

Condo construction halted; lender files for bankruptcy [South Florida]

Condo construction halted; lender files for bankruptcy

When a Las Vegas lender plunked down money from retirees, investors and even a medical research firm’s pension fund to finance construction of a West Palm Beach high-rise condo, everyone gambled that red-hot Florida real estate was a sure thing.

Low-income residents of the apartment complex moved, heavy construction equipment rolled in, millions of dollars were borrowed and dozens of investors saw double-digit returns on investments.

Now, all bets are off.

Bargains forecast

Bargains forecast

When his landlord raised the rent one time too often, John Polite decided it was time to buy. But on a new minister’s salary, he would need to find a bargain.

“That’s the only way I was going to get into anything,” he said.

So in 2002 he did what many wanna-be homeowners have pondered from time to time. He bought a property that was in foreclosure through a real estate agent.

Home today, gone tomorrow?

Home today, gone tomorrow?

A Supreme Court ruling giving the government more power to take private land for economic development has property owners across the state on edge and lawmakers debating ways to rein in eminent domain

It was a court ruling that spread fear and anger throughout the nation — the idea that government can take your land and give it to someone else who can make more money with it.

The U.S. Supreme Court may have sided with New London, Conn., in its battle against Susette Kelo and a group of entrenched homeowners. But the rest of the nation cried foul, prompting lawmakers in Florida and other states to look for ways to curb the use of eminent domain.

Loan of $159M Finances Multifamily Buy

Loan of $159M Finances Multifamily Buy

The Bethany Group has acquired a portfolio of 2,873 apartment units in Florida, Texas and South Carolina from Aimco and has financed the purchase with a $159-million loan from GE Real Estate. Greg Garmon, CEO of Bethany, tells GlobeSt.com that the financing will go toward both the approximately $151-million purchase of the portfolio and improvements that Bethany plans to make as part of a value-added play.

The financing was brokered by Mark Strauss of the Newport Beach office of Cohen Financial and Steve Gunther of the Irvine office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler.

No options in Bonita [South Florida]

No options in Bonita [South Florida]

Apartment hunting? Don’t go to Bonita Springs, because there aren’t any. As for the rest of south Lee, the trend of apartments converting to condos is starting to catch on.

Searching for an apartment complex in Bonita Springs doesn’t take long.

There aren’t any.

While the booming real estate market has sent prices skyrocketing for would-be homebuyers, the side effect of condominium conversions has hit renters hard. In south Lee County, almost every apartment complex has fallen victim to the conversion trend.