Frisco soldier who lost house to foreclosure over homeowners dues gets it back

Frisco soldier who lost house to foreclosure over homeowners dues gets it back

The Frisco soldier and his family who lost their home to foreclosure while he was serving in Iraq will get the house back.

Army National Guard Capt. Michael Clauer and his wife, May, lost their $315,000 southwest Frisco home in May 2008 after falling behind on Heritage Lakes Homeowners Association dues.

The Clauers sued the association and subsequent buyers in federal court. A court-ordered settlement conference led to an agreement this week that gives the house back to the Clauers.

A gag order prevents those involved from sharing details. But the bottom line is that the Clauers once again will own the home in the Heritage Lakes subdivision.

Second homes: All the joys of Florida in one spot

Second homes: All the joys of Florida in one spot

Florida is a huge second-home destination. It seems to have something for everyone: secluded beaches and urban buzz, golf communities and marinas, high-rises and bungalows at prices from ultra-luxury to shockingly affordable. It’s also diverse. The mansions of Palm Beach are far removed from the beach towns of the Panhandle and theme parks of Orlando.

But if everything that Florida offers came together in one place, it would be on the coast of Pinellas County. This includes Clearwater and St. Petersburg, just outside Tampa. It’s known by other names, including the Tampa Bay Area.

“We call it the ‘Nature Coast,’ ” says Debra Nobile of Innisbrook Real Estate Services. “The east coast (of Florida) is all big buildings and parking lots. Here, everything is nestled among the trees. There’s more beach. It’s more laid-back.”

Anthony Jaquinto, a longtime Realtor with Re/Max Realtec Group, says the area has great appeal to part-timers.

With prices down Marion County investors buy properties cheap and then resell them quickly for a tidy profit [North Florida]

With prices down Marion County investors buy properties cheap and then resell them quickly for a tidy profit [North Florida]

The problems with the local real estate market are well documented: Property values are plummeting, foreclosures are skyrocketing and many homeowners are upside down on their mortgages, meaning they owe more than the property is worth.

Yet in the midst of all this chaos, one group of people continues to mine gold from the local housing market. They are house flippers, who buy properties cheap and then resell them quickly for a tidy profit.

The housing bust, which saw property values drop by more than 40 percent during the past four years, is working to their advantage.

For investors like Amy Agricola, there is no shortage of houses to buy cheap.

Lots to buy for Tampa parking kings after real estate bust [Central Florida]

Lots to buy for Tampa parking kings after real estate bust [Central Florida]

In the wake of the real estate collapse, the most marketable use these days for some land in downtown Tampa may be – parking.

Two brothers who became the kings of downtown Tampa parking are becoming downtown land barons as well, snapping up property at a fraction of its peak price.

Hillsborough County land records show that entities controlled by Jason and John Accardi have paid at least $10 million for four pieces of land in the downtown core and the Channel District since fall 2007. And, they don’t appear to be letting up.

A few years ago, developers dreamed of luxury condos or office towers on seemingly every corner in downtown. But these sky-high dreams fell in the real estate bust, the properties were foreclosed upon and now are just distressed bank assets.

Keep your home-equity line of credit from freezing Realty Q&A

Keep your home-equity line of credit from freezing Realty Q&A

Question: I have a shrunken home-equity line of credit with a big bank on the property in which I reside. What is the best strategy, if any, to minimize the possibility that the HELOC will be frozen or closed?

Currently, I have the line tapped to the max (minus breathing room for the minimum payment of interest only) with the funds in an interest-bearing account. While I’d prefer to pay it off, I would hate for the account to be shut down on me. As far as I can tell, my condo is right at the 80% loan-to-value mark now. If the market took another big hit, obviously the LTV would go higher and set off alarms. I am currently breaking even after tax on the interest in/interest out, but the terms are phenomenal versus terms on new lines of credit.

Answer: I checked with several major home-equity lenders, none of whom wanted to be quoted directly, but here’s what I found out off the record.

For starters, as long as you are current on your payments, lenders cannot demand that you pay down your balance, even if you are fully drawn. So you have nothing to worry about there.

Limits on pursuing delinquent condo owners

Limits on pursuing delinquent condo owners

Q. Are there any restrictions on a management company or board on performing ongoing collection activity on a delinquent unit owner’s account? If the unit owner is in bankruptcy, does this have any affect on collection activity?

A. While a board of directors must be diligent in pursing delinquent accounts, restrictions on the means of communication are governed by the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure.

Federal law requires that delinquency notices comply with certain requirements, including an explanation of the calculation of the delinquent amount. The demand for possession required by Illinois law states that an owner must be given 30 days to pay the delinquency.

The proper format of a delinquency assessment notice is to state the amount of the claim, including legal fees, by attaching an account ledger with an itemization of all charges.