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Report recommends shutting down federal housing lenders

On behalf of De Varona, Arango & Weinstein posted in Mortgage on Thursday, March 7, 2013.

A new report published by the Bipartisan Policy Center commission says the government should reduce its role in the U.S. housing finance system, suggesting that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae should be completely eliminated to encourage more private sector involvement. The commission recommends replacing the two entities with a new government body called the Public Guarantor.

Among the commission's members was a former Republican Florida senator, who said the change would not be "dramatic" and would allow for more private money to "flow into our nation's system." The Public Guarantor proposed by the report would provide a private secondary mortgage market with minimal risk. The commission contends that private companies should be required to shoulder the full burden incurred by poor lending decisions. The government would allow these firms to suffer the resulting effects with no expectation for bailouts for shareholders.

Florida man files adverse possession claim on foreclosed mansion

On behalf of De Varona, Arango & Weinstein posted in Real Estate Disputes on Tuesday, February 26, 2013.

A Florida home that sold for $3.1 million in 2005 is now in a real estate dispute. The home could potentially go to a squatter after a 23-year-old man officially claimed ownership of the now-vacant property. The man filed an adverse possession claim on the mansion, hoping to capitalize on a state real estate law that allows filers to legally take ownership of abandoned properties. The home's former owner reportedly signed a deed in lieu of foreclosure in 2005 after failing to make loan payments to Bank of America.

The adverse possession law allows an individual to claim a vacant home on the condition that they reside there for seven years prior to the filing, properly caring for the property and paying all applicable taxes. Adverse possession claims have seen a resurgence in recent years as squatters hope to permanently take over homes left abandoned by the aftermath of the real estate crisis and Florida's massive foreclosure backlog.

Officials say that Palm Beach County has seen 38 adverse possession claims in the last three years, though it is unclear how many of these have resulted in filers actually taking control of the properties in question.

South Florida condos sell for $4.2M

On behalf of De Varona, Arango & Weinstein posted in Real Estate Transactions on Friday, February 22, 2013.

A real estate firm will pay $4.2 million for 11 of 12 units at a Deerfield Beach condominium complex, continuing a trend of increased bulk buying activity established in recent years in South Florida. Buyers have purchased thousands of units in bulk in the area, taking advantage of the huge discounts offered by property owners. However, the buyer of the Deerfield Beach units paid close to market value for the condos, a fact experts say point to a resurgent market.

The buyer paid approximately $272 per square foot for the 11 units. One real estate agent said it was wise of the developers, who created special entities for the transactions, to sell the condos as Florida experiences a statewide real estate boom. The developers' timing was less ideal when the four-story property was finished in 2007 in the midst of the housing crisis. At that time, just one of the 12 units was sold. The buyer paid about $501 per square foot - $700,000 in total, for the units - Broward County currently values the complex at $384,380.

Florida's Attorney General promotes mortgage relief program

On behalf of De Varona, Arango & Weinstein posted in Foreclosure on Friday, February 15, 2013.

According to Florida's attorney general, Pam Bondi, less than 92,000 Florida homeowners have filed for relief under the landmark foreclosure settlement reached between the nation's largest lenders and most U.S. states in early 2012. That's just 55 percent of all residents who lost their homes to foreclosure between 2008 and 2011 and are thus eligible to receive support from the $25 billion settlement, which aims to account for illegal documentation practices that lead thousands to wrongfully suffer foreclosure.

Despite having the United States's highest foreclosure rate, struggling homeowners in Florida have largely declined to take advantage of the relief program. The state saw a response rate well below the national average even after paying $200,000 to have operators directly contact eligible citizens. In response, Florida has extended the deadline for applying for aid.

Florida cities among best to buy foreclosed properties

On behalf of De Varona, Arango & Weinstein posted in Foreclosure on Wednesday, February 6, 2013.

A recent report from RealtyTrac claims the Miami area is the 12^th best place in which to purchase a foreclosure, with five other Florida cities ranking among the top 20. According to the report, this is partially due to fact that foreclosed units accounted for about 28.7 percent of all Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metro area's total home sales in 2012. Also important was the region's 31 percent price discount on foreclosures, 29-month supply of foreclosed properties and a dramatic increase in foreclosures over the past year; the metro area saw a 36 percent increase in foreclosure activity in 2012 compared to the previous year.

Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville topped RealtyTrac's ranking, with four other Florida cities making the top 10; Lakeland, Tampa, Jacksonville and Orlando were listed at numbers 5, 6, 7 and 9, respectively. Florida's significant presence on the list appears to be indicative of the state's ongoing foreclosure problem. Hundreds of homeowners across the state are still struggling to keep their homes as they deal with unaffordable mortgage payments and high interest rates.

Real estate in Florida region attracts foreign buyers

On behalf of De Varona, Arango & Weinstein posted in Real Estate Transactions on Thursday, January 31, 2013.

Experts say that Florida's Treasure Coast could partially supplant Broward and Miami-Dade counties as a prime location for international real estate buyers. Rising areas and overcrowding in those areas, long bases for foreign investments, could push international buyers to look to the Treasure Coast and similar areas for sources of less expensive homes.

Foreign buyers have constituted an increasingly prominent portion of the real estate market the Treasure Coast since the dollar and the housing market both began to decline in 2008. One Brazilian businessman who moved to Florida in 2008 predicts that more buyers from his native country will begin selling their Brazilian homes and begin investing in properties in Florida.

Supreme Court will hear Florida real estate dispute

On behalf of De Varona, Arango & Weinstein posted in Real Estate Disputes on Tuesday, January 22, 2013.

A decades-long battle over the use of a 15-acre stretch of Florida wetland will go to the U.S. Supreme Court, potentially setting a precedent for similar cases. The attorney for one of the parties involved said the highest court's ruling is likely to have "an extensive impact across the country." As such, government agencies, businesses and environmental advocates from across Florida and the rest of the U.S. are following the real estate dispute to see how it could affect them in the future.

The case began in 1993 when a Florida land owner applied for permits allowing him to develop a parcel of wetlands he owned for commercial development. The government agency in charge of granting the permits told the man he could develop approximately 5 percent of the land if he funded the $10,000 restoration of a section of wetlands in a nearby state-run wildlife preserve. The landowner responded by suing the body, contending that its denial had significantly lessened the value of his land. He won the lawsuit and its first appeal, but the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of the agency in 2012.

Florida lawmaker hopes to quicken foreclosure process

On behalf of De Varona, Arango & Weinstein posted in Foreclosure on Tuesday, January 15, 2013.

In the midst of rising foreclosures and home repossessions in Florida, a state representative hopes to introduce changes that would speed the rate at which the state processes foreclosure. The legislation, known as HB 87, would require lenders to prove they have the right to foreclose on borrowers before doing and would also allow condominium associations to speed foreclosures when lenders take too long. Many banks in the state have been accused of intentionally drawing out the foreclosure process in order to limit expenses. The average foreclosure in Florida currently takes over 600 days to complete.

Homeowner and consumer advocates have voiced strong opposition to the bill, saying it is unfair for Florida's many homeowners struggling with unaffordable mortgages and attempting to save their homes. One Florida foreclosure activist urged homeowners to contact their representatives and asked them to oppose the bill's passage into law.

Florida homeowners granted tax cut extension

On behalf of De Varona, Arango & Weinstein posted in Mortgage on Thursday, January 10, 2013.

Thousands of homeowners in Florida are expected to benefit from a tax cut aimed at providing debt relief after lawmakers extended the Mortgage Debt Relief Act in the form of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which was included in the 157-page legislation recently passed in order to lessen the impact of the "fiscal cliff." The act allows struggling homeowners to exclude forgiven debt on their home loans from their income taxes after completing short sales. Experts say millions of Florida residents have benefited from the tax break since it was introduced in 2007.

Homeowners in South Florida are likely to be particularly pleased with the extension, with home prices in the region falling by 46 percent since December 2006. Because short sales are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to foreclosure for many banks, this could allow numerous South Florida residents to escape considerable amounts of debt.

Florida behind Orlando in home price increases

On behalf of De Varona, Arango & Weinstein posted in Real Estate Transactions on Monday, December 31, 2012.

New data from the Orlando Regional Realtor Association shows that the Orlando housing market has seen a 12.7 percent in home prices during the year-long period ending in November 2012. This is slightly higher than the state of Florida at large, in which median prices jumped from $134,900 to $150,000 during the same period, registering a year over year increase of 12.7 percent. The median home price for the United States at a whole was $178,700 in October 2012, an 11 percent increase from the same month in 2011.

Experts say these figures do not necessarily mean that the recovery of home markets in Central Florida is outpacing that of markets in South Florida and the rest of the state. Although the state had a 5.1 months' worth of homes listed for sale in November, compared to Orlando's 3.2-month supply, the state's total inventory is falling at a faster rate than that of the Orlando area. Prices in Broward County rose by 9 percent during the year-long period, while Palm Beach County saw a 20 percent uptick. Median price in Fort Lauderdale grew by about 24 percent.

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