Gulf Coast Florida

09/06/2010 - Courts work to clear housing cases - A Sarasota judge scheduled some of the oldest open cases for a recent status hearing last month, telling both sides to show up or the case would be dismissed. Nobody showed for the lenders, only a few defendants showed, and about 250 cases were closed in about 30 minutes. - http://www.heraldtribune.com

08/24/2010 - Homes not a path to riches - "People shouldn't look at a home as a way to make money because it won't," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. Southwest Florida became the poster child for bloated home prices. - http://www.news-press.com

08/24/2010 - Sarasota-Bradenton: Home sales, prices drop in July - Dropped 16 percent in July when compared with the same month a year ago, with 714 homes sold compared with 855 in July 2009. It was the ninth biggest percentage decrease statewide. HOME PRICES: The median price dropped 12 percent to $157,700 from $179,500 a year ago. The July price was down 7.4 percent from $170,400 in June. - http://www.heraldtribune.com

08/17/2010 - Foreclosure prevention programs let homeowners down - That's what happens in the great majority of foreclosure cases. For several years, thousands of foreclosures have gone through the courts without anyone checking documents. And when someone does, it turns out that many case files lack the right paperwork. - http://www.heraldtribune.com

08/15/2010 - Tom Lyons: Investigation's timing is reason for skepticism - That's what happens in the great majority of foreclosure cases. For several years, thousands of foreclosures have gone through the courts without anyone checking documents. And when someone does, it turns out that many case files lack the right paperwork. - http://www.heraldtribune.com

08/15/2010 - Online foreclosure form may beat doing zip - Faced with a home foreclosure and can't afford a lawyer? Why not download a document from the Internet, fill in some blanks, cut and paste, and -- voila! nce you sign it and file it in court, you've started legally thwarting that foreclosure mill that is asking the courts to take your house away. - http://www.trashoutpro.com

08/13/2010 - Attorney Ralph Fisher had a "eureka moment" while studying some paperwork in a case involving a client at risk of losing his home. - Failings of the foreclosure process laid bare - A document that would give the lender's lawyer the green light to take the home was supposedly signed on Dec. 5, 2007, but the date on the notary seal meant the document could not have been created until May of 2008 - five months later. - http://www.heraldtribune.com

08/12/2010 - Long-feared foreclosure wave has begun in area - Total filings in the three-county region jumped to 3,349 during July, a 40 percent increase from a month earlier and a 10.6 percent increase from July 2009. - http://www.heraldtribune.com

08/10/2010 - Sarasota Area market among worst for 'underwater' homes - Zillow reported that the rate for underwater homeowners in the Sarasota-Bradenton market during the quarter was 45.4 percent, double the national rate and one of the highest rates in the nation. - http://www.heraldtribune.com

08/06/2010 - Lee County first in line for housing help - Three housing counseling agencies have been chosen to implement the pilot Florida Hardest-Hit program being offered in Lee County - $23 million is available to help about 1,200 homeowners. County residents will have first crack at assistance because of the pilot program. - http://www.news-press.com

08/06/2010 - Homeownership rate continues to slide - Millions of houses on the verge of foreclosure threaten to send homeownership to its lowest level in 50 years, according to new industry estimates. Fresh projections say the rate could plummet to about 62% as early as 2012 and almost certainly by the end of the decade. Homeownership rates haven't been that low since they hit 61.9% in 1960. - http://www.news-press.com

08/04/2010 - Retiree says he can halt foreclosure's 'rocket docket' - Retired attorney Richard Kessler has waged a one-man war against foreclosure "rocket dockets," a court mechanism in which troubled homeowners can lose their property in a matter of minutes. - http://www.news-press.com
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08/01/2010 - Lee County apartment occupancy climbs - Rents were down but occupancy was up in Lee County's apartment complexes in the second quarter, according to the most recent statistics by Novato, Calif.-based RealFacts. - http://www.news-press.com

08/01/2010 - Pine Island area living becomes affordable - hrough July 24, 57 waterfront single-family homes have sold in 2010 on the island with a high price of $1.07 million and a median price of about $260,000. In addition, 42 more off-water single-family homes, 12 condominium and 25 manufactured homes have sold. The respective median prices in those categories are $119,000, $190,000 and $115,000. - http://www.news-press.com

07/26/2010 - Mark Brivik deals offer lesson about real estate boom - In short order, Messick lived up to his reputation and brought River Meadows back from the dead. Through a series of transactions, Messick put together a complicated deal that allowed Brivik to pay off the U.S. Funding loan. Freed from the immediate threat of foreclosure, Brivik went about putting together the rest of the deal. - http://www.heraldtribune.com

07/15/2010 - RealtyTrac: Cape Coral-Fort Myers had 2nd worst foreclosure rate during first half of 2010; Naples-Marco 13th - According to a report by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, 18,179 properties received filings in the metro area, ranking it second in the nation for its foreclosure rate. Still, filings were down more than 21 percent from the same six months a year ago. - http://www.naplesnews.com

07/15/2010 - Homeowners hope mediation program can save their houses - Starting with foreclosure lawsuits filed today against homesteaded property, the program requires lenders to sit down with the borrower and a mediator in an attempt to work out another solution. - http://www.news-press.com

07/15/2010 - Business briefs: Banks urged to make loans to Gulf victims - Regulators urged banks to make loans to creditworthy people and businesses whose livelihoods have been hurt by the Gulf oil spill. - http://www.heraldtribune.com

07/15/2010 - New hints of relief in local housing, foreclosures continue downward trend - Foreclosure filings in June hovered around their lowest point since summer 2009, according to data released Wednesday by RealtyTrac Inc., a California company that has been tracking the phenomenon. - http://www.heraldtribune.com

07/04/04/2010 - Home closings mired in crude - No one can quantify how many homebuyers are abandoning deals because they fear oil may come ashore in Southwest Florida, but it is happening. Realtors are reluctant to share such stories. They are just emerging from five tumultuous years -- marked by hurricanes, the bursting of the housing bubble and the financial crisis -- and hoped that a big boost in sales spurred in part by the federal tax incentives meant there were better times ahead. - www.heraldtribune.com

06/2/04/2010 - Thousands giving up on home loan modification hopes - Some South Florida residents say process is drawn-out, frustrating and confusing - They're falling behind on their mortgage payments. They'd contacted their lenders to renegotiate the terms of their mortgage. And some have even been offered preliminary settlements. But for many homeowners, the process of loan-modificaiton has worn them down. - www.sun-sentinel.com

06/25/2010 - New law can make renters pay homeowner-association fees - "What it boils down to is that we've got the homeowner association on one side saying, 'If you don't pay us for the fees, we're going to evict you,' " said Collins, whose landlord owes thousands in back fees. "And on the other side you've got a landlord saying, 'If you don't pay me the rent, then I'm going to evict you.' What's a tenant to do?" - www.orlandosentinel.com

06/25/2010 - Gulf property sales slide further on oil fears - It's the third sucker punch in six years for property owners, many of whom were depending on rental units to fund their retirement. State lawmakers are looking to let homeowners off the hook on some of their taxes, hoping to pass the cost along to BP. - www.sun-sentinel.com

05/20/2010 - Reaching out to home mortgages in default - The nation's largest backer of home loans, Fannie Mae, announced Wednesday that it has signed up the counseling service to contact SunTrust mortgage customers in the Orlando area - one of the country's hardest-hit cities for foreclosures. - www.orlandosentinel.com

05/20/2010 - With Orlando No. 3 in nation in underwater mortgages, homeowners ponder leaving - Orlando now leads Florida and most of the nation for underwater mortgages, according to a report released last week by CoreLogic Inc. Only Las Vegas and Phoenix surpass it. The California-based researchers determined that 55 percent, or 285,004, of the area's mortgaged homes are worth less than their outstanding mortgage. Industry experts describe the properties as being a "shadow inventory" of bank-repossessed properties and mortgages facing foreclosure. - www.orlandosentinel.com

05/17/2010 - Faces of the Downturn: Jobless and homeless, what's a family to do? - (Part 3): - Jennifer Audette, right, panhandles on Rattlesnake-Hammock Road in Naples while boyfriend Chad Perillard, left, holds their son Preston, 3, as they wait for cars to stop. The couple, who said they had never been homeless before, had to move out of the place they were renting after they both couldn't find work. They moved in with Audette's mother on Marco Island, but eventually left because of a disagreement. - www.naplesnews.com

05/15/2010 - Faces of the Downturn: Families lose homes, struggle where to go - (Part 2): - Denise Brunal-Hicks, left, hugs her daughter, Samantha, 18, right, as they stand next to a curb piled with their belongings. Brunal-Hicks was being evicted from her foreclosed home after spending thirteen years at the residence. Her only option was to take her two children and temporarily live in a spare room at her brother's place across town. - www.naplesnews.com

05/14/2010 - Faces of the Downturn: Struggling economy hits middle-aged workers hard - (Part 1): - Kathy Coleman goes over paperwork with her attorney as she tries to save her home in Ave Maria. Coleman, a former conference director for Legatus, a high profile Catholic business organization, made about $74,000 a year, before being let go from her position. Even with two part time jobs, one at a real estate office and the other as a deli slicer at Publix, Coleman still couldn't make the payments on her house. - www.naplesnews.com

05/03/2010 - North Port fines keep couple from buying home - North Port has 1,716 liens on properties in the city, with 410 more now making their way through the enforcement system. Commissioner Jim Blucher said the city is caught in a "vicious cycle" in which the city places liens on vacant houses, the liens scare away buyers, and North Port adds more fines as these home lapse into disrepair. - www.heraldtribune.com

04/06/2010 - Speedy short sales sought Homeowners, agents, banks hope new rules make it happen - The administration will give $3,000 for moving expenses to homeowners who complete such a sale or agree to turn over the deed of the property to the lender. It's designed for homeowners who are in financial trouble but don't qualify for the administration's $75 billion mortgage modification program. - www.news-press.com

04/06/2010 - Sarasota County shifting funds from housing to jobs - Confronted with 13 percent unemployment, Sarasota County will shift $3.6 million designated for affordable housing into job recruitment efforts by the Economic Development Corporation. - www.heraldtribune.com

02/29/2010 - A flipper won't face charges - Prosecutors have decided not to pursue a case against one of the Sarasota area's most successful property flippers on charges that he stripped appliances from his foreclosed Lakewood Ranch home. The overwhelming number of foreclosures in the area banks must deal with is partially to blame, his defense attorney said. - www.heraldtribune.com

02/26/2010 - Market Watch 2010: Real estate industry facing low prices, increased sales - While Southwest Florida's residential real estate market may have hit rock bottom, property owners and agents won’t be seeing the boom times of 2004 and 2005 in the foreseeable future. And the commercial real estate industry may face an even longer climb. - www.naplesnews.com

02/26/2010 - Former Sarasota real estate agent is key link in flipping inquiry - Bobka, who harnessed the real estate boom to make millions of dollars, helped orchestrate property flips designed to trick banks into writing mortgages that more than covered what buyers actually paid for houses. - www.heraldtribune.com

02/02/2010 - Lehigh housing industry bruised - "For someone driving in, someone who's not been here, it's pretty scary," said James McCord, owner of American Dream Builders of Lehigh Acres. "It makes you ask, 'What's going on? What's wrong?'" - www.news-press.com

02/02/2010 - Foreclosures in Lee County subsiding - The pace of foreclosure lawsuits in Lee County in January continued its long, slow decline, according to statistics released Monday by the Southwest Florida Real Estate Investment Association. - www.news-press.com

02/02/2010 - Mediation for homeowners in Sarasota and Manatee counties - Troubled homeowners in Sarasota and Manatee counties will soon be guaranteed a meeting with lenders to try to save their properties from foreclosure. Every homesteaded property will be referred to a new mediation program under a Florida Supreme Court order, and the lenders will have to pick up the cost. - www.heraldtribune.com

02/01/2010 - Condo bids low at auction - Any hopes that the condominium market was picking up steam following several years of freefall were likely dashed during a recent auction here. The Jan. 23 auction saw most condos fetching less than a third of what they were originally purchased for. - www.heraldtribune.com

01/20/2010 - Code for neglect: County cracks down on abandoned homes in foreclosure - Ray Addison, was part of a county sweep of abandoned and foreclosed homes on Thursday, an effort to identify code violations and other property issues that crop up when families leave their homes and nature--or vandals -- take over. Abandoned properties often sit in neglect, with owners having no incentive to clean or lock their lost homes and banks too stacked with foreclosures to focus on any single one. "They just kind of forget about them," said Jeff Letourneau, with Collier County Code Enforcement. - www.naplesnews.com

01/20/2010 - North Port code net snags another - North Port took Pearson to court this month over fines of more than $27,000 for keeping her old car in the driveway without a license plate. If the city wins its case, Pearson could be facing bankruptcy. "It's been a nightmare," said Pearson, 49, who works two jobs to stay afloat as she raises three teenagers. - www.heraldtribune.com

12/21/2009 - Not flippers: Call them wholesalers - Court records show that DeSoto Holdings, Inc. paid $2.42 million to buy 64 properties in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties so far this year and has resold them in a matter of days or weeks for a total $2.69 million - www.heraldtribune.com

12/04/2009 - Bradenton couple prevail in mortgage imbroglio - Gulfcoast Legal Services attorney found numerous problems and fraud in the loan, the lender offered to give them the home for a single $1,000 settlement payment. An attorney discovered so many problems in their loan document that they now own their Bradenton home free and clear. - www.heraldtribune.com

11/05/2009 - Find out who is buying foreclosed property - The following is a list of people and corporations who have taken title on properties purchased at foreclosure auctions since Jan. 1, 2008. Omitted from the list are lenders that bought back the property at auction, commony called the plaintiff. The list shows the date the purchaser took title on the property, typically two weeks after the auction date, and the price paid. The clerk number and case number can be used to find more information at www.leeclerk.org. - www.news-press.com

10/28/2009 - Home sales climb in Cape Coral metro area - Cape Coral's two-year housing crisis may be coming to an end, according to a September report of home sales from Florida Realtors and the University of Florida Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies. - www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com

10/28/2009 - Low end real estate pulls in bids at auction - A real estate auction held in downtown Sarasota on Tuesday confirmed what many in the region already knew: Residential properties at the lower end of the market are moving, but luxury real estate is sitting still. - www.heraldtribune.com

10/24/2009 - High-end builders turn to auctions to sell luxury condos - Auctions of pricey real estate have succeeded in making sales for properties that had languished for many months. - www.orlandosentinel.com

10/16/2009 - Mortgage fraud crackdown hits home in Southwest Florida - The charges listed in Wednesday�s indictments ranged from frauds and swindles, to mail fraud, mortgage or credit application fraud, and wire fraud - www.naplesnews.com

10/16/2009 - Housing booming: Naples area Realtors report large increase in home sales from July to September - The increases show ongoing improvement in the local market. In the second quarter of 2009, closed sales increased 37 percent over the previous year, while pending sales showed a 92 percent increase. - www.naplesnews.com

10/16/2009 - Internet scammers take aim at renters - The too-good-to-be-true terms are generating considerable attention, and Conway fears for any would-be tenants who fail to check out the property before sending money to the online scammer. - www.heraldtribune.com

10/13/2009 - House smells due to Chinese drywall? Not a problem, say some investors - Investors have discovered a new market in the latest blow to homeowners and the building industry - houses built with Chinese drywall. About 30 homes disclosed to contain the noxious drywall sold in Lee County this year. Both are on freshwater canals with sea walls, one is 1,700 square feet, the other is 2,000 square feet. Combined he paid $158,000. - www.naplesnews.com

10/13/2009 - Europeans turn eyes back toward Florida - A few years ago, enthusiasm among foreigners for Florida real estate was fueled by a favorable exchange rate. Then the recession hit. Now, foreigners are again focusing their purchasing power on the Sunshine State. - www.heraldtribune.com

10/13/2009 - Firms poised to bet billions on real estate - With roughly $500 million available to sop up distressed residential lots, soured real estate loans and undeveloped property, Starwood Land is in an enviable position to capitalize on what it believes will be a significant change in the way home builders operate from now on. - www.heraldtribune.com

10/12/2009 - Warehouse, apartments, office vacancies grow; no new buildings on way - Even with dropping rents, the available supply of warehouse space increased during the quarter, with the addition of two buildings in the LeeVista Business Center in southeast Orlando. - www.orlandosentinel.com

10/12/2009 - Banks set to become region's largest landholders - So far in 2009, they have begun foreclosing on at least 5,500 acres in Manatee and Sarasota counties that were bought for $420 million during the boom. Experts say the trend will create new problems for lending institutions already swamped by earlier waves of home foreclosures. - www.heraldtribune.com

10/09/2009 - Locals hit in building shakeout - Smaller builders are dead or in hibernation, as their larger counterparts scramble for share of recovery. Big builders are wielding a $7.5 billion war chest to buy land cheap. - www.heraldtribune.com

10/09/2009 - Building permits bud in fallow North Port - Since the beginning of September, processing has started on nine new single-family home permits. Eight of the nine new permits could be issued this month, which would be the most in a single month since September 2008. - www.heraldtribune.com

09/29/2009 - Area's condo sales showing some life - Just like homes, the driving force has been pricing. Nowhere in this region was that clearer than in Charlotte County-North Port, where the median sales price for the 40 condominiums sold last month was $98,000, down 42 percent from $170,000 a year ago. In July, the median was $124,000. - www.heraldtribune.com

09/28/2009 - Foreclosure lawyers scrutinized for ethical violations - Some of the most egregious Florida examples come from Sarasota County, where a study this summer that looked at the civil courts system found three of four foreclosure cases that went forward without the proper paperwork. - www.heraldtribune.com

09/26/2009 - Optimism reigns at realty conference - Sure, prices have fallen. But that is because so many distressed home buyers and bankers are parting with properties at bargain-basement prices -- a tremendous opportunity for anyone with the cash or credit to close a deal. - www.heraldtribune.com

09/25/2009 - Home sales surge, even as prices slip - Prices went in the other direction -- the August median of $164,200 was down 8.5 percent from July and 25 percent from a year ago -- but that is still far ahead of 2009's low point. - www.heraldtribune.com

09/21/2009 - Has the Gulf Coast become a Ponzi haven? - The list of failed Southwest Florida investments keeps getting longer. This region has already moved onto the national stage as the home of some of the most notorious suspected scams, leaving some asking: Why here and why now? - www.heraldtribune.com

09/15/2009 - Investor says bank let him borrow too much - Flagship National Bank organized a complicated set of bogus property transfers to Sharff's friends and family members so that the bank could get around federal lending limits. - www.heraldtribune.com

09/14/2009 - First Bank finds it bought a lot of trouble - Most of those bad loans stem from the bank's relationship with Construction Compliance Inc., a troubled St. Petersburg-based home builder that promised to build houses in North Port and Port Charlotte for investors from around the country and sell them at a profit before those investors ever had to take possession. - www.heraldtribune.com

09/10/2009 - August foreclosures down in Lee, up in Collier - Foreclosure activity slowed in Lee County in August. In Collier County, it increased a bit. - www.naplesnews.com

09/07/2009 - GULF COAST Real Estate: - Browse the real estate market in and around Sarasota. View photos, text message properties, contact realtors and more. - www.heraldtribune.com

09/07/2009 - PARADE OF HOMES: - Each year Sarasota and Manatee homebuilders join forces to display the areas best in beauty and innovation. - www.mydigitalpublication.com

09/07/2009 - LAKEWOOD RANCH TOUR OF HOMES: - Tour over 30 luxury model homes and discover the true nature of this amazing ranch. - www.bluetoad.com

09/07/2009 - Owners of new homes suffer when lenders back out - As property values plummet, those caught midway through new home construction learn an awful fact: They can't find a lender willing to give them a loan. Just before the closing, the lender backed out, saying the home was no longer worth the original loan amount. - www.heraldtribune.com

09/07/2009 - Builder is glad to be building again - Diamond Homes of Southwest Florida has built more than 300 homes in the popular Park Forest 55-and-up community over the years, but construction came to a standstill last year as the housing boom went bust. - www.heraldtribune.com

09/05/2009 - Home permits remain at zero in North Port - Home building remained at a standstill in the city through August, the second month in a row that North Port issued no new home permits. - www.heraldtribune.com

09/04/2009 - Local market report contradicts national report - figures are not as bullish as the ones made in this morning's Herald-Tribune article," which reported on a 12 percent increase in sales in the national housing market. - www.realestatetoday.com

09/02/2009 - Housing flipper facing charges - One of the Sarasota area's most successful property flippers is accused of gutting a home that he could no longer afford. - www.heraldtribune.com

08/31/2009 - North Port developer Menke among victims - In North Port, the biggest name to succumb so far is Frank Menke, a commercial real estate visionary who has inspired many of the city's commercial developments. - www.heraldtribune.org