The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "It's a post-boom world out there, and many owners of residential property are experiencing real estate bubble trouble. Some are faced with payments that are about to 'adjust.' Others found themselves underwater even before they closed on a house, when the builder or developer started selling similar housing units for less in order to get rid of them."

"When Jim Willig of Sarasota's Sire Properties talks about buying opportunities in real estate, he is not talking about paying list price on something in the MLS. Instead, Willig is looking to negotiate a deal between a seller who is underwater on his payments, and the bank that is on the hook for the loan, or a short sale."

"Willig gave this hypothetical example, which he says is realistic in today's market. 'A guy bought at the peak and he encumbered the house for $400,000. The property today is worth $300,000. We can go in and buy it from the bank at a number that is probably closer to $200,000. So there is a great buying opportunity.'"

"Office condos were the hottest commercial commodity going during the recent residential real estate boom. But now that the bust is upon us, veteran commercial real estate agent Carl Wise says there is little to no demand for office condos."

"Q: When did the office condo market take off? A: It took off at about the same time as the residential real estate market."

"Q: Why did they buy office warehouse space instead of renting? A: That was always the debate: Was it better to leave money in your business or use it to buy real estate that might increase in value?"

"Q: Why and when did the office condo market collapse? A: It went to pot shortly after the boom ended. When home building slowed, the office condo market just stopped. It will be interesting to see what happens now with prices."

The Daily Herald. "Harry Heyward, who has been appraising homes in Tampa, Fla., for almost 20 years, says he's doing about five appraisals per week -- down from 10 to 15 at the height of the boom. 'I keep thinking it's going to get better, and it never does.'"

"Roughly $370 billion in adjustable-rate mortgages will reset this year, according to First American CoreLogic, and millions of Americans will have to pay significantly more per month just to stay in the same home."

"Freaked-out lenders are ratcheting up requirements for minimum-credit scores and down payments. Kim Dicce, a Realtor in Tampa, where housing inventory is piling up, notes that lenders now seem to be requiring buyers in her area to put 15 to 20 percent down and have a credit score above 700."

"'Now we only have one third of the eligible buyers that we had before, and five times as many houses,' she said."

The Tampa Tribune. "The lure of quick money - and lots of it - in the home building business was too tempting for Michael Dizzine to pass up. The St. Cloud native set aside his dream of becoming a firefighter to join Florida's home construction industry, which promised strong wages for blue-collar work. But after its peak in summer 2005, the housing market began to fizzle."

"Dizzine's employer began cutting his hours, a little at first, but eventually laying off him along with all of his co-workers. 'It was so easy to go into construction out of high school and make $400, $500 a week. Now I'm regretting it,' said Dizzine, who has been out of work since July."

"The state has lost more than 14,000 construction jobs in the past year, and some economists are projecting that the housing slump could linger another year or two."

"In Tampa, bankruptcy lawyer Patrick Smith says he's seeing a spike in clients who are construction workers seeking bankruptcy protection. 'I've probably handled five to 10 cases in the last six months of construction workers surrendering their homes, packing up and moving out of state,' Smith said."

The News Press. "Lee County’s overheated real estate market is being blamed for the collapse of a second credit union. Federal regulators have taken over Fort Collins, Colo.-based Norlarco Credit Union largely because of problems with construction loans on properties in Lehigh Acres and Cape Coral."

"At issue are the vast numbers of construction loans on First Home Builders houses being built in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres. Many of those houses are worth less than the contracts to build them and some buyers are refusing to close."

"Prices have dropped sharply since the market reached its peak in December 2005 with a median price of $322,300 for the sale of an existing single-family home. In July, the last month available, the price was $246,100, a drop of 23.6 percent."

"As a result, many of the people who made deals to build houses are unwilling or unable to get mortgages on them after they’re built."

"First Home is owned by national builder Hovnanian Enterprises. The company bought the assets of First Home in 2005."

"Hovnanian officials have repeatedly blamed the Fort Myers/Cape Coral market for the company’s financial woes in recent months, and J. Larry Sorsby, chief financial officer, has said Lee County is 'by far the worst housing market that we’re in and I wouldn't be surprised if it’s the worst housing market in the country.'"

"Norlarco and Hovnanian are defendants in a civil lawsuit filed July 30 in federal court by Timothy and Kerri O’Leary. The Cape Coral couple signed a contract in June 2005 to put down a $500 deposit to build a $296,075 house."

"The O’Learys allege fraud and misrepresentation by Norlarco and Hovnanian because they were allowed to participate in the purchase despite their 'patent lack of financial qualifications.' The suit includes documentation showing the couple was not able to get financing to actually purchase the house."

"Dominic Naro is tired of looking out his window and seeing grass high enough to cover a small child. His neighbor’s lawn is one of 1,441 vacant properties in Cape Coral that have been cited for overgrown grass since June 11. Fort Myers has had 2,300 lawn complaints."

"They’re not only an eyesore, but they also cost thousands of dollars in mowing expenses and can bring down neighboring property values."

"'They are certainly more prevalent this year than any other year,' said Joan LaGuardia, the communications manager for the county’s Department of Community Development."

"Overgrown lawns are an effect of the sluggish housing market. LaGuardia said the problem could be a result of more abandoned properties in the county. Home sales in Lee County are down 24 percent from last year."

"The county doesn’t know how many of its homes are abandoned, she said, but approximately 15,000 single-family houses are for sale in the county, while more than 1,000 residences are going through foreclosure proceedings."

The Palm Beach Post. "Developer George de Guardiola is backing off his plans to sell 82 condo-style units at his first big Port St. Lucie project, East Lake Village. Instead, he's hiring a property manager to rent them as apartments."

"The 82 units will open in October. De Guardiola hasn't set rental prices for them yet. Ultimately, 890 homes are planned."

"The Jupiter-based developer may take a similar approach at his other big Port St. Lucie project, City Center. There, de Guardiola is mulling a plan to convert some of the several hundred condos in the first construction phase to rentals."

"'Eventually they'll go back to condominiums when the market is there,' de Guardiola said last week. 'It's just market response.'"

The St Petersburg Times. "Candice Anderson and her husband got a chance to buy houses in Hernando Oaks at prices even they could afford. The Andersons joined with two friends to purchase five houses from home-building giant Lennar Corp."

"The couple ended up paying $110,000 and $115,000 for two houses, each of them selling for more than $60,000 less than the market value, according to the Hernando County Property Appraiser's Office."

"'These are the first two houses we've bought,' said Anderson, of Lutz, who is renting the houses."

"But such deals have been a curse to local builders, as Hernando Oaks tries to return to its original marketing plan - building custom-made, upscale homes. Local builders worry that Lennar's sale of more than two dozen houses below market value has devalued Hernando Oaks, where some builders are trying to sell homes for more than $400,000."

"'Lennar was brought in with much fanfare and hasn't done a whole lot, other than building a lot of spec homes and dumping them on the market,' said Chris Glover, chief operating officer of Palmwood Builders. 'It hurts the whole community.'"

"Lennar has sold 56 homes in Hernando Oaks since January 2006, according to the property appraiser's records. Almost all of the 35 sales in 2007 have been below market value, according to the appraiser's office. Four, including the houses the Andersons bought, were $50,000 or more below market price."

"That irked not only other builders but also some residents, who had signed contracts designed to limit speculation - forbidding them either to rent their houses or to resell them within a year."

"Though Andee Clancy has no problems with her neighbors - mostly renters in investment homes - she worries they will devalue her neighborhood. 'My understanding was that we could not rent the place out. But as you can see, this whole neighborhood is rentals,' she said."

"Mark Metheny, president of Lennar's Tampa division, said the company reserves the right to sell some homes to investors who do not face rental and resale restrictions. Others buyers know this, he said, because it is written into their sales contracts."

"Lennar has also sold houses in Sterling Hill and other nearby subdivisions for below-market prices, as have other home builders, Metheny wrote in an e-mailed response to questions."

"'Price reductions result in reduced profits, or sometimes losses, for Lennar, and we make reductions only when required by market conditions,' he wrote."