The Daily Business Review reports from Florida. "Mami Beach's Fisher Island, Fort Lauderdale's exclusive Harborage Island and pricey private enclaves throughout Palm Beach County aren't normally where you'd think to look for a home in foreclosure. But in the last three months alone, more than 150 notices of pending litigation, or lis pendens were recorded on South Florida properties with an estimated value of more than $1 million, according to data analyzed by the Daily Business Review."

"Homeowners who built their fortunes in real estate are among those who are hurting the most. Some of the most expensive South Florida houses in foreclosure belong to people in the real estate industry."

"Al LaSorte, a real estate litigation attorney, is representing local entrepreneur and real estate developer William L. Knight, who has two Highland Beach houses in foreclosure - his primary residence, which he bought for $2.2 million in 2000, and one he built as a spec home several years ago that is still on the market with an asking price of nearly $19 million."

"'It is difficult to carry on a mortgage for a spec house for that long,' LaSorte said."

The Miami Herald. "Someone had kicked the door in on the foreclosure on the 33rd floor at The Club at Brickell Bay. Last week, Lori Rice, the building's property manager, pushed it open. Inside, she found the tell-tale signs of a squatter."

"At a recent meeting at the Brickell, a room full of property managers sat down to commiserate over a slew of other troubles: Impostor landlords leasing units they do not own, a rash of vandalism and burglaries. Investor-owners, desperate to turn a dollar, are even renting to tourists by the day, undercutting local hotels at bargain rates."

"'When you come in with luggage, it's kind of obvious,' said the outspoken Rice, who admits her building has been hit harder than the rest. 'They are advertising on Expedia.'"

"Paola Arboleda, manager of the Mark Yacht Club on Brickell Bay, said two months ago residents noticed someone hopping among various vacant units. A little snooping revealed the interloper was a mortgage broker."

"'We didn't know who he was paying or if he was paying,' Arboleda said. 'Thank God, he's gone.'"

"But most squatters aren't in the units to just hang their hats, said Officer Jeffrey Giordano, who patrols the Brickell area. 'They are probably involved in prostitution, burglary and other criminal activity,' Giordano said."

The Sun Sentinel. "Clementina Marie Giovannetti, a self-published author whose latest book was about her golden retriever, has canceled her 'best pet lover' essay contest that began in April. The prize would have been Giovannetti's $1.25 million Ocala home."

"Giovannetti said on her Web site that she had halted the competition due to a low response, despite coverage by several television stations and newspapers."

"While Giovannetti had said her purpose was to 'bless someone else's life with this magnificent house,' others suggested her contest was a creative way to unload an expensive property in a bad housing market. As for the Ocala mansion: It's back on the market. Price? The original $1.25 million."

The Orlando Sentinel. "A week after Shaquille O'Neal told the Orlando Sentinel that he's working on a plan to rescue Central Floridians facing foreclosure, he has learned just how widespread the problem is. 'He has two or three thousand e-mails,' said Curtis Cooper, an Orlando Realtor and mortgage broker working with O'Neal on the project."

"'There are so many shysters out there who take advantage of you financially and emotionally," said Belinda Petroccia, who saw her income dip with the tumbling real-estate market and now faces foreclosure on her Wedgefield home in east Orange County. 'When I saw this, I thought, 'That's what I need -- maybe Shaq can help.'"

From NBC 2. "The number of foreclosures in Lee County is up 350-percent for the first five months of the year. NBC2 found out why people who can afford to keep their home are also paying the price."

"Less than a year ago, Lisa Norman bought a condo in the Terraces at Riverwalk. Now her neighbors are becoming scarce and she's feeling the hit. She just received a $500 bill out of the blue from her homeowner's association."

"'I can't afford it. It's not in my budget,' said Norman."

"Just a few miles away from Riverwalk at Matera, homeowners just got hit with a $1,500 special assessment. Don Roedding's company manages about a 150 properties across Southwest Florida."

"'It's a nightmare across the board for everybody,' said Roedding. 'Now what you've done is taken the same fees and reduced the number of people paying into it. So as much as you don't want to pay it, if you don't, you're hurting yourself that much more if you're trying to get out of it.'"

"Association fees maintain a community's curb appeal. But that fact doesn't make Norman feel any better. 'It's not worth it,' she said. 'I have my own financial problems to worry about. I can't, I can't worry about anybody else.'"

The News Press. "Garage sales have morphed in Southwest Florida from a means to purge the flotsam and jetsam in people's lives to simply helping them survive. Floyd Harrison of Harrison Auctions in Cape Coral said he's getting more calls from people who are not necessarily moving away from Southwest Florida, but selling their personal property because of short sales on their homes."

"Instead of leftover glassware or used DVDs, the items being sold may include family antiques, heirloom jewelry and favorite pieces of furniture. Harrison's firm had about 45 estate and personal property auctions total in 2007. He's nearly reached that number in 2008, and May is not over."

"On May 18, Harrison held a jewelry sale at which a Cape Coral woman sold her $12,000 diamond ring for $2,000. She, her husband and three children are losing their home to a short sale and moving to Tennessee, he said."

"Others, realizing there is no shame in losing your home despite best efforts to keep it, spoke freely. In Lehigh Acres...Shirley Duttko and her husband were holding a garage sale to sell the contents of their home. They plan to move to Arizona to be near her brother, Shirley said. They're also leaving behind their house - just walking away."

"The Duttkos' home was appraised at more than $300,000. Yet a similar home down the street just sold for $140,000, she said. 'I couldn't even sell it for what the second mortgage is for,' she said. 'I honestly can't afford to sell my house.'"

The Herald Tribune. "Evidence of the continued housing slump and slowing commercial real estate market showed up in a big way in the financial statements of Southwest Florida's community banks during the first quarter. All told, the region's 17 banks lost $15 million during the first three months of 2008."

"The banks also reported $188 million in noncurrent loans during the first quarter, a 361 percent increase from the $40.8 million in problem loans they reported last year."

"'It's tough out there now,' said Tramm Hudson, a longtime Southwest Florida banker. 'Based on conversations with bankers around the state, this situation is probably going to last until well into 2009, if not 2010.'"

The Tampa Tribune. "It was supposed to be the shining example of downtown Tampa's revitalization. A luxury condominium with a name recognizable around the globe. On Tuesday, the developer of proposed 52-story Trump Tower Tampa joined three other condo projects mired in bankruptcy. The filing is yet another sign the waterfront Trump Tower Tampa may never see light of day.'

"Court documents list SimDag's debts between $10 million and $50 million. It estimates more than 200 creditors, including scores of buyers who plunked down 20 percent deposits on condos sold for up to $6.5 million."

"The property is prime waterfront land, but selling it in today's market could be tough. SimDag paid $16 million for the property in 2004. Patrick Berman, senior director for Cushman & Wakefield in Tampa, said recently that the property would likely fetch only $10 million to $12 million in today's market, even though developers may have invested as much as $25 million in infrastructure on the site."

"Trump told The Tampa Tribune on Wednesday that he is disappointed SimDag filed for bankruptcy and still wishes his name was on a condominium in Tampa. He said he expects the land eventually to be sold at auction. If that happens, he said, he would like to bid on it and build a Trump Tower himself."

"'It's a real shame it has come to this,' he said."

"The condos were originally priced between $700,000 and $6.5 million. Half of buyers' 20 percent deposits were put into escrow so they could be returned. The rest was turned over to SimDag and used for site preparation.

Several buyers have sued, trying to get their money back. Developers have given some buyers half of their deposits. Tampa buyer Joyce Williams said she got back half of her $129,000 deposit and is 'devastated' SimDag has filed for bankruptcy reorganization. She doubts she will ever see the rest of her money."

"'This has been a nightmare,' said Williams. 'I can't afford to lose that kind of money. I have a kid in college. This was my retirement money.'"

"Swimmers will have the option of wearing nothing at all at the Arbors at Branch Creek, a complex of 390 homes that landed on the idea to help move units in a down market. One pool is being set aside for nude swimmers, sunbathers and hot-tub users, said Christine Pirkle, director of sales with Eden condominiums, the project's developer."

"It will be several months before the nudity rules are put in place, Pirkle said. Landscaping is needed to keep out prying eyes, for one thing, plus condo owners must approve. But there are few owners among all the renters; developers hold a number of units."

"Eden purchased the property three years ago with a condo conversion plan in mind. Then, said Pirkle, 'The market went in the toilet and nothing was selling.'"

"Eden came up with a new strategy, 'to set us apart from the thousands of other condos out there,' she said."

"Rumors spread that the whole complex was going clothing optional, sparked by a provocative posting under Lifestyle in the developer's online promotional material."

"'You're going to be very comfortable with our dress code,' it says. 'Our residents are welcome to shed more than their inhibitions as they enter the gates of Eden. Because when our residents come home after a busy day in the working world, they want to completely unburden themselves, shed the trappings of the outside world ... and be totally free.'"

"That's not true, Pirkle said, and the language is being tweaked."

"Some residents of the complex were unaware of the plans. 'I think that's something they should probably ... let us know,' said Justin Gralnick."

The NWF Daily News. "Home foreclosures continue to soar on the Emerald Coast and stymie the overall real estate market. In May, Okaloosa County recorded 164 home foreclosures. That is nearly three times the number of foreclosures recorded during the same month in 2007."

"Walton County recorded 158 foreclosures in May - nearly four times as many as were booked in May of last year. If June follows a similar trend, both counties could surpass in the first half of 2008 the total number of foreclosures in all of 2007."

"Santa Rosa County registered 112 foreclosures in May - a 45 percent increase over the same month last year. 'Pretty eye-opening numbers,' said Don Howard, Okaloosa County's clerk of the circuit court."

"Experts say the main cause of the spike in foreclosures is that many people purchased second homes or condos when real estate was booming with the intention of reselling them quickly for a profit."

"But when real estate sales slowed, those investors were often stuck making an additional mortgage payment with no buyers in sight. Those who could not afford it now face foreclosure."

"'Frenzy is probably the best word,' said Cliff Chaplin from the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors as he describes the boom."

"'I've told people real estate isn't like day trading (on the stock market), and people were treating it that way,' he said. 'Some of those properties would be sold two or three times before they were even built.'"

"Economist Rick Harper, director of the University of West Florida's Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development, agreed. 'The condo market is in a lot more pain,' Harper said. 'And I think they're overshooting on price, so those will actually fall below normal.'"