June 22, 2010

HBB On The Road To Florida

This thread will be forwarded during my trip through Florida for the purpose of communicating with local bloggers, posting observations and photos. Let’s call this the Shadow Inventory Tour. Pics will be posted on Picasa.

The News Press. “Some struggling homeowners could get as much as an 18-month reprieve from their mortgage payments when a federal program starts distributing $23 million earmarked for Lee County in a few months. Mike DeGregorio, who bought his Cape Coral house in 2006 for $211,000, said he hopes to take advantage of the program. The house is appraised at only $38,000 by the Lee County Property Appraiser’s Office, but DeGregorio said he’s recovering from losing his electrician job as well as rotator cuff and back injuries.”

Now, he’s working but still still having trouble with his mortgage. A neighbor urged DeGregorio to simply walk away from the mortgage and live free for a year before losing the house in foreclosure. But he doesn’t want to do that. ‘I wasn’t brought up that way,’ DeGregorio said. ‘I have children, I want to live in my house.’”

The Tribune. “Dr. Jacob Siwek became disabled after he fell walking his dog in 2006. His wife stays home to care for him. The couple is left to rely on disability checks of $1,035 a month and then another $360 in food stamps. In 2007, the home Jacob bought in 1981 went into foreclosure. Their monthly mortgage is $1,400 with an interest rate of 10.55 percent. ‘I worked hard throughout my life, I paid taxes and everything,’ Jacob said. ‘So where is my government now? Why won’t they help me?’”

“As of May 31, 2010, there were 329 foreclosures in the city of Sunrise. Christel Wright, who lives four houses down from the Siweks, is also in foreclosure. She told the Commission that her husband was laid off and she is the sole provider of income. She fears that she won’t be able to keep a roof over her young son’s head. ‘I have a new address, 2006 Honda Accord,’ she said.”

“Mario Garcia, a friend of the Siweks, also attended the meeting and has helped raise awareness regarding foreclosure. A neighbor he knew for 15 years suddenly disappeared, and he found out they were kicked out of their home and left silently. ‘It’s just going to get worse and worse. In walking around the last few days…I must have seen 15 homes that were empty. You look in the window and there’s nothing there,’ he said.”

The Palm Beach Post. “Three years ago, Loxahatchee resident James Gamble was preparing for retirement. His home was paid off, he wasn’t married, and he has no children needing an inheritance. So to finance his retirement - and a summer home in West Virginia - Gamble took out a reverse mortgage, getting about $200,000 out of a house he paid an estimated $85,000 for in 1994.”

“‘I would get Social Security and I had enough to live on and pay my bills, but I couldn’t have bought a house in West Virginia for sure,’ said Gamble, 65. ‘I didn’t want to retire and just do nothing.’”

“Nearly 11,000 Floridians lost their homes to bank takeover in May, a whopping 81 percent increase over the same month last year and an indication that loan modification programs are failing, some economists say. In Palm Beach County, the number of homes lenders repossessed last month was 824, six times the amount in May 2009, according to a report.”

“Coral Gables real estate attorney Rashmi Airan-Pace said new Web-based foreclosure auctions in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties are allowing banks to get speedier sale dates. ‘It’s not good for the borrowers,’ she said. ‘A lot of homeowners acted in good faith on trial modification agreements, followed the rules, and all of a sudden they’re denied.’”

The Associated Press. “Imagine going to a house or condo you own and finding a stranger living there who claims the property no longer belongs to you. It’s happening across Florida and other parts of the country through what authorities say is abuse of a centuries-old concept known as adverse possession. In Broward and Palm Beach counties alone, adverse possession claims have been filed on some 200 homes in recent months. Three of the four people behind the claims have been arrested, and police are investigating the fourth man, who along with his father, a convicted mobster, tried to take over properties in Hollywood.”

“‘We look at this as another con job, another get-rich-quick scheme,’ said Don TenBrook, a Broward state prosecutor of economic crimes. ‘You’re starting to see them pop up all over the place. It’s been spawned by the real estate crisis.”’

“Mark Guerette of Wellington, filed notice in official county records that he was taking possession of 100 homes in Broward and three in the Palm Beach community of Lake Worth through Saving Florida Homes Inc. and two other companies. On one day last November, he filed takeover notices on 10 condos in the same North Lauderdale complex records show. Police say Guerette rented out six of the properties and collected more than $20,000 from tenants before he was arrested in April. He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of organized scheme to defraud.”

“His lawyer, Robert Shearin, said Guerette is nothing more than a good Samaritan, rescuing blighted homes. ‘The banks are letting these properties go down the tubes,’ Shearin said. ‘Here’s a guy trying to help out, and he ends up in jail.’”

The Orlando Sentinel. “The Orlando metro area, plus parts of Polk and Volusia counties, has 125 residential projects that have been idle, with no builder activity, for at least a year, a new report shows. Of those, about 15 percent are apartment or condominium projects, while the rest are housing subdivisions, according to Charles Wayne Consulting Inc. of Maitland. ‘Most of the 125 such projects …consist of those abandoned by a previous builder; however, some consist instead of fully developed sites which have never had an active builder … not even the first home built,’ the report states.”

The News Herald. “People planning to build single-family homes are beginning to reconsider as a massive oil slick spreads across the Gulf of Mexico, local builders said this week. The oil spill is hurting an industry already among the hardest hit by the Great Recession. New construction was just beginning to make a slight recovery. ‘I know of at least three projects tabled until this is resolved,’ said local builder Tom Ledman, Home Builders Association of Panama City-Bay County president. ‘Since the oil crisis began, construction has just stopped. If it’s really bad, it will affect all the tourism in Bay County. Ultimately, that will affect housing as well.’”

The Naples News. “A Naples beachfront homeowner filed a class-action federal lawsuit Thursday seeking at least $5 million from BP and others to reimburse Florida homeowners affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Cynthia Joannou, trustee for The Cynthia Joannou Revocable Trust, filed her lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers. Joannou, a North Naples Realtor who sells properties in Collier and Lee counties, also alleges buyers of coastal homes are watching the growing oil slick and asking for guarantees before purchasing homes, while some Realtors are offering oil-spill addenda allowing contract cancellation or a delay of closings up to 30 days if signs of the spill show up within 48 hours of a closing.”

“Joannou, a Gulf of Mexico beachfront property homeowner, has a home on Lely Barefoot Beach in North Naples. Records show she purchased the Jumento Cay Lane house for $372,500 in 1997. Real estate ads show Jumenta Cay Lane condos are listing for $3.4 million. Property records show the most recent sales were $4.3 million in December and $3.4 million in April 2007. Joannou’s home was last listed for sale in 2003 and the listing was extended several times before it expired in July 2006.”

The Herald Tribune. “The Justice Department announced Thursday that it has arrested 485 people across the nation in a mortgage fraud sweep, though no charges were brought against anyone in Manatee, Sarasota or Charlotte counties. An effort similar to the so-called Operation Stolen Dreams occurred two years ago, when the agency and the FBI announced widespread arrests of more than 400 people.”

“It was not until the following month that federal prosecutors moved against Sarasota real estate investor Neil Mohammad Husani, indicting him and three partners on charges of mortgage fraud and money laundering. Criminal attorneys and other observers expect a similar pattern this time. ‘The FBI tends to make a big splash in major media markets first. I’m sure investigations are proceeding in Sarasota. They may just may not be as far along,’ said Jack McCabe, a Deerfield Beach real estate consultant.”

“After a year-long investigation, the Herald-Tribune reported last summer that at least 37 separate groups in Sarasota and Manatee counties were involved in artificially inflating the value of real estate. They sold properties to associates at higher prices to get more loan money than would have been otherwise possible. All told, the groups defaulted on more than $450 million in loans. There is no doubt that more players will be arrested in Southwest Florida and across the state, said Daniel Castillo, a Tampa lawyer who defended one of the members of Husani’s circle.”

“‘I would be shaking in my boots right now,’ Castillo said. “There is no way these people will be able to get away with what they did. They crippled the nation.’”

The St Petersburg Times. “Sang-Min Kim, a tattoo parlor owner who made a fortune flipping homes at the height of the real estate boom, was indicted by federal officials on Wednesday and charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire, mail and bank fraud. A six-page indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office accused Kim of operating a far-reaching scam that involved numerous buyers, sellers, lawyers, banks and real estate professionals. The multimillion dollar scam was first revealed by the St. Petersburg Times in 2008 as an example of how mortgage fraud contributed to the Tampa Bay area’s housing collapse.”

“The indictment said Kim flipped about 100 homes between January 2005 and October 2008. Of those transactions, 80 involved fraud that cost lenders about $6.4 million, the indictment stated. ‘It’s one of the biggest and one of the more significant mortgage fraud cases we’ve done in the last year,’ said Steve Cole, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida. ‘There’s a conspiracy there, so we’re not done.’”

The Wall Street Journal. “Housing markets that have escaped the brunt of home-price downturns may not be home free. A new report shows that the ’shadow inventory’ of homes, with delinquent mortgages that have yet to go through the foreclosure process, is growing fastest in areas that have so far avoided the biggest home-price declines, according to a report by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s.”

“Mortgage companies could be forced to reduce their prices on these foreclosed homes as they work through that supply, and as more of those homes sell, that could continue to put pressure on prices. At the top of the list: the New York City area, where at the current rate it would take 103 months to clear the shadow inventory of loans that are more than 90 days delinquent or in foreclosure.”

“After the New York region, Miami has the largest backlog with a 62-month supply. But unlike New York, Miami’s shadow inventory has fallen from its March 2008 peak of 129 months. New York’s backlog has held at more than 100 months since early 2008. The biggest increase in shadow inventory came in Dallas, which had a 43-month supply, up from 19 months in September 2008. Other cities with big increases in recent months include Atlanta, Boston, Denver and Charlotte. Shadow inventory has remained elevated, but hasn’t increased much, in both Seattle and Portland.”

“Nationally, foreclosure timelines have swelled over the past two years as lenders deal with rising piles of delinquent loans and as they are under pressure to modify those loans and avoid foreclosures. But so-called ‘judicial’ states that require banks to get a court order in order to foreclose, including New York, New Jersey and Florida, have seen foreclosure timelines grow even larger.”

“‘The big problem of course in the New York metro area is that we have not had the re-pricing that the West Coast has had,’ says Daniel Alpert, managing partner at Westwood Capital LLC, an investment fund. ‘This is very similar to what happened in the early 90s where the crisis moved regionally from one area to another.’”




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150 Comments »

Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-18 13:24:11

I just hit the ground running here by Busch Gardens. First thing I see is a sign by the road that says ‘new 3-2 house available now - $39,000.’ I’ll get a pic and post it later.

Comment by snake charmer
2010-06-18 14:41:36

The neighborhood in the immediate vicinity of Busch Gardens is not the best, but I think they may have omitted a preceding “1″ from that number. Looking forward to the photo!

Comment by nunya
2010-06-18 15:04:51

driving around Tampa, you see lots of handwritten signs for older block houses for around $35-45K or so….. they tend not to be in the best neighborhoods, it’s pretty much a given that the sign isn’t anywhere geographically close to the house being advertised (i see signs for these crackshacks over in Pinellas as well).

i’m looking forward to the picture too. those are Cape Coral prices! of course, in Cape Coral you could get a reasonably decent house in a half decent neighborhood for that. it’s not that grim up here….yet.

Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-18 17:59:37

This sign isn’t handwritten and there are a bunch of them. It did say new, so I’m not sure what the deal is. I should call I guess.

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Comment by arizonadude
2010-06-18 18:28:31

Sold.Can you make me an offer on that hot deal while you are there?

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-18 19:57:55

Here’s the website. The link to the house is a PDF.

http://www.steinercommunities.com/

 
Comment by george kengott
2010-06-19 09:43:55

The PDF flyer shows that the $39,000 houses are on a “land lease.”

 
Comment by Jill
2010-06-21 12:16:25

And they’re also ‘manufactured homes’ so what we’re talking here with ‘land lease’ is pretty much a fancy name for a trailer park. Kind of like how timeshares got renamed ‘interval ownership opportunities’

 
Comment by potential buyer
2010-06-22 14:09:06

Are they for 55 and over?

 
 
Comment by az_lender
2010-06-20 19:22:39

My latest Lee County clients paid about $80K each for houses of more than 2000 sq ft each. I’m possibly just a sucker, but $40/sqft seems good for an area which, as nunya says, looks reasonably decent.

(Shouldn’t say “my clients paid” …naturally THEY paid only 20% of that, az_lender paid the other 80%, so far.)

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Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-18 18:01:26

‘not the best’

There is a wide selection of malt liquor. Even some I’ve never heard of like Four Loko.

Comment by DennisN
2010-06-19 10:35:05

On a long-ago trip to South Carolina, I bought a bottle of “Double Barrel”, a fortified “wine” made there. It’s sort of like cough syrup mixed with Manischevitz. If you can’t grow vinifera you shouldn’t try to make wine.

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Comment by awaiting wipeout
2010-06-22 15:16:41

Merideth Whitney- Double Dip In Housing and other Doom & Gloom
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1526836676&play=1

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Comment by TCM_guy
2010-06-19 09:37:46

After some googling, I have surmised that the $39k houses at Park Place (11540 Morris Bridge Road in Tampa right in front of the Lamplighter by the River Community) are a pre-manufactured Steiner Community.

 
 
Comment by scdave
2010-06-18 13:51:06

My favorite pic so far…#83

Comment by Arizona Slim
2010-06-18 14:05:12

Yeah, especially when you consider how hard it is to find an agent to sell that razor wire for you. You’re pretty much forced to go the FSBO route.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-18 18:04:59

Yeah, that one cracked me up. It is just off 7th street in east Austin. You can’t blame the guy for trying to cash in.

BTW, just before I left I ran into this guy who upon asking me where I was from, said ‘me and some other people flipped a house in Queen Creek (AZ). We bought it for 180k, sold it for 350k, and I just saw it listed in the low 100s.’ I almost said something like ‘I’m sure the people in QC appreciate your contribution’ but didn’t. It made me wonder how outsiders feel about the meltdown when they kinda brag like that. I guess there is no shame involved, but still.

Comment by arizonadude
2010-06-18 18:32:03

I heard austin is like berkley.Did you see anyone banging bongo drums?

Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-18 18:37:31

No, the old days of Austin are gone. I remember when they banned camping on Guadalupe and stopped letting you carry beers around on 6th street. Now it’s all about money. Years ago I felt like the PTB in Austin desperately wanted it to be another Dallas or Houston, and that’s what they got.

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Comment by Mugsy
2010-06-19 10:29:25

When we lived in Austin there was a reason that nobody would live (or admit to living in) East Austin: It was freakin’ dangerous!

Kyle/Buda with massive foreclosures? Wow, what a surprise! Didn’t everybody want to live there? Hell, they built an HEB so what else could you want???? :)

 
 
Comment by Big V
2010-06-18 21:12:16

I used to live in Berkeley. It’s mostly crack addicts and prostitutes, actually. If it weren’t for the University, then Berkeley would just be Richmond.

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Comment by Professor Bear
2010-06-19 06:55:13

Now come on, Big V, Berkeley is a considerable step up from Richmond (where I used to live!). For one thing, while some parts of Berkeley may not be that great from a crime standpoint, there are parts of Richmond where angels fear to tread.

Nonetheless, your point about the University is a good one; not sure Berkeley would be any different than its neighbor to the south, Oakland, or its neighbor a few communities to the north, Richmond, were it not for the cultural oasis of Cal. (Similar case in point: University of Chicago relative to Hyde Park)

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2010-06-19 07:05:39

P.S. I used to occasionally conduct soccer practices at Richmond High School (in broad daylight, of course). The security fence around the school’s perimeter gave one the feeling of being inside a prison yard or perhaps somewhere behind the Iron Curtain before the Soviet Empire’s demise.

 
Comment by DennisN
2010-06-19 11:10:20

My mother was born in Richmond CA - in 1920. I fear the neighborhood has gone downhill quite a bit since she was born there.

 
Comment by In Montana
2010-06-19 14:49:25

After careful deliberation, I determined that the maximal time to live in California was circa 1910. All downhill since then.

 
Comment by DennisN
2010-06-19 15:40:24

Don’t you mean optimal?

My grandparents lived in the SF bay area from roughly 1900 to 1970. They got the best of it all.

 
Comment by aNYCdj
2010-06-20 10:51:50

Well then demand your students speak English and not ghetto….Its an idea which worked in the past…

————————————————
“We do not want this incident to be an excuse to further criminalize the young people of this city,” Murillo said.

 
Comment by In Montana
2010-06-22 12:51:47

Dennis, yes that is a better word choice. I spaced it out..

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by pressboardbox
2010-06-18 14:35:43

Does our underwater state feel any different from your underwater state? Just general vibe-wise?

Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-18 18:15:43

I’ll have to have some time, but there are some odd things I’ve noticed. Like the way streets are set up. I have to drive at least a block to turn around off any given corner.

Next to where I’m staying there is a BP gas station, which I’ve never seen before. They have regular unleaded, premium and extra salty.

Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-18 20:05:38

OK, I have to say that the food selection/mix here is awesome. I went out to a place that said it was a mexican grill, but it was obviously caribbean influenced. Very fresh and unique, with nice touches like cantaloupe, tamarindo frescas and great horchata. Seafood aficionados would be pleased too I think.

Comment by Big V
2010-06-18 21:00:57

That sounds awesome. I wish I was going to Florida!

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Comment by Eggman
2010-06-18 22:16:44

In June? Are you nuts? (no offense Ben…)

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-18 22:20:30

It’s actually nicer here than Austin or Dallas, weather wise.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2010-06-19 07:19:38

“…weather wise.”

To consider a town as a residential location choice, one should think not only about the typical weather, but also the extremes. For instance, I would guess both Austin and Dallas have the occasional twister, but no hurricane threat?

By contrast, San Diego has had no hurricanes back to 1858 and only the occasional small twister. However, you do need to be on the lookout for killer bees.

 
Comment by CA renter
2010-06-19 16:12:29

Oh, wow! Didn’t know there were so many “killer” bees here in San Diego (they mentioned about 80%!).

 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2010-06-19 07:12:50

The thing I like about the Tampa/St Petersburg area is the feel of being so close to the water. I recall eating at a little restaurant where one could either park your car in the parking lot out front, or moor your boat to the dock on the canal behind the restaurant and enter from the back door. I looked into the water by the dock out back, and it was vibrantly alive with plankton and other marine life.

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Comment by Bill near tampa
2010-06-22 12:01:33

Yes, these are mostly nice restaurants.

But there is also a McDonalds in Madeira Beach with its own boat dock ! Maybe the only one in the country.

 
 
 
Comment by Dale
2010-06-19 06:06:04

“They have regular unleaded, premium and extra salty.”

….extra salty??? Right from the gulf to your tank!

Comment by DennisN
2010-06-19 11:12:39

I keep waiting for some enterprising cartoonist to portray Obama striking a tar-baby labeled BP.

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Comment by az_lender
2010-06-20 19:27:34

BP/Amoco/Arco stations often owned independently but pay some royalty to BP for use of the name.

 
 
Comment by Lip
2010-06-19 08:31:10

State of the State of AZ

Just had Star$$$ with a friend that has inside knowledge regarding the finances in AZ. Our budget is out of whack but he did say something interesting. He said,

“People from all over the US are sending in contributions to “fight the lawsuit” that the Fed Gov is going to bring against AZ. In other words, the state found a new source of money, people willing to fight for the right to find out who is illegal and who is not.

I thought it was interesting that anyone would give donations to a state.

Comment by AnonyRuss
2010-06-22 07:40:22

It looks like Dem Terry Goddard picked the wrong year to run for Arizona governor. He was ahead in some polls several months back, but I doubt the post-1070 momentum could ever be overcome. I would like to see the fiscal hawk Dean Martin (no relation) get the Republican nomination, but that appears unlikely at this point.

I wonder how the McCain primary challenge from the right will play out. I have already received two negative full-color mailings from the McCain camp and the primary is not until late August, so I am guessing that his campaign is flush with cash.

Comment by Arizona Slim
2010-06-22 09:47:10

Terry Goddard ran a lame campaign against Fife Symington back in 1990. Unfortunately, I think we’re seeing a repeat performance this year.

And, IMHO, a big part of the problem can be laid at the feet of the Arizona Democratic Party. Talk about the wimpy party. I don’t think these guys and gals have a bit of fight in them. Or any idea of how their demeanor comes across to others.

Case in point: Yesterday, I told you about the Sunday morning meeting I went to that featured a state legislator. This lady ran for city council back in 2001. I remember her well because she’s the only city council candidate who ever came to my door for a chat. I really appreciated that gesture.

Well, she won her primary, and then she had to face a real whack-job of an opponent in the general election. (I say this as someone who has a good friend who worked for said whack-job. It wasn’t an easy experience for him or anyone else on the staff.)

You’d think that the Democratic Party would be jumping up and down to support her in her campaign vs. Madame Whack Job. You would be wrong. She had a dickens of a time getting call sheets or walking maps from the HQ.

And she lost.

After the election, she set about rebuilding the local Democratic Party. She succeeded to the point that when Gabrielle Giffords was elected to Congress, this lady was appointed to replace her.

But there’s still work to be done. Take, for example, the mayor of Tucson. That’s an office that’s been held by a Republican since 1999.

During the last election, back in 2007, the local Democrats didn’t even bother to find someone to run against him. And this is in a city with a 2-1 Democratic registration advantage!

I’ve mentioned previously my pre-Election Day trip to the local Democratic Party HQ. That was last November, and I was there to make calls on behalf of the city council member who defeated Madame Whack Job back in 2005. She was running for re-election, and it was a close race.

The party headquarters looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since Jimmy Carter was President. (State legislator’s comment this past Sunday: “We don’t clean it until after the election.”) To which I said, “I’ve never been to the Pima County Republican Party headquarters, but I’ll bet it gets cleaned on a regular basis.”

Needless to say, I cut my afternoon of phoning on behalf of the city council member short. The Democratic Party HQ’s lack of cleanliness really turned me off. Especially the sign in the bathroom that noted a virus going around the building, which also advised people to wash their hands liberally.

So, from this registered Independent, here’s a bit of advice to the Arizona Democrats: Lift your game. You did it to get Janet Napolitano elected back in 2002. Yes, that was a lot of work, but you succeeded.

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Comment by AnonyRuss
2010-06-22 12:51:45

“You’d think that the Democratic Party would be jumping up and down to support her in her campaign vs. Madame Whack Job. You would be wrong. She had a dickens of a time getting call sheets or walking maps from the HQ.”

Having helped some Republicans with AZ elections in the past, I would say that the Arizona GOP is only slightly more on top of things than that. As of a few years ago, you had to buy voter lists on CD, but now filed candidates can access a “Voter Vault” online thing and narrow stuff by all sorts of parameters.

“The Democratic Party HQ’s lack of cleanliness really turned me off. Especially the sign in the bathroom that noted a virus going around the building, which also advised people to wash their hands liberally.”

Party buildings of both major parties tend to be kind of dumps, some more than others.

I like to watch housing bubble influenced Pinal County politics. Plenty of new houses, plenty of new people, but more of the former. Not all that many local jobs. The Democrats ran the show for many, many years, but now they are approaching voter registration parity. The new sheriff (2008) was the first Republican to win countywide there, perhaps ever. He appears on the Fox News Channel more than some of their correspondents, mostly regarding the alien smuggling corridor that runs through his jurisdiction. Most of the judges, supervisors, and others remain Democrats.

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Comment by EdSTS2000
2010-06-18 14:38:06

Ben,

Wish you a good time here in Tampa. Plenty of burst bubble around here!

Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-18 14:57:11

edst, you should meet up with us. I hope to round everyone up and I’ve got to pick a day, so let us know!

Comment by pressboardbox
2010-06-19 08:02:05

Ben,
I could possibly be up for a meet-up. How long are you going to be here? Are you coming off the west coast or staying in that general area for your visit?

Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-19 12:01:24

I’ll consider any place right now, but I am leaving early on the 23rd, so the sooner the input the better. Thanks.

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Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-19 12:22:45

How does Ybor City tomorrow (Sunday) around 2 PM sound? Sorry I haven’t been able to reply to everyone’s e-mails yet. I’ve been traveling all over town taking photos of FB remnants.

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Comment by snake charmer
2010-06-19 14:18:52

I will be there whatever the time.

 
Comment by parrish dave
2010-06-19 18:59:08

I’ll have to join you in spirit only. Check out Apollo Beach/Ruskin if you can.

 
Comment by pressboardbox
2010-06-20 13:46:14

I’m sorry Ben. I just now checked the blog. Did you manage to get anything going yet?

 
 
 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2010-06-19 07:08:21

I was in St Pete’s Beach on business back in 2006; the bursting bubble was already fully apparent at the time, based on the great prevalence of UHS “For Sale” signs posted in front yards.

 
 
Comment by BottomFisher
2010-06-18 14:40:39

#81 But what if I don’t like orange?

Comment by oxide
2010-06-18 15:02:51

Then you can live in the red one next door?

And that’s far to Euromodern for any part of Texas, even Austin.

Hmm, so Ben’s in Florida now, and will be arriving in DC I think on Wednesday. I’m still puzzling over where to have dinner on that Friday.

Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-18 22:01:28

I think the place next door is selling llantas usadas.

Comment by aNYCdj
2010-06-20 10:58:49

I’m waiting for the Polly/Ben meet up….

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Comment by nunya
2010-06-18 14:54:47

don’t forget to visit Pinellas County if you can, Ben…… we still have plenty of deniers hanging on…

Comment by Ol'Bubba
2010-06-18 17:43:52

Just for grins I looked up my old house in Clearwater on Zillow. I sold the house in ‘02 for 135k. The zillow estimate peaked around 260k in ‘06. The current zillow estimate is 143k.

Even Zillow is showing the 33764 zip code is almost back to 2003 pricing.

 
 
Comment by Bobby Mac
2010-06-18 15:01:08

Been in central florida right by the orlando airport for 5 years now….formerly lived in long island, nyc and hoboken. If u have a chance, look at the number of luxury cars (BMW’s, Lexus etc.) in
Florida. What is the average salary here? And what kind of vehicle are you driving? Peolple here have had to HELOC the crap out of their crapboxes and spent it all on luxury goods. They are all screwed….!

Comment by Big V
2010-06-18 21:08:07

That’s cool. Between the HElOCs and the tar balls, I’m think some good buying opportunities are on the horizon in FL, no?

Comment by Professor Bear
2010-06-19 06:59:18

If you are a long term buyer and can envision a day twenty years from now when all the dead animals and black tar are gone from the beach, I would think the next couple of years would offer great opportunities to purchase Gulf Coast real estate at dead marine animal discount prices.

Comment by pismoclam
2010-06-19 18:48:29

Remember being raised in LA in the early 40’s. A polluted town south of San Pedro/Willmington was called Seal Beach. Now it’s cleaned up (sort of) and property values are soaring,

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Comment by Professor Bear
2010-06-19 07:03:24

“…look at the number of luxury cars (BMW’s, Lexus etc.) in
Florida. What is the average salary here?”

Same story in San Diego, thanks to (I am guessing) a large fleet of leased BMWs and other luxury automobiles — gotta put on the ritz if you are going to fit in a wealthy area like SoCal!

When I was a kid, my sisters and I used to play a game called SlugBug, where we counted the number of VW beetles on the road. Nowadays, my kids play a variant where they count the number of Beamers. I guess living rent-free in a home with a defaulted mortgage frees up a lot of cash for those monthly lease payments. :-)

Comment by scdave
2010-06-19 07:56:34

living rent-free in a home ??

Just yesterday…Heard of a family living in their 2800 sq.ft. house…18 months and counting…

Comment by rusty
2010-06-19 10:05:05

We hope ours goes that long, the clock starts ticking Aug 1st.

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Comment by SaladSD
2010-06-20 00:24:09

We called it Dead Bug! still enough old vee dubs around to play.

 
 
Comment by mikey
2010-06-19 07:13:20

It has been said that Florida doesn’t really have any major industry.

BS, I say that they easily have enough minor and major RE Associated Fraud to last them another 30 years.

:)

Comment by mikey
2010-06-19 07:33:50

“The Tribune. “Dr. Jacob Siwek became disabled after he fell walking his dog in 2006. His wife stays home to care for him. The couple is left to rely on disability checks of $1,035 a month and then another $360 in food stamps. In 2007, the home Jacob bought in 1981 went into foreclosure. Their monthly mortgage is $1,400 with an interest rate of 10.55 percent. ‘I worked hard throughout my life, I paid taxes and everything,’ Jacob said. ‘So where is my government now? Why won’t they help me?’

The good doctor and wife bought their home in 1981 and went into forclosure when ?

He’s on SSDI and gets medicare ?

Where did their money and lifetime earnings really go ?

I thought that Florida residents in-state homes were explicitly exempt assets in bankruptcy cases.

Sheesh…I am surely missing something on these well researched and thoroughly presented MSM hardship housing stories.

:)

Comment by mikey
2010-06-19 07:48:10

South Florida Sun-Sentinel)By Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“Couple who asked Sunrise to help foreclosure victims is suing the city: Jacob and Jani Siwek say sidewalk was uneven, causing fall four years ago…

Filed Dec. 2 in Broward Circuit Court, the lawsuit claims Jacob Siwek suffered permanent injuries after falling on an uneven public sidewalk on Jan. 15, 2006. The Siweks blame the city and neighbor Annette Watkins, who owns a house near where Siwek fell. They are seeking unspecified damages…

The pair say their lawsuit is nobody’s business and has nothing to do with their proposal for a benefit concert to help foreclosure victims.

“What does his lawsuit with the city have to do with stopping foreclosure?” Jani Siwek said.

“What is the relevance?” Jacob Siwek asked. “What does that have to do with anything?”

The Siweks admit they didn’t mention the lawsuit to Wishner when he visited their home earlier this month. Nor did they mention it when they came to City Hall on June 8 to pitch their idea for the concert
…”

“The fact that they are suing the city and asking us for help bothers the living heck out of me,” Commissioner Don Rosen said. “The ones who end up footing the bill are the people of Sunrise.”

Commissioner Sheila Alu noted that the city has already paid for a ramp to make the Siwek home handicap-accessible.

The city allocated $25,000 from its Community Development Block Grant program to pay for the wheelchair ramp and other home improvements to accommodate Siwek’s disability.

Alu is incredulous that the Siweks failed to mention they were suing the city.

“It takes a lot of gall,” she said”

Verrry interrresting…

:)

http://tinyurl.com/33yyg5n

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Comment by mikey
2010-06-19 08:43:28

The guys an real entitlement hustler IMHO. Google his name and see what he’s been up to.

My link and comments didn’t go through.

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4229005

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Comment by DennisN
2010-06-19 10:48:55

This article bothered me too. He must have been out practising since 1981 since he qualified for a mortgage. Where did at least 25 years of doctor’s income go? He looks to be at least 10 years older than me, so why isn’t he on regular SS? If he’s really that old, he should have 40+ years of doctor’s income to comfortably live on.

Or maybe he’s a quack, e.g. doctor of chiropractic or some such thing. Notice how the MSM reported avoided stating what kind of doctor he was. I have a doctoral degree but never hold myself out as “Dr. DennisN” - that would be laughable.

A house purchased in 1981 with a 30 year mortgage should be almost paid off now. He claims the mortgage has a 10+% interest rate so it likely is the original 1981 mortgage. (Heck I had one of that vintage and re-financed in 1982 to around a 6% mortgage.)

Mikey, I don’t see anywhere in the article that he’s on medicare, so we don’t know whether he’s younger or older than 65.

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Comment by DennisN
2010-06-19 12:58:32

A news search turned up that he lost his job as a “therapist”.

 
Comment by mikey
2010-06-19 13:26:41

“The couple is left to rely on disability checks of $1,035 a month and then another $360 in food stamps”

I believe that Social Security Disability Insurance is $1,035 per month regardless of adults age if he has paid into the system a certain amount of quarters. He would therefore be eligible for to Medicare as disabled unable to work and not collecting normal SS and would also eligble for food stamps as a family of two if her she has no reporable income .

I’m not sure of this but I do have a niece that works for SS in WI and I have heard her throw some figures out and so that’s my guess.

:)

 
Comment by Arizona Slim
2010-06-22 16:33:41

Okay, so this guy lost his job as a therapist.

Years ago, I remember listening to a radio call-in show hosted by Dr. Dan Gottlieb. I believe he was a clinical psychologist.

Anyway, Dr. Gottlieb had been in an accident (automobile, I believe), and he was a quadriplegic after that. He probably needed quite a bit of help with his daily activities, but he kept right on practicing.

Matter of fact, Gottlieb counseled singer Teddy Pendergrass after the 1982 accident that left Pendegrass paralyzed from the waist down.

And what’s my point? Becoming paralyzed doesn’t stop you from practicing as a therapist. It didn’t stop Dr. Gottlieb.

 
 
Comment by wmbz
2010-06-19 16:25:30

“I paid taxes and everything,’ Jacob said. ‘So where is my government now? Why won’t they help me”?’

Hey dumb ass, where do you think your checks are coming from? Now sign up for a section 8 house and shut the hell up!
Sad & pathetic mentality.

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Comment by mikey
2010-06-19 17:01:00

I see a listing with that name and dates of purchase are close enough.

Even according to zillow, they’re only down about $130k at current low tide levels from their zillow highwater mark of $268k of march 1, 2006.

I wonder what they paid for it in 1981.

;)

 
 
Comment by Doug in Boone, NC
2010-06-22 16:13:50

Dr. Siwek, open wide so that Mommy can drop another worm into your mouth!

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Comment by Real Doctor, MD
2010-06-25 10:10:53

“Dr” Siwek is not a real doctor, but a therapist. There’s a trend now for everyone who sees a patient to call themselves a “doctor” (pharmacists, therapists, nutritionists, nurse practitioners).

Another sign the country is going to hell when everybody’s egos are oversized.

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Comment by scdave
2010-06-19 08:00:55

Florida doesn’t really have any major industry ??

It could be easily argued that they have the most lucrative industry in the country…

Transfer Payments…The entitlement that just keeps giving…

 
 
 
Comment by saywhat
2010-06-18 17:20:02

Due to shadow inventory you don’t see how many houses are under. Drive through subdivisions going up Bruce B Downs toward Wesley Chapel, Tampa Palms; I believe just about every house for sale is under and then there are many more that are just sitting there, as you drive up to Meadow point which is full of little houses you’ll see how neighborhoods are visibly becoming unkempt due to rental property and owners who simply don’t have the $ to maintain their property. It really is hard to predict how this is going to pan out. Add this gulf disaster to the mix and we have some really scary prospects that open up.

Comment by EdSTS2000
2010-06-21 10:04:47

Meadow Pointe is a rather variable neighborhood in terms of bubble bursting. MP 1 and 2 aren’t too bad (MP1 built and sold 1998-99, MP2 2000-01). It’s Meadow Pointe 3 and 4 (built 2003 and later) that are run over with FB’s and shadow inventory.

Down the road on Bruce B. Downs, the Live Oak development is one of the worst I’ve seen. Townhouses there peaked at over 250k, selling at foreclosure auction for 92k. Other parts had 1 of 5 houses with a UHS key storage padlock on the door, and in the back there were whole sections with 1 built house for every 20 empty lots that have been that way for at least 3 years.

 
 
Comment by swguy
2010-06-18 17:54:14

Public records tell the tale of the tape. Many are under water and a whole lot are so deep that they can never swim to the top unless they can hold their breath for 10 years, and that will probally if lucky break them even.

Comment by Professor Bear
2010-06-19 06:56:48

I am waiting for the announcements regarding personal debt forgiveness. Uncle Sam has to get the FBs back on their feet so that Megabank, Inc can start extending them more high-interest-rate credit offers! Without plankton to feed on, whales die.

 
Comment by rusty
2010-06-19 10:07:28

Saw a short sale today in Ruskin; 2006 new price 330k, now you can have it for 100k cash. But then you’d have to live in Ruskin…

 
 
Comment by arizonadude
2010-06-18 18:30:39

Heres your sign!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
Comment by shabone
2010-06-19 05:48:28

What is the over all thinking on the Gulf spill and the realestate market in Destin Florida? or the panhandle in general. Would love to pick up a property, or maybe move there from Atlanta(cesspool)? I know of a complex, Harbor Lights, prices are down 30%. This is a new condo building, half empty. Thanks

Comment by Jack McCabe
2010-06-20 22:55:13

Here’s my take on what the oil spill will mean to Florida. From today’s (Monday) Sarasota Herald Tribune.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100621/columnist/6211013?p=all&tc=pgall

Comment by aNYCdj
2010-06-22 05:48:00

Thanks jack:

We all hope you are dead wrong and all the oil instead flows onto Havana beaches…but then what would Castro do?

 
 
Comment by Jill
2010-06-21 12:29:50

Destin is the bizarro border between Ft. Walton Beach, which is actually in pretty good shape because of a scheduled Air Force draw-up and has seen modest housing price increases in the past year, and the beach towns, which are still in melt down mess mode unless you’re single family direct oceanfront.

The military folks will be down here whether there’s oil or not. I’d hold off on anything on the vacation side of things until if?when? BP gets a successful relief well in place in August. Those Redfish Lake condos that had originally sold for $1.2 million+ don’t really seem to be moving much now even with alleged list prices down in the high $200K range.

Do not believe the hype over the new Panama City Beach airport. It’s all a big scam by the St. Joe company and the realtors to try to prop up the market in the medium range, but once people discover that Panama City Beach is still a pit, I can’t see the returning vacation traffic they seem to be assuming.

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-19 07:02:01

Republican Marco Rubio wants to be a Senator from Florida where he can — among other things — tackle the nation’s economic problems. Turns out Rubio has trouble taking care of his own finances. A home Rubio co-owns with a Florida congressional candidate is in foreclosure after the co-owners missed five mortgage payments.

Rubio bought the Tallahassee house with state Rep. David Rivera in 2005. They paid $135,000 for the property with money borrowed from Deuthsch Bank National Trust and still owe $134,795 on the loan.

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/27427

Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb-thrower
2010-06-19 10:47:42

“A home Rubio co-owns with a Florida congressional candidate is in foreclosure after the co-owners missed five mortgage payments.”

I guess it is too late for them to qualify for the government program that lets home owners keep their homes for 18-months without making any mortgage payments? Too bad…

Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-20 05:48:10

‘Independent gubernatorial candidate Lawton “Bud” Chiles III is a defendant in seven lawsuits stemming from a construction business currently in bankruptcy and a foreclosed condo development. Most of the suits are either foreclosure cases or claims that Chiles and his partners did not pay leases for construction equipment. Chiles said the business failures came during an “excruciatingly difficult period” in his life and that the sharp housing downturn contributed to much of their problems.’

‘Anybody with any sense knew the economy was slowing down and we were headed into really tough times,” said Gene Langston, a real estate agent in Carrabelle, a town on the Gulf coast about 50 miles southwest of Tallahassee. “I will give him credit for one thing. He had enough sense to know when to get out. Now, whether that makes you qualified to be governor or not, I really don’t know.’

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/18/2832741/florida-gubernatorial-candidate.html#ixzz0rOfqwTzd

 
 
Comment by snake charmer
2010-06-20 07:26:10

No politicians of any party gave any credit whatsoever to housing bears, because development interests own state and local government here. Not only that, the politicians also put their money where their mouths were, and bought right into the bubble.

 
 
Comment by Sammy Schadenfreude
2010-06-19 07:30:11

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100619/ap_on_bi_ge/us_chinese_drywall_7

A Miami couple has been awarded $2.4 million in damages in the first (but by no means last) lawsuit over noxious Chinese drywall that turned their $1.6 million “dream home” into a nightmare. This will open the floodgates for similar lawsuits.

Comment by Hwy50ina49Dodge
2010-06-19 08:48:03

“This will open the floodgates for similar lawsuits”

American income from the toxic distributors of the “TrueBambooLie™

Goes good with coffee… ;-)

 
 
Comment by Lip
2010-06-19 08:35:41

Phoenix HBB Meeting - June 28th???

I was wondering if anyone is working on a place to meet and the time it might happen?

I would like to suggest

RockBottom
Desert Ridge
21001 North Tatum Blvd
Phoenix, AZ 85050

Comment by Cassandra
2010-06-19 17:11:17

That would work for me.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-21 11:00:01

It looks my flight into Phoenix is being delayed, so I won’t arrive until later in the evening, which might make this meetup impractical. I am planning on making a trip to Scottsdale, maybe a few weeks later. I will keep everyone posted.

Comment by Arizona Slim
2010-06-21 11:22:34

Hint-hint: Why not head south to oh-so-cool Tucson? I’d be happy to have a meetup here.

 
 
 
Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb-thrower
2010-06-19 10:45:42

“Some struggling homeowners could get as much as an 18-month reprieve from their mortgage payments when a federal program starts distributing $23 million earmarked for Lee County in a few months.”

How does one enter the lottery for this 18-month reprieve from paying rent? Is it open to renters, or is it discriminatory against the poor (i.e. only available to wealthy homeowners, not to poor renters)?

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-19 11:58:55

Got some FL pics up. I could have taken photos all day in Land O Lakes. I’m off to the west and then working my way back down to Tampa proper.

Comment by wittbelle
2010-06-19 13:34:59

Photo 97: “This house is not secure.” LOL
Some of your comments are hilarious.

Looks like a swell move up for a raccoon family!

 
Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb-thrower
2010-06-19 14:16:43

Looking through those photos of recently built and abandoned Garage Majals reminds me, what keeps the share prices of the major Wall Street sponsored home builders from collapsing?

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-19 15:47:52

I just got some photos up from W FL, N Port Richey, Tarpos Spring,s etc. I’m sitting in Clearwater now and heading back to Tampa. I’ll have some more comments on the pics later.

Comment by sm_landlord
2010-06-19 16:42:12

Are you planning to travel any farther down the West coast?

Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-19 17:43:09

I’m going to Lee county in a day or so.

Comment by sm_landlord
2010-06-19 17:58:45

I’ll look forward to seeing your impression of that area. I have seen conflicting reports about the effects of the fallout on that area.

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Comment by howiewowie
2010-06-19 20:22:30

Sales are through the roof, but prices are through the floor.

 
Comment by az_lender
2010-06-20 19:35:49

I concur w/ howie. Lee Cty is one area where prices may match real people’s incomes. My most recent client there is borrowing only 1.5x annual salary.

 
 
Comment by howiewowie
2010-06-19 20:24:39

North Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres contain the worst aspects of the housing collapse.

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Comment by snake charmer
2010-06-20 07:28:06

Driving down I-75 in Lee County, as of 18 months ago, was an absolute horror — enormous areas clear-cut for unbuilt subdivisions. I think you could see the denuded landscape from space.

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Comment by aNYCdj
2010-06-20 14:25:24

Snake… think how many of those acres were producing farms and orange groves etc….sad

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by JackO
2010-06-19 22:52:42

You wonder what the people are thinking. a non-profit here wants to build low-income, moderate income , housing, with a unit cost of $330,000, and you look at zillow and you see lots of homes for sale at 200-250,000. Complete and ready to move into. Not new, but not decrepit either.

Median income here is 80K.

Must be money in the construction financing somewhere!

 
Comment by Man from Long Island
2010-06-19 22:54:17

Article from WSJ above says:
“‘The big problem of course in the New York metro area is that we have not had the re-pricing that the West Coast has had,’ says Daniel Alpert, managing partner at Westwood Capital LLC, an investment fund. ‘This is very similar to what happened in the early 90s where the crisis moved regionally from one area to another.’”
As someone waiting, waiting, waiting for prices to drop on Long Island, can people compare to California? Why the difference that this suggests? I still see median prices as twice what they were in 2001 in most places around here… has California reverted much more strongly, and if so why?

Comment by Ol'Bubba
2010-06-20 06:10:46

Man from Long Island-

Do you know if the Republican party in Nassau County is still shaking down their members on the public payroll for 1% of their salaries?

They were notorious for that when I was growing up on LI.

Comment by Man from Long Island
2010-06-20 06:34:23

Dems have been in power in NY for some time until most recent election after Republican machine was swept out some 8 years ago finally. But after ever-increasing school taxes that recently reversed at the county level, even though they nominally don’t control the schools… People just finally got sick of it. Ironically, the school budgets continue to pass in record numbers… I just do not get it, people are blind. There must be some sanity restored between public and private sector benefits and wages.
Don’t know about illegal shakedowns, but IMO the single biggest problem on Long Island (and probably NY state) as far as government goes is that the unions totally have the state in their thrall. I considered myself to be Democratic in leaning in the past, but wish and pray that NY could get a governor with NJ Chris Christie’s attitude about the teachers unions.

Still wonder why NY Metro prices haven’t cratered to degree other regions have. Been watching and waiting to move up, and don’t really want to rent…

Comment by Kirisdad
2010-06-22 09:41:16

LI’s prices have cratered, just not in the wealthier hamlets.

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Comment by potential buyer
2010-06-22 17:03:34

I can see some comparatives. I live in Silicon Valley in CA. — Bay Area — yes prices dropped but didn’t come close to their 2002 levels. Yet. And given the mentality around here, they likely never will. (There seems to be no shortage of buyers). I do expect another price drop, but still not to 2002 levels. I hope I’m wrong for personal reasons.

So maybe you are experiencing the same thing. Unfortunately, much as I can’t stand realtors, they are correct in one respect — it really is location, location, location.

 
Comment by smudge
2010-06-25 07:41:14

I have been wondering too “man from long island” … people are still asking crazy prices for their homes! EVERYONE is making less, rampant unemployment, etc. And homes are still outrageous. Not to mention that the taxes are ridiculously high!

my friends (who are clueless about financial matters and markets) tell me that they don’t feel prices here will drop anymore. Oh no? based on what? that they havent yet?

i am always bummed that on this message board, there is very little talk about the east coast.

if i lived in arizona, my wishes would have been answered and i would have a home but here on long island, starter homes are still double or triple what they were in 2001. :-(((((

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-20 04:24:34

It’ no big surprise, but I can say this is the hardest hit foreclosure market I’ve seen with my own eyes. (Although I haven’t been to Phoenix in many years). Looking at the failed condos, etc, reminds me of the Texas bust in the 80’s. One thing that is even more similar; the vast amount of empty commercial space.

North Port Richey seemed like it was in trouble. More empty everything, stalled condos and townhouses. Clearwater Beach was packed and you wouldn’t know there had been a bubble except for the mammoth amount of new condos. How many of those are underwater, I couldn’t venture, expect to say they looked very expensive.

The Land O’ Lakes area is a mess. The one house with the glass shattered in back was a god example of shadow inventory. It had obviously been abandoned for a while and had been boarded up in more than one place. The carpet had been removed and I could see feces on the floor. Yet it hadn’t been secured by the lender. The elderly lady next door eyed me suspiciously, and I asked her about it. She was hesitant to say that it had been vacant for along time and ‘didn’t know anything about it.’ The yard was in terrible shape and she has to live with it. I can’t see how that situation benefits anyone. Just down the street on a vacant house there was a city notice on a window dated 2008.

Comment by snake charmer
2010-06-20 07:34:22

If you come to my neighborhood, we could go to my favorite vacant McMansion, which I discovered while walking my dog and which has been empty for well over a year. One of the back doors is open and I have been inside the house, after hanging out for a moment by the green pool and the cabana, which was stocked with whiskey until someone else discovered that the house was open. Really creepy stuff — the owners left in a hurry and didn’t take all their personal belongings. I haven’t gone upstairs because I’ve seen too many horror films.

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-20 08:48:18

I’m down in the Ybor district now on Sunday mid-day. Some people are meeting me down here, so if anyone is interested send me an email

thehousingbubble@gmail.com

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-20 18:47:19

I am planning on visiting Lee County tomorrow. If anyone would like to meet up there, please e-mail me.

thehousingbubble@gmail.com

 
Comment by neuromance
2010-06-20 18:49:31

“After a year-long investigation, the Herald-Tribune reported last summer that at least 37 separate groups in Sarasota and Manatee counties were involved in artificially inflating the value of real estate. They sold properties to associates at higher prices to get more loan money than would have been otherwise possible.

This is why the lender must be tied to repayment risk. Separate lenders form repayment risk and you get bad loans for which taxpayers will pick up the tab. It’s just that simple.

I just heard on the radio that in 2010, Fannie and Freddie and FHA bought 96% of mortgages. Michael Farr was discussing the upcoming important financial data that would be released. 96%. Yikes. Doesn’t bode well for future losses.

Comment by az_lender
2010-06-20 19:46:38

One provision of the pending Fin Reg bill will require mortgage packagers to retain a 5% interest in what they package. This provision up for hot debate during the present “reconciliation.”

I wouldn’t call the loon originators “lenders,” neuromance, if they’ve not got the risk part. And you’re right, a big problem of this past decade has been people writing notes they wouldn’t be keeping. BUT the very notion that GSE’s and banks are “too big to fail” is a worse problem IMO.

 
 
Comment by Jack McCabe
2010-06-20 19:04:08

Ben,

If planning to come over to SE Florida, let’s get together.

Jack

 
Comment by Walt
2010-06-20 21:59:33

Visited this condo yesterday, not bad really, location good, 10 units, believe it was converted apts, but they are block construction, two problems only one unit looked to be occupied, second assoc fee $350 according to realtor because no one paying them.

http://www.floridamoves.com/Property/propertydetails.aspx?SearchID=14204004&PropertyGUID=34667C86-18DF-4FD5-9EFA-8291ECE1CAE0&RowNum=1

 
Comment by Big V
2010-06-21 18:43:31

Jesus Christ. You should see some of the pics of Florida Ben just posted. Those guys have it baaaaad over there.

Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-21 19:20:02

Yeah, and this was the one and only subdivision I drove into. They stretch for miles on both sides of the road. I could have taken a hundred photosin this one development.

Prepare to be shocked. I know I was.

I’m looking at Sarasota/Bradenton in the morning and St Pete’s after that. Then I get ready to fly into Baltimore.

Comment by snake charmer
2010-06-22 07:41:50

Those pictures are exactly representative of what we face here. Even if you don’t write a book about this Ben, you can still put together a coffee table book of glossy photos!

I really enjoyed our small meet-up on Sunday. Being a part of this blog community has been immensely educational and rewarding and cathartic, far beyond what I ever could have imagined when I first decided to post. Thank you again for what you’ve done.

Comment by rusty
2010-06-22 11:13:36

Snake,

the name of the poster I was trying to remember was Neil, who always added ‘got popcorn’.

What ever happened with him?

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Comment by nunya
2010-06-21 21:42:20

Lehigh Acres is the absolute worst of FL, they are in depression mode down there. not that Ruskin and other Tampa Bay exurbs are all that much better, they are just not as far along as Lehigh is.

what is interesting to me is to see how the prices in Trinity (Pasco County exurb of Pinellas County and Tampa) and southern Pasco have fallen. in the MLS there are many 4-5 bedroom 2500-3000 sq. ft. houses there now for anywhere between $170-200k, sometimes less. two or three years ago these houses would have been $300-400k, and it was a desirable upper middle class area (if you wanted new housing and you didn’t mind the drive). i have a feeling they will fall further since the market has dried up in the past month or so.

Comment by rusty
2010-06-22 11:17:55

Wow those photos of Lehigh are just astounding. We have 3 current foreclosures in my ‘hood, but none of them even come close to that degree of bad. There is one that has potential, the previous owner shot himself and died there. The neighbors park their monster trucks in that drive now, but the house isn’t boarded up. Give it 2 or 3 more years unchecked and that house go really bad, but for now it’s just an eyesore.

But for Lehigh, bring out the bulldozers.

 
 
Comment by scdave
2010-06-22 11:58:20

Yeah….The pic’s in Lehigh Acres sum it up quite well…Its easy to understand now the impact this has on communities…I am not quite sure what one of these houses would be worth…What would you do with it after you bought it…Who would want to live there ??

Nice work Ben and be safe on the road…

 
 
Comment by Doug in Boone, NC
2010-06-21 20:02:12

Mike DeGregorio, who bought his Cape Coral house in 2006 for $211,000, said he hopes to take advantage of the program. The house is appraised at only $38,000 by the Lee County Property Appraiser’s Office.”

Mike, show us a picture of this Taj Mahal that you paid $173,000 to much for!

 
Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb-thrower
2010-06-22 00:38:01

“At the top of the list: the New York City area, where at the current rate it would take 103 months to clear the shadow inventory of loans that are more than 90 days delinquent or in foreclosure.”

Sounds as though New York City ain’t as different as it used to be any more…

Comment by ProperBostonian
2010-06-22 10:02:35

You sound like Yogi Berra: “The future ain’t what it used to be.”

 
 
Comment by pressboardbox
2010-06-22 10:49:59

The rise and fall of Lehigh Acres:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/growth/article1025808.ece

for you, Ben.

Comment by wittbelle
2010-06-22 12:49:49

I don’t know about you all, but this article makes me want to run out and buy a house! Imagine sinking your life savings into a brand new home, only months later to have contaminated water flowing from your faucets and there is not a darn thing you can do about it except pack your belongings. Well, at least they don’t have methane gas in their plumbing like these people:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U01EK76Sy4A&NR=1

 
 
Comment by ride the river
2010-06-22 13:38:04

Ben and I found a few foreclosures East of I-75 near Bradenton. Photos to be posted later today. He is by now up in the St. Petersburg area.

 
Comment by Reuven
2010-06-22 14:14:21

Wow! 18 Months of FREE RENT! Assuming a very modest $1000.00/month value, I presume the IRS will be getting 25% of $18,000 from each of them?

 
Comment by DennisN
2010-06-22 19:46:56

May I ask a dumb question?

Why do houses in Florida have to be “winterized”?

It’s not like the pipes will freeze there.

I could understand “hurricaneized” houses during hurricane season where they nail up plywood over the windows “just in case”.

Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-22 19:52:21

I don’t understand that either. The rule is if it’s over 2000 feet in elevation it must be winterized. It may be that the winterization gets all the water out of the pipes and that’s better if it’s gonna sit for a long time. I saw a lot of winterization stickers in FL.

 
Comment by DennisN
2010-06-22 23:35:08

Who promulgates such rules - the FHA? That’s an odd one. The highest point in FL is 345 feet (in Britton Hill) so nothing there should qualify under that 2,000 feet rule.

Fargo ND is at 900 feet but I’d be darned sure to winterize a house there!

Maybe putting antifreeze into the toilets and P-traps acts as a mosquito control step in FL.

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2010-06-22 20:55:47

So I got up the last pics from Sarasota, Bradenton, St Petes Beach, St Petersburg and a few from my drive to do the final gas up in the rental car here in Tampa. That last run has me thinking that I could drive down any street in this state and find foreclosures. Anyhoo, I’ve enjoyed my first visit to this great state. It has a lot going for it; friendly people, diverse culture, natural beauty, great food, the outdoors, lots of room. As for the housing, I can say that you get a lot more for your buck here right now than most places and that’ll probably get even better. Of course, the economy is in bad shape, but that’s to be expected. I appreciate the posters who took the time to meet me and I look forward to seeing you all again.

Comment by scdave
2010-06-22 21:32:37

Pic 198….Squatter on the door step…You crack me up Ben…Nice work…

Comment by DennisN
2010-06-22 23:43:33

What’s with the armored window covers on that place? Is that some kind of common thing in FL to cover windows during hurricane season? I like how that plastic netting under the house prevents critters from moving in.

 
 
 
Comment by rusty
2010-06-23 10:31:26

Oil may be the final nail the Florida housing coffin

www dot cnbc dot com/id/37736499

 
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