Archive for February, 2011

Double Dip Recession? Find out March 9th How World Events Affect Underwater Homeowners

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

As we prepare for Oppenheim Law‘s March 9th Foreclosure and Short Sale Workshop, one thing is clear: Florida real estate is not immune to world events.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting a sluggish start to selling season, typically kicked off by Super Bowl Sunday. Given the volatile international headlines this week, this news hardly comes as a surprise. From revolutionary tremors spreading throughout the Middle East to the actual tremors of Christchurch, New Zealand’s 6.3-magnitude earthquake, the global outlook seems bleak at best.

Double Dip Recession

Here on the home front, rising gas prices fuel unemployment as every 2.5 cent increase in gas prices translate into 25,000 more Americans out of work. To make matters worse, the housing crash may have been even worse than initial estimates have shown.

Economists are discounting the possibility that recent buying momentum will propel GDP growth to the necessary 5-plus percent necessary to sustain job growth. Latest figures are predicting unemployment to stubbornly remain above 9% nationwide until well into 2012 as well as a continued surplus in housing inventory.

Are we seeing the beginning of a double dip recession? Join Oppenheim Law and Weston Title on March 9 to discuss the latest headlines and economic predictions as we navigate month three of the year of the short sale.

Florida Real Estate Trends: Renting, Buying, Financing at Your Own Risk Later

Friday, February 18th, 2011

The Florida real estate market just can’t catch a break! With Obama’s new federal housing finance plan unveiled, including its proposal that government phase out the support of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it’s unclear what the impact of such a move would be on the fragile housing and mortgage market. But one thing is for sure: Financing a home will continue to get more expensive.

While risk is high, so are the stakes… and the fees! Higher down payments, a lower cap on the guaranteed mortgage amount, and higher risk fees on associated with Freddie and Fannie.

What does this mean to you? If you are:

Cash buyer:
Home prices may have hit bottom, so now is a time to leverage the power of a cash offer in negotiating with desperate sellers who just “want out”, taking advantage of the banks’ desire to get short sales done NOW rather than later.

Financing:
Rates are also likely to rise as the economy improves and the rock-bottom interest rates that have been protected by the Federal Reserve Board edge up. Like we said in our post this week, millennials have a better chance to get a return on investment over time, while baby boomers and Gen X might not ever recover.

Renting:
This just may be the sweet spot with the best value for some.

Selling
It’s still a Buyer’s market, but with banks ready to deal on short-sales now is the time to get on with your life. Further, in some cases it may be possible to figure out a way to do a short sale and still take advantage of the attractive prices that the market has to offer.
(more…)

Housing Outlook: Millennials Optimistic; Nightmare Continues for Others

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Owning a home is still part of the American Dream…for some. While reports indicate the real estate and foreclosure crisis might be over for certain homeowners, for others it continues like a bad dream.

The Huffington Post reported that “Despite signs of continued housing market distress, most homeowners and perspective buyers are optimistic about the housing market, according to a survey by real estate website Trulia.” (Scroll down for a graphic.)

In the biannual American Dream Survey, 78 percent of homeowners said their property was the best investment they had ever made. But 20 percent said they felt trapped in a home that was worth less than their mortgage, and 14 percent told surveyors they would walk away from their homes if they could.

The people least likely to be affected by the housing crisis, 18 to 34-year-olds referred to as ‘millennials,’ were most optimistic about a recovery.

According to Trulia, 26 percent had become more positive about owning a home over the past six months compared to 18 percent of 35 to 54 year-olds, and 22 percent of baby boomers.

The key, of course, will be employment. The younger Millennials have much better job prospects than those over the age of 40. In fact, some people over that age will likely not fully recover from this Great Recession unless they heed the advice of the President (and the South Florida Law Blog) that:

1. The rules have changed
(more…)

Egypt Era Ends and Fannie Mae Says: You’re Fired to Fort Lauderdale Law Firm

Saturday, February 12th, 2011

Wael Ghonim, the Google engineer who was kidnapped and eventually released by the Egyptian regime, be nominated for the Nobel Peace prize

A crazy week it’s been once again.

In Egypt President Mubarak resigned, but while a military government is not American-style democracy; it shows the power of a thought connected to millions of people through social media such as Facebook and Twitter and good old fashioned passive resistance.

In fact, let’s be the first to suggest Wael Ghonim, the Google engineer who was kidnapped and eventually released by the Egyptian regime, be nominated for the Nobel Peace prize for such meritorious peaceful activism through the application of new social media technology.

The Egyptians would make Gandhi, King and Mandela proud as yesterday ironically marked the tribute to Mandela’s 21st anniversary of his release from prison.

Mr. Mubarak’s resignation opens a period of uncertainty not only for Egypt and countries such as Saudi Arabia, Israel but also the U.S., for whom Mr. Mubarak has been a key anchor of Middle East policies.

The real estate market braces itself for the outcome of this black swan and what’s next.

The week’s next big story is that the entire method by which mortgage loans are funded and the future of Fannae and Freddy are in play. This is a $7 trillion question mark.

Finally, a second major foreclosure mill fell this week as Fannae Mae announced that the Fort Lauderdale firm of Ben-Ezra & Katz, P.A. was fired due to various improprietes.That announcement came as a surprise to some considering the Ben-Ezra firm seemed to do better quality work than many of the other “mills” that have not yet fallen.
(more…)


PHP/MySQL Components, WordPress Plugins, and Technology Opinions at TravisWeston.com

Bad Behavior has blocked 1547 access attempts in the last 7 days.