South Florida Law Blog

Florida Real Estate Goes From Bad to Worse… Securitized Trusts Face Scrutiny and Housing Crisis Now Worse Than the Great Depression Questions Roy Oppenheim. From Bad… Florida real estate is not alone. Serious questions are being raised about the validity and legality of mortgage backed securities, the negotiable instruments at the center of our country’s mortgage boom and subsequent bust. […]

‘Hope’ stands as a fleeting memory for most Americans as unemployment stagnates, housing prices fall and economic growth looms as a lofty promise unfulfilled. And as we get closer to the 2012 Presidential Election, it’s becoming clear that the ideological political landscape that dominated the 2008 election cycle will be eclipsed by a menacing elephant in the room: the economy. […]

Mortgage Rates Set Fresh 2011 Low After Jobs Report Fixed rate home mortgage loans dropped for the eighth straight week to a new low for 2011 amid concerns of another economic slowdown this year, according to data from Freddie Mac and a report by The Wall Street Journal. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.49%, down from 4.55% last week and […]

All the top headlines from popular topics around the web: that’s AllTop. And now the South Florida Law Blog is listed on this popular directory of top news sources. Fresh off the South Florida Sun-Sentinel Best of Blogs Awards, Oppenheim Law is proud to announce we are part of the feed to the AllTop Real Estate topic: http://real-estate.alltop.com/ What is […]

Nearly 40% of homeowners who took out a second mortgage are underwater on their loans, but the news surrounding second mortgages isn’t all doom and gloom for Floridians, says Florida foreclosure defense attorney Roy Oppenheim. Second mortgages refer to any loan taken out on a property that is subordinate to the first mortgage, and include home-equity loans or lines of […]

Hurricane season just started, but Florida homeowners are already seeking shelter from a string of gloomy real estate headlines. The biggest story this week: Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index released new data indicating the real estate crisis is far from over. National housing prices have hit lows not seen since 2002, falling 4.2 percent in the […]

The good: All we can say is, you never know! When the real estate market collapsed, Miami’s downtown epitomized the worst excesses of the building boom. Glittering new towers sat mostly vacant. Today Miami’s downtown real estate is booming and bustling with life and commerce thanks to foreign investors and renters. A report by the Miami Downtown Development Authority indicates […]

What is killing Florida real estate? Excess inventories and falling home prices. House prices have been continuously falling for the first time in 70 years, and South Florida homeowners should expect the trend to continue. A surplus inventory of houses caused by Florida foreclosures and short sales is the mortal enemy of home prices. Lower prices are needed to sell […]