Florida properties

[Sasha]

I vacationed quite a few times in the Florida keys during the 90's.  The keys are very expensive and sort of the 'cottage country' of mainland Floridians.  Food and water is brought in from the mainland, making those necessities expensive.  Except for hotels, fishing, restaurants, dive shops and of course 'Sloppy Joes' where Ernest Hemingway apparently liked to 'hang out', there isn't much there.  I've always wanted to retire there, but haven't managed my wealth properly and won't be retiring for at least another 20 years.

I do not know other areas in Florida and know the larger cities are crime infested.  The area of Englewood and Port Charlotte seems to be a newer area.  Similar to Toronto, Florida seems to have 'prime real estate' areas and areas that do not appreciate much, even in a very good economy.  Florida also has several trailer parks, manufactured homes and 'mobile homes most of which are being foreclosed.  The one I was looking at is neither foreclosure or short sale and is selling for 89K.  I compared it to homes in an area that I know to be more affluent (Naples and West Palm beach) and similar homes were selling for more than 200K or 300K.  I do not have anyone to contact in Florida and don't know if I should trust a realestate agent since, unlike Toronto, Florida has a lot of racial issues and crime areas.  In some areas, real estate does not appreciate due to these factors.

What type of area is Port Charlotte?  Is it a 'newer' area on its way to becoming established?

[Sasha]

What is a 'short sale'?

I have been looking at Florida properties since Steves announcement of his southern acquisition. A short sale means the seller's lender is accepting less than the mortgage balance to release an existing mortgage. This doesn't  mean the lender will accept your offer, even if the seller accepts it.  Lender acceptance may depend on the percentage of your down payment, closing date, etc. Proof of funds may be required.
As a general rule, the seller will  be in default on their mortgage and must have stopped making mortgage payments, before a lender will consider a short sale. Next is the foreclosure process.
There are great deals down there.  I was looking for a house on the water ie gulf access canal but I am now looking for a house as close to the beach as possible, on a key. 

Key Largo is close to the mainland.  The middle keys such as Big Pine, Marathon etc... are nice places to vacation and even people from the mainland have fishing boats and vacation homes there since there is no nice places to go fishing or any nice marinas that are not part of a hotel on the mainland.  Key West is very touristy and if you're homophobic, then not the place for you.  Also lots of young people that do not know what year it is, the hippies of the new milenium.  When I was there, I parked where there was a meter and had difficulty putting the money in, I was about to move my rental car to another spot, when a van appeared, I asked for help.  A couple of older teen or 20ish guys jumped out and smashed the meter with a baseball bat and said, 'now you don't pay the establishment'.

[Pfm1011]

Key west is nice but the problem is that even at 50 cents on the dollar the houses are insanely overpriced. There has been hyper inflation there for a decade or more and a "bargain"  there is really no deal. 
 
You had better love the lifestyle down there to justify paying for it and hope it stays trendy for the gays. Should it fall from the "gay graces" then you wont be able to give away a house down there. One can only rehash old "hemmingway slept here" stories for so long.

[Sasha]

I'm not old enough, but there's quite a few 'gated communities' down there.  They range for 80K to 1 million, depending on the type of amenities and type of home (mobile, manufactured or solid).  Many of the keys are built up, there are very few homes on Big Pine Key or marinas, as these areas develop, the prices of other homes will go down.  Since the real estate bust in the states, the keys are probably the only place that haven't gown down, homes have maintained their values, keep in mind the retired people have a fixed income, they do not have jobs to lose, many of the them are living of past investments, 401K plans and good pensions.  The other places in Florida have gone down quite a bit and of course, our dollar isn't as high now as it was a couple of years ago but a lot higher than it was in the 90's.

PFM:  Aren't you also part of a mutual fund, stock market investment forum that also deals in real estate?  Whats their website?

[Pfm1011]

"PFM:  Aren't you also part of a mutual fund, stock market investment forum that also deals in real estate?  Whats their website"

Absolutely not  in any mutual fund or stock group

As per the keys not going down, they have tanked in Key west but it is still silly due to the last ten years,  The upper keys are nice , and  a lot closer to Miami

[Pfm1011]

Just finished watching a Dan Rather on HD net...Nasty  ....10000  foreclosures every month , apparently 1 in six home is negative equity..

the one thing they showed was this company who handles  auctions,..definately worth a visit

  several hundred foreclosed houses auctioned every  day..

http://www.ushomeauction.com/

[markymark]

Over the past year I've seen nothing but negative.
But I haven't looked at 10,000 a month though.
That would cost large.

[26.2]

 

apparently 1 in six home is negative equity..

That is bad enough.  I heard today. in the States, one in four mortgages are worth more than the value of their homes.  It is hard to see the end of this road.  An r/e agent in Florida gave me a list today of  places, the last one "to be auctioned on the court house steps".  That is a little impersonal for the family home.
My guess... I think things are going to get worst down there.
One way Canadians can help..... buy florida properties,   or US properties in general,   This puts dollars back into their economy.  I am not that altruistic and this is such a land slide it likely won't make a huge difference. However if anyone feels they are a taking advantage of the situation or guilty... don't,  they need the money.   It is a buyers market down there. If you ever wanted a place in the sun it might be a good time. Just remember,  location.

[Sasha]

You know what they say 'if the U.S has a cold, Canada eventually catches it', we are not immune to the deepening recession in the U.S.  There are still people that have job security, mostly those that work in the public service.  Perhaps Obama will make a difference in his 4 year term and see the U.S out of a recession and into recovery, Canada will follow.

[Buy Florida]

The agent who said it was to be auctioned on the court house steps could have told you it was a Judicial Auction, which is the final stage in foreclosure in Florida. Usually the bank holding the mortgage is there to make sure the bids will at least pay them what they are owed, so hard to get a deal.  If it does not get any other higher bids, the bank buys it, then it becomes REO - bank owned, and goes back on the market through them or a realtor.

As it happens, I just had a book published on how to buy property in Florida for Canadians, called Buy Florida, so it is interesting to see this thread on here. Not sure what the rules are on advertising, but if anyone is interested in the book, contact me, or the publisher site, - rosseaupublishing.com, or ask questions in this thread.

Cameron

[Pfm1011]

10000  foreclosures every month

OOPS that was a big typo...its 10000 EVERY DAY

[Buy Florida]

On the other hand, NBC news this week was reporting that 92% of home owners still were current on their mortgage payments, giving some perspective to the alarming numbers thrown around in the press.

[Sasha]

Like I said.  There are many mobile homes in Florida and people can't make their payments.  When the economy was good, a lot of people and developers started building vacation homes in Florida, now they can't afford the payments.  I've seen a few foreclosures that needed TLC.  If they can't make their mortgage payments, they certainly can't afford maintenance.  I've seen foreclosures homes that aren't completely built, no kitchen or bathroom cabinets etc...  someone started building and couldn't finish.

[Pfm1011]

NBC news this week was reporting that 92% of home owners still were current on their mortgage payments

Im not really sure if thats really worth bragging about.. 1 in 6 is in negative equity but 92% of our people havent lost their house yet...their 401K is worth zero and they have to work till they are 200 years old ..but they are still current on their mortgage..

Thanks to the wall street boys..the american dream is in the crapper....Of course the Canadian and US banks are opposing the European countires demand to reform the banking and add oversight.  Imagine they want to raise the bank equity above 10%  , Next they will want to raise the federal reserve equity above 10%   . How is  a country to survive if they cant have a currency based at 1% equity  99% credit

"you can bail us out..but no way are you to regulate us"


What drives me nuts in trying to look at Florida /South Carolina houses is everybody wants you to sign up and pay..Up here I get power of sale listings everyday for free ,  Down south the agent gets a commission but they want a subscription fee too..

Might be time to send the wife down to do some shopping.

[Frank]

NBC news this week was reporting that 92% of home owners still were current on their mortgage payments

Might be time to send the wife down to do some shopping.

I send my wife shopping, but she only gets as far as Grove City Penn. and then comes home with an armload of tax free clothing.  After gas, hotel, meals and exchange It's usually not as great a deal as she thinks...but hey, it's an outing.