Broward County: Online Foreclosure Auction Gets Off to Rough Start

As of 10:01 AM, yesterday, a Coral Springs condo went back to the lender for $700. And with that Broward County ushered in online foreclosure auctions.

According to the cheif executive of RealAuction.com, Lloyn McClendon, about 3,000 users flooded the website, Broward.realforeclose.com, because of all the local media coverage. This influx really slowed the process down. Normally, first-day users in a given county total about 800. McClendon states: "It was rocky."
 
The company made some changes, and McClendon expects a smoother today. Now, bidders can register by clicking here. Registration is free, but the county will charge a $60 fee to each winning bidder to cover the cost of automating the auctions. More than 2,200 people had signed up as of Monday.

Participants must meet minimum bid requirements set by the lenders that own the homes. Otherwise, the banks will take back the properties. You have to be careful before you start bidding. Read the warnings posted on Broward's website.

Some novice bidders in Miami-Dade and other counties thought they were getting great deals, only to learn that they mistakenly bought condominium liens and properties with other mortgages.

Chief executive of Miami Beach-based Sterling Equity Realty, Robert Ziehm, stated:

“I would like to send out a stark message to the good people of Broward. Seek the advice of professionals and educate yourself thoroughly before making your first bid. ... This is not eBay.”

Boca Foreclosures for 03/31/2010

Boca Foreclosures for 03/31/2010

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/2BA Condo in Boca Raton, FL, $215,180

For Sale: 2BR/2BA Condo in Boca Raton, FL, $215,180

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/2BA Condo in Boca Raton, FL, $57,240

For Sale: 2BR/2BA Condo in Boca Raton, FL, $57,240

Listings From our Luxury Foreclosure Division

Listings From Our Luxury Foreclosure Division

Broward County Begins Online Foreclosure Auctions TODAY (03/30/2010)

Broward County begins online foreclosure auctions Tuesday, a move expected to clear the backlog of cases and attract people worldwide who can now bid on properties from home.

The online system is expected to help stimulate the housing market by giving more potential buyers access to the properties, proponents say. More bidders could lead to higher prices.

"I think it's better to have an auction where the bidders are all far apart rather than in one room," Broward Clerk of Courts Howard C. Forman said. "Look at how popular eBay is. People really get into it."

Whether the system will result in higher prices isn't clear yet. Online sales are running smoothly in Palm Beach County, spokeswoman Julie Rosborough said, but she can't yet say whether prices are trending up.

The new system should speed foreclosure sales, crucial in a state where court administrators estimate 500,000 property foreclosures are pending.

In Broward, more than 5,300 homes are scheduled for auction and 2,000 more will be set soon, the clerk's office said.

The online system could put as many as 1,000 homes a week on the block, more than double the 420 homes auctioned at the courthouse each week in January, Forman said. Other counties across the state also are seeing similar increases.

Florida was the first state in the nation to put foreclosure sales online, following a change in state law in 2008.

To participate in Broward auctions, bidders must register at http://www.broward.realforeclose.com. Registration is free, but the county will charge a $60 fee to each winning bidder to cover the cost of automating the auctions. More than 1,000 people had signed up as of last week.

In an online auction, participants enter their highest acceptable bids. The system then checks all bids and enters one on behalf of each participant at $100 more than the next highest bidder. Broward's online auctions are scheduled four days a week, the same as courthouse auctions.

Participants must place a deposit equal to 5 percent of their estimated high bid for each property they want to buy. Bidders don't need special computers or software, and most Broward County libraries offer free online access.

Broward will make small changes in the auction format after seeing the process play out in Miami-Dade, said Lloyd McClendon, chief executive of RealAuction.com. The Plantation-based company runs the online auctions in Broward, Miami-Dade and 11 other Florida counties.

Miami-Dade's online auctions initially were extended when any bid was made with less than 30 seconds remaining. But some potential buyers kept making nominal bids that prolonged the auctions, so Broward's sales will be extended only when a last-second bid exceeds the minimum amount the lender will accept for the property, McClendon said.

Broadening the pool of participants will increase the number of novice bidders, who can get themselves in trouble if they don't know what they're doing, auction organizers say.

Despite notices on the Miami-Dade website that bidders must conduct their own research before the auctions, some novice bidders have mistakenly bought condominium liens and properties with other mortgages, McClendon said.

RealAuction.com has increased the number of those warnings on the Broward website, although the message still may not get through to everyone, he said.

"Some people choose not to read or do their own research," McClendon said. "I don't know how to help those people."

That's why training is key. The clerk's office has offered training, and information on more training is available at RealAuction.com.

At the Broward courthouse until now, the auctions were held in the bustling lobby. The area was sectioned off by yellow police tape, and experienced bidders frequently brought their own collapsible chairs.

"I think a lot of the regular guys are sad because they'll miss the camaraderie," bidder Sal Zambito said.

But Mike Libidinsky, of Pembroke Pines, said the move online won't come soon enough. He recently attended his first courthouse auction, hoping to buy the house across the street from his.

"I just don't see the purpose of physically being here," said Libidinsky, who lost the house to another investor. "When it's online, I can take a break from work. I wouldn't have to take the whole day off."

The courthouse auctions were run by a handful of employees from the clerk's office, and those workers now will be free for other duties, Forman said. He couldn't say how much money his office will save. He lost 150 employees through layoffs and frozen positions last year because of budget cuts.

Miami-Dade Clerk of Court Harvey Ruvin estimates his office will save $350,000 to $500,000 a year by redeploying workers.

"I couldn't be more pleased," Ruvin said. "The second decade of the 21st century has arrived."

BROWARD COUNTY FORECLOSURES

'5 Listings Under 50K'

'5 Listings Under 50K'

NEW LISTINGS for 03/29/2010'

NEW LISTINGS for 03/29/2010

Obama Foreclosure Plan Targets Unemployed, ‘Underwater’ Homeowners

Foreclosures: Obama foreclosure plan targets unemployed, ‘underwater’ homeowners - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

6 Million Dollar Foreclosure in Pompano Beach

The owner of three apartment buildings and two vacant sites in Pompano Beach lost a $6.3 million foreclosure judgment to Premier American Bank.

According to Broward County Circuit Court records, on March 19th, the Miami-based bank won the judgment against 3204 Associates based on a $4.2 million mortgage, plus interest and fees. The case was filed in 2008.

The properties up for auction on the county’s Web Site are:

• Two apartment buildings of 2,315 square feet each at 3204 and 3208 N.E. Ninth St.
• A 5,573-square-foot apartment building at 3225 N.E. Sixth St.
• Two vacant, residential-zoned parcels at 3220 and 3224 N.E. Seventh St.

The loan was made by the old Premier American Bank, which failed in January. Its assets were acquired by Premier American Bank, N.A. as part of private equity funds.

PRICE REDUCTION: 3BR/3BA Single Family House in Deerfield Beach, FL, $159,900

For Sale: 3BR/3BA Single Family House in Deerfield Beach, FL, $159,900

Zillow: Not an Accurate Source of Price Estimates

A publication of Appraisal Journal claims that the estimates of home values on Zillow are no more accurate than the estimates of value made by homeowners. This paper is authored by a trio of University of Texas-San Antonio professors and looks at Zillow’s estimates of home values versus the actual sales prices on 2,045 single-family residential properties sold in Arlington, Texas in 2006.

Zillow obviously has issued with this report and has issued a statement. Among Zillow’s complaints are that the survey uses data over three years old and is restricted to one city, thus it is “out of date and limited in scope.” In addition, the researchers look at sales in 2006 but use “Zestimate” (what Zillow terms its price estimates) values from January and February 2007, which the company claims is “apples and oranges as it’s two separate periods of time.”

According to the paper, the average overestimation of a Zestimate is 11.67% or $15,576, which led the authors—Daniel R. Hallas, Ronald C. Rutherford and Thomas A. Thomson—to conclude, “Zillow’s magnitude of overestimation is marginally higher than the value overestimation by recent home buyers.”

The report cites data that state on average homeowners overestimate the value of their homes by 5.1% and that new owners overestimate by 8.4%. They conclude: “In most cases, Zillow should not be relied on to provide an accurate estimate of value.”

However, Zillow responded, “In the paper’s own comparison, more of Zillow’s estimates are within 10% of what the authors consider 'accurate’ (59%) vs. homeowner estimates within 10% (37%).”

In its statement, Zillow said the professors did not reach out to it to discuss its approach to home valuation, as it “would have been happy to talk to them as we are very open and transparent about both our accuracy and the intended use of Zestimates as a starting point for learning about home values.”

Mr. Rutherford stated the ideal was to get the price information as of the date of sale, but that was not possible. He also rejected Zillow’s “apples and oranges” contention.
Part of the reason for doing just one city was the data collection issue, especially in Texas, which is a “nondisclosure state,” he said.

Mr. Rutherford concluded,  that unless Zillow was willing to provide access to its database, so that the researchers do not have to go through the time consuming data collection process, it is unlikely another study using more recent information would take place. The paper does state that Zillow says Zestimates are not appraisals and should be used as one estimate of market value and the company encourages getting a valuation from a professional appraiser. Zillow’s disclaimer notes that these values are a starting point.

10 Listings Under 100K

10 Listings Under 100K

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/2BA Condo in Pompano Beach, FL, $74,900

For Sale: 2BR/2BA Condo in Pompano Beach, FL, $74,900

PRICE REDUCTION: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Delray Beach, FL, $99,900

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Delray Beach, FL, $99,900

Market Turns Away from Foreclosures and Shifts to Short Sales

Starting on April 5, the U.S. government will begin providing incentives for servicers who help borrowers facing foreclosure exit their homes gracefully outside the foreclosure process, thereby lessening the negative impact on the borrower’s credit score compared to a foreclosure.

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program provides relocation assistance for borrowers choosing foreclosure alternatives, allows borrowers to receive preapproved short sale terms before listing their property, and pays servicers cash incentives to cover administration and processing costs. However, many if not most financial institutions are not adequately set up to approve short sales in a timely fashion, leading to a very low success rate for short sales to date.

Joe Filoseta, president and CEO of DepotPoint, states:
“Our nation is in the midst of a distressed property crisis affecting millions of Americans, and we must act swiftly and creatively to either help keep people in their homes or support a homeownership exit outside the foreclosure process. It will take integrated teamwork and relationships like the one we have forged with AssetPlanUSA to have a real impact on this crisis. AssetPlanUSA’s management team has extraordinary experience with short sales and working with troubled borrowers to find alternatives to foreclosure. We look forward to working together.”

AssetPlanUSA is led by president and CEO Rayman Mathoda, a former executive vice president with IndyMac Bank, as well as managing director Ron Garber, a former agent for Re/Max. DepotPoint provides default management technology for the distressed property market. The company’s TrackPoint Platform incorporates a Web-based workflow engine and tracking system for managing default transactions, including short sales.

Securing documents has been cited as one of the biggest hindrances — if not the biggest hindrance — to converting the nation’s 1.2 million trial HAMP modifications into permanent modification status. Currently, only approximately 66,000 HAMP modifications have been transitioned from trial to permanent status.

Arvin Wijay, chief executive officer for Retreat Capital Management Group, states:
“One of the big difficulties with the HAMP program is that servicers are waiting 90 days to six months or even longer to get borrowers’ required documents. We’re working to hard to try to establish a new industry standard for turnaround times and service levels in picking up and notarizing borrower documents. We want to expedite the process.”

BRAND NEW Bank Owned Listings

NEW Bank Owned Listings - 03/25/10

Courts Seek $9.6 Million to Help Clear Foreclosure Backlog

Forida's courts are requesting a one-time payment of $9.6 million to help purge the system of backlog foreclosures and quicken a market recovery. The Florida State Courts Administration estimates 500,000 property foreclosures are pending, including 55,000 in Palm Beach County.

Without additional resources to clear the cases, judges fear the bottleneck will continue to drag down home values, which aren't expected to stabilize until the glut of foreclosures moves through the system. It's routine in Florida for foreclosures to take more than a year to settle, leaving deteriorating homes, unpaid association fees and families facing uncertain futures.

Peter Blanc, chief judge of the 15th Judicial Circuit Court in Palm Beach County, states:
"We want to be good partners in the economic recovery, not part of the problem. We want to get properties through the courts and back onto the market. The numbers are just overwhelming."

A Barclays Capital report last week stated that Florida has one of the highest foreclosure backlogs nationally, even singling out South Florida — Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties — saying it is "remarkable" that the area may only be 18% finished with liquidating its delinquent property loans through foreclosure.

Florida's lawmakers are considering the court's appeal for more money, which would come from the State Courts Revenue Trust Fund, and pay for additional case managers and retired senior judges.

Court Administrator Lisa Goodner said the Senate's proposed 2010-2011 budget includes the full request, while the House's proposal has $1 million set aside. The money would be doled out to district circuit courts based on their foreclosure caseloads.

Goodner states:
"They'll be more cases coming in while we're working on this, and there just doesn't seem to be any relief in sight."

Some housing analysts predict another wave of foreclosures this year as unemployment persists and interest-only and adjustable rate mortgages awarded in 2005 reset.

And the courts aren't the only ones looking for ways to speed the foreclosure process.

Two bills (HB 1523, SB 2270) would allow lenders to foreclose on properties without going through the courts.

According to RealtyTrac, 30 states allow nonjudicial foreclosures.

The bills, sponsored in the House by Tom Grady, R-Naples, and in the Senate by Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, are not identical, but are generally aimed at allowing lenders to skip legal proceedings unless the borrower requests that the foreclosure goes through the courts.

The lender must also meet with a borrower, if requested, and the borrower will not be liable for the unpaid portion of the loan if he or she acts in good faith during the nonjudicial foreclosure. Under the proposal, a foreclosure could occur in as little as 90-days.

Anthony DiMarco, executive vice president of government affairs for the Florida Bankers Association which spearheaded the legislation, states:
"The condo associations aren't being paid, the homes are falling apart, and people are looking at us for a solution."

In the House staff analysis, writers of the bill note many foreclosures are uncontested by the borrower, but can still get caught up in the legal logjam. However, homeowner advocates say the proposals strip the borrower of due process.

Coral Gables real estate attorney Rashmi Airan-Pace states:
"The average homeowner has no clue what to do in this process, now, all of a sudden, they aren't even getting the process."  Furthermore, Victor Tobin, chief judge of the 17th judicial circuit court in Broward County, said the legislation may have state constitutional conflicts.

Chief Judge Blanc said he doesn't want to give up due process for the sake of "expediency."

Both support the $9.6 million budget request.

Tobin statement about Florida's foreclosure crisis.
"It's cataclysmic, to be honest with you. It's a catastrophe for everyone."

PRICE REDUCTION: 6BR/3BA Multi-Family in Fort Lauderdale, FL, $69,900

For Sale: 6BR/3BA Multi-Family in Fort Lauderdale, FL, $69,900

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 3BR/3BA Single Family House in Boca Raton, FL, $259,900

For Sale: 3BR/3BA Single Family House in Boca Raton, FL, $259,900

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/2BA Condo in Delray Beach, FL, $129,900

For Sale: 2BR/2BA Condo in Delray Beach, FL, $129,900

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/1BA Single Family House in Lake Worth, FL, $49,900

For Sale: 2BR/1BA Single Family House in Lake Worth, FL, $49,900

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/2BA Condo in Deerfield Beach, FL, $59,900

For Sale: 2BR/2BA Condo in Deerfield Beach, FL, $59,900

New Home Sales at 1963 Levels

This past Wednesday, the Commerce Department stated that sales of new homes fell 2.2% nationwide to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 308,000. This is the lowest level on records that go all the way back to 1963.

Mike Larson, housing analyst with Weiss Research in Jupiter, said the housing market remains "stuck in the doldrums." Still, Miami-based home builder Lennar Corp. expects to turn a profit this year:


“Stepping back for a minute to look at the big picture, I can't help but point out (again) how affordable housing is," Larson says. "Cheap rates and cheap home prices have restored the affordability that was sorely lacking a few years ago. Core buyers and investors are out there, and they're buying product that's priced right. This is why I don't expect a huge new collapse in the housing market, just more churning near these depressed levels.”

Most analysts agree that freefalling prices and sales declines are behind us. Doesn’t mean the market suddenly will become hot again, but the worst appears over.

PRICE REDUCTION: 4BR/2BA Single Family House in Lake Worth, FL, $119,900

For Sale: 4BR/2BA Single Family House in Lake Worth, FL, $119,900

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 3BR/2BA Condo in Boca Raton, FL, $137,500

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Condo in Boca Raton, FL, $137,500

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 1BR/1BA Condo in Margate, FL, $24,380

For Sale: 1BR/1BA Condo in Margate, FL, $24,380

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Boynton Beach, FL, $184,500

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Boynton Beach, FL, $184,500

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 1BR/1BA Condo in Lighthouse Point, FL, $29,900

For Sale: 1BR/1BA Condo in Lighthouse Point, FL, $29,900

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 4BR/3BA Single Family House in Boca Raton, FL, $409,000

For Sale: 4BR/3BA Single Family House in Boca Raton, FL, $409,000

PRICE REDUCTION: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Hollywood, FL, $244,900

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Hollywood, FL, $244,900

Florida Hit Hardest by Real Estate Bubble

Home prices in extremely overvalued U.S. metropolitan areas, including Miami, fell nearly 37%, on average, between 2005 and the fourth quarter of last year, when prices began to stabilize, according to a quarterly update on real estate values from IHS Global Insight.

In news release, senior economist and manager of HIS Global Insight, Jeannine Cataldi, stated:
"Despite the ever-increasing risk of overvaluation – and subsequent devaluation – buyers continued to purchase properties at heavily inflated prices."

The report found that, at the peak of overvaluation in the fourth quarter of 2005, there were 52 markets that IHS considered to be extremely overvalued and 85 more that were significantly overvalued.

“Not surprisingly, these metros crashed hard when the real estate market collapsed,” the report noted.
Metropolitan areas in California and Florida accounted for 36 of the 52 extremely overvalued markets. Miami, where prices have fallen 35.8% between the fourth quarter of 2005 and 2009, came in third on the list, at 49.4% overvalued.

In 2005, the average price of a home in Miami was $281,300, but, by the fourth quarter of 2009, the average price had fallen to $180,500, according to the report.

By the end of last year, there were no extremely overvalued metropolitan areas and, for the country as a whole, the report suggests that the housing market is now slightly undervalued.

For the fourth quarter of 2009, prices fell by only 0.1%, quarter-to-quarter, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, indicating that the housing market is close to achieving stabilization, the report noted.

What went up really came down, and those who purchased homes five years ago at the peak of the real estate bubble are paying the price today.

Florida Rushes Plans For $1.5B in Housing Assistance Funds

Last month, the Obama Administration announced five states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis have been given only weeks to plan how to spend $1.5 billion in federal funding announced.

Guidelines issued under the U.S. Treasury Department's Fund for Hardest Hit Housing Markets on March 5 gave housing finance agencies in California, Arizona, Florida, Nevada and Michigan just six weeks to come up with plans on how to spend their share of the money.

The rush could be problematic for the states, especially because Treasury is seeking "innovative" measures to help families facing foreclosure. But some experts have been urging the administration to try the approach, believing it will be helpful and that it can be done quickly.

"This is long overdue, allowing the use of more innovative techniques," said Ken Rosen, a real estate professor at University of California at Berkeley's Hass School of Business.

The guidelines give wide leeway to the state Housing Finance Agencies charged with doling out the money to design programs tailored to their region's circumstance. The money can be spent, for example, to help families who can't pay their mortgages because of job losses, unable to refinance because plunging home values have left them "underwater," or to give relief from second mortgage payments.

It will have to start from scratch with plans on how to help unemployed homeowners, for instance, and how to get the money from the federal government to the state government to the actual underwriter.

Rosen suggested allowing the value of a home that is worth less than the homeowner owed to be written off, replacing that amount with a second mortgage that wouldn't have to be paid off unless the home rose enough in value.

The homeowner would then share in the profits, providing an incentive to stay in the home. He also said programs to allow the unemployed to forgo payments for a year, with those payments wrapped into a second mortgage, would be helpful.

"There's a lot of innovative ideas and I'm hoping we have a lot of smart people in each state who know them; I know we do in California," Rosen said. "So I think there's plenty of time."

Florida is getting the second-largest share at $418 million.

Cecka Rose Green, communications director for the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, said her agency is just starting to review the Treasury requirements, but has put a team together and is reviewing programs other agencies are using. They're looking at plans that have helped in other states and will likely cherry-pick the best.

"I think we're taking those important first steps but we're not close to getting any details of a plan out," she said Friday.

Michigan is getting $154.5 million, Nevada $103 million and Arizona $125 million.

Arizona's housing agency is also just getting started on a proposal and hasn't identified how it might spend the money.

"I know we have a compressed time frame, but we are still looking at a number of ideas and I don't know what we'll be focusing on yet," said state Department of Housing spokeswoman Kristina Fretwell.

Like other states' officials interviewed for this story, Fretwell said there was no doubt that Arizona would get an application in by the April 16 deadline. Treasury will then spend several weeks reviewing the proposals, with a goal of getting the first cash to homeowners by summer.

The Obama administration's plans to aid homeowners who fall behind on their payments have been problematic. The biggest effort, the Making Home Affordable program, has helped only about 16% of the borrowers who signed up since its launch last year. Figures released by the Treasury Department on Friday showed that as of last month, about 170,000 homeowners had had their payments reduced permanently, of which nearly 77,000 were in the five hardest hit states. About 1.1 million have enrolled in the plan overall.

Not all academics who have studied the real estate crisis agree that spending more money trying to keep people in their homes is a smart idea.

"The solution we all know that has to be done — and this sounds harsh — the borrowers have to be allowed to move through foreclosure and the houses have to be put on the market so we can get to the bottom of this mess," said Anthony Sanders, a real estate professor at George Mason University who has testified before Congress on the foreclosure crisis.

Sanders called the $1.5 billion both too little and too much — too little, because the housing crisis has hit so many homeowners that $1.5 billion is tiny compared to the need, and too much because it targets homeowners who really can't afford to be in their home anyway.

He pointed to the more that 70% of homeowners who went back into default after government mortgage relief efforts.

He also criticized letting state housing finance agencies, which are designed to help low- and middle-income borrowers, decide how to spend the money.

"To think that state agencies, who are not very good at this, are going to come up with an innovation is just kind of wishful thinking."

The new program announced by President Barack Obama in February is meant to get more help to states where housing prices have declined by at least 20%.

"The biggest reason and rationale for the timeline is the urgency of the issue," Treasury spokeswoman Andrea Risotto said. "We want to try to get relief out to these homeowners as quickly as we can."

Making Home Affordable

Broward Apartments in 43 Million Dollar Foreclosure

The owner of a commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) fund has targeted apartment complexes in Lauderdale Lakes and Sunrise for foreclosure.

According to Broward County Circuit Court records, on March 3, U.S. Bank, as the trustee for a CMBS fund, filed a foreclosure lawsuit against SRH Whispering L.P. and SRH Boardwalk Apartments. The lawsuit concerns Whispering Palms in Lauderdale Lakes and Boardwalk At Inverrary in Sunrise. The borrower was 60 days late on a $43 million mortgage, according to a January report by CMBS analysis firm Trepp LLC.

Whispering Palms was bought in 2003 for $12.9 million and comprises 348,564 square feet. The 300,330-square-foot Boardwalk also was purchased in 2003 for $13.6 million.

JPMorgan Chase Commercial 2007-LDP10 is the CMBS fund that holds the troubled note. According to data from CMBS.com, the $5.3 billion fund has 13% of its loan balance in Florida. Its South Florida holdings include a $120.5 million mortgage covering Miami’s Southland Mall, which is on the CMBS fund’s watch list for potential problems.

Florida Courts Ask For $9.6 Million to Help Ease the Bottleneck of Foreclosures

Florida home foreclosures: Florida courts seek $9.6 million to help purge the bottleneck of foreclosure cases - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 4BR/2.5BA Single Family House in Parkland, FL, $304,900

For Sale: 4BR/2+1BA Single Family House in Parkland, FL, $304,900

PRICE REDUCTION: 1BR/1BA Condo in Davie, FL, $36,900

For Sale: 1BR/1BA Condo in Davie, FL, $36,900

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Deerfield Beach, FL, $173,200

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Deerfield Beach, FL, $173,200

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Tamarac, FL, $99,900

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Tamarac, FL, $99,900

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 6BR/4BA Single Family House in Boynton Beach, FL, $339,900

For Sale: 6BR/4BA Single Family House in Boynton Beach, FL, $339,900

PRICE REDUCTION: 4BR/2BA Single Family House in Lake Worth, FL, $129,900

For Sale: 4BR/2BA Single Family House in Lake Worth, FL, $129,900

Online Foreclosure Auctions in Broward Start March 30

This month, Broward County will join its neighbors to the north and south by moving foreclosure auctions online.

The website, Broward.realforeclose.com, will go live Monday, March 15, and the first auction is set for March 30. Potential buyers must register.

Free training sessions will be held at the Broward County Courthouse, in room 385, from March 16-18. Webinar classes covering the use of the auction site software are available by calling (954) 734-7401. The toll-free number is (877) 361-7325.

This can’t come soon enough. Broward had the third-highest foreclosure rate in Florida for February, according to RealtyTrac Inc. Broward County Clerk Howard C. Forman says his office may be able to auction 1,000 homes a week. In January, just 420 properties were auctioned each week at the courthouse.

Forman says there are more than 5,300 foreclosure cases now, with another 2,000 to be set.

Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties took their foreclosure auctions online earlier this year.

Trump International Hotel in Fort Lauderdale faces foreclosure - South Florida Business Journal:

Trump International Hotel in Fort Lauderdale faces foreclosure - South Florida Business Journal:

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: Single Family House in Margate, FL, $136,900

For Sale: Single Family House in Margate, FL, $136,900

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/2BA Single Family House in Pompano Beach, FL, $44,900

For Sale: 2BR/2BA Single Family House in Pompano Beach, FL, $44,900

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 1BR/1BA Condo in Greenacres, FL, $33,900

For Sale: 1BR/1BA Condo in Greenacres, FL, $33,900

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/1BA Condo in Boynton Beach, FL, $34,900

For Sale: 2BR/1BA Condo in Boynton Beach, FL, $34,900

BANK OWNED LISTING: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Wellington, FL, $241,300

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Wellington, FL, $241,300

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/2BA Condo in Deerfield Beach, FL, $68,900

For Sale: 2BR/2BA Condo in Deerfield Beach, FL, $68,900

Property Grab

Click Here to Watch Video

This is an update on the illegal takeover of one of our properties. The man who did this has been arrested and is now facing criminal charges.

A South Florida man is facing criminal charges. Tonight in connection with what you could call a property grab, he's filing court documents to take possession of homes without paying for them. Investigative reporter Carmel Cafiero has the story.

WSVN -- This Plantation house was in foreclosure, and was just days away from being sold, but when the buyer came by, she got a big surprise. Someone else was living there.

Pauline Hite: "I went to open the lock box and a lady opened the door and I asked her 'Well, who are you,' and she said 'I live here. I said 'That's impossible,' I said 'That's my house.'"

A few minutes later, Pauline says this man, Fitzroy Ellis showed up claiming the house belongs to him, not the bank she was buying it from.

Pauline Hite: "He made some threats about the house and told me that the bank had fleeced me, and that this was his home."

It turns out, Ellis is claiming he owns a lot homes throughout Broward, but he's not buying any of them. Instead, he is submitting court documents to take them over.

Based on a law for abandoned properties. That law allows people to take over properties that have been abandoned for seven years and the person applying for ownership must prove they have paid for upkeep and taxes on the property, but the properties Ellis is allegedly filing on are not abandoned, they're just for sale.

Denise Arnau: "Basically he went to my property and changed the locks."

Denise Arnau is the realtor for this home in Lauderhill. She says Ellis filed on this house and ruined a pending sale because now there is an issue with ownership, and that means it will have to go to court to be cleared up.

Denise Arnau: "We don't know how long this is gonna take. The title company can't give us an answer. A real estate attorney friend of mine can't give me an answer, and everybody is saying it has to be litigated."

This is listed as the office of Fitzroy Ellis' Company, Helping Hands Properties.
Dwaine Ellis: "Yeah baby, where you from?"

Carmel Cafiero: "Carmel Cafiero, Channel 7, we're doing a story on the properties from Helping Hands and I'd like to talk with Mr. Ellis about how he's acquiring them."

Dwaine Ellis: "OK, please get off the property."

Carmel Cafiero: "OK are you Mr. Ellis, will you be able to help me?"

Not long after this exchange, Fitzroy Ellis was arrested on a first degree grand theft charge in connection with his attempt to take another property using the same abandoned property law.


According to the arrest report, Ellis changed the locks here twice without the permission of the rightful owner. The Broward state attorney's office says cases involving Ellis and others are being investigated throughout the county.

Carmel Cafiero: "So as the investigations continue, the fate of this property and who knows how many others remains in legal limbo."

Buyer Makes 200k by Flipping 19 Units in One Day

On March 5th, the Fama Group purchased 19 units in the new 30-unit Mi Primera Ilusion Villas for $1.25 million, or $102 a square foot.

Bal Harbour-based real estate research firm Condo Vultures compiled data that indicates Marquez's group sold the units to another Miami-based entity, Rentdepo LLC, for $1.45 million, or $118 a square foot, on the same day.

Condo Vultures principal Peter Zalewski, states:
“Even at the retraded price, the ultimate bulk owner still purchased the units at a 60% discount compared to the $293 [a square foot] average closed sales price in the project.”

Foreclosure Activity Up 15% in February

Last week, RealtyTrac reported foreclosure activity in Florida was up by nearly 15%, month-over-month, in February.

FEMA won’t help with Chinese drywall - South Florida Business Journal:

FEMA won’t help with Chinese drywall - South Florida Business Journal:

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/2BA Condo in Plantation, FL, $69,900

For Sale: 2BR/2BA Condo in Plantation, FL, $69,900

 

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/1BA Condo in Tamarac, FL, $44,900

For Sale: 2BR/1BA Condo in Tamarac, FL, $44,900

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Pompano Beach, FL, $68,900

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in Pompano Beach, FL, $68,900

PRICE REDUCTION: 2BR/2BA Condo in Delray Beach, FL, $39,600

For Sale: 2BR/2BA Condo in Delray Beach, FL, $39,600

Housing help: Florida, 4 other states rush plans for $1.5B in housing asststance funds - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Housing help: Florida, 4 other states rush plans for $1.5B in housing asststance funds - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 3BR/2BA Townhouse in Boca Raton, FL, $204,900

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Townhouse in Boca Raton, FL, $204,900 

Florida Foreclosure Activity Up in February - RealtyTrac

According to the latest report from RealtyTrac, while the nationwide foreclosure rate slipped 2% in February, Florida continues to be hit by an increasing number of foreclosures. 


In fact, foreclosure activity in the Sunshine State rose by nearly 15% in February, over the previous month, and was up more than 16% from the previous year. Florida also continued to post the nation’s second-highest total number of foreclosures, with 54,032 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in February.

Although still up, the number of foreclosures in Broward County appears to have eased a bit in February, when there were 7,872, or one in every 102, homes in foreclosure. That was up just 2.54% from January, when there were 7,677 homes facing default. Year-over-year, filings were up 48% in Broward. In February 2009, there were 5,318 homes in foreclosure.

The picture was even more bleak in Palm Beach County, where there were 4,490, or one in every 143, homes in foreclosure. That was up 62.5% from a month earlier, when there were 2,762 foreclosures filed, and up 68.4% from February 2009, when there were 2,665 foreclosure filings.

In Miami-Dade County, there were 6,671 foreclosures, or one in every 147 homes, up 44% from a month earlier, when there were 3,393 filings, and up 86.6% from a year earlier, when there were 3,575 filings.

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 1BR/1BA Condo in Lauderdale Lakes, FL, $7,125

For Sale: 1BR/1BA Condo in Lauderdale Lakes, FL, $7,125

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 1BR/1BA Condo in Lauderdale Lakes, FL, $17,100

For Sale: 1BR/1BA Condo in Lauderdale Lakes, FL, $17,100

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/2BA Townhouse in Deerfield Beach, FL, $49,900

For Sale: 2BR/2BA Townhouse in Deerfield Beach, FL, $49,900

Loan modifications: Rising interest rates and balloon payments can make loan modifications unacceptable - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Loan modifications: Rising interest rates and balloon payments can make loan modifications unacceptable - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

NEW BANK OWNED LISTING: 2BR/1BA Single Family House in Tamarac, FL, $46,550

For Sale: 2BR/1BA Single Family House in Tamarac, FL, $46,550

PRICE REDUCTION: 2BR/1BA Single Family House in Fort Lauderdale, FL, $46,900

For Sale: 2BR/1BA Single Family House in Fort Lauderdale, FL, $46,900

Home Resale Inventory Up in Palm Beach County

According to a new report from Condo Vultures LLC.The number of single-family homes for sale in Palm Beach County is higher than in Miami-Dade or Broward counties.

As of Monday, there were 10,284 single-family homes for resale, up 3.6% since the last week of November 2009.

In Miami-Dade, there are 8,354 single-family homes on the market, down 6.4% since November. Broward has ever fewer, with 8,114 single-family homes for resale, unchanged from four months earlier.

Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour-based real estate consultancy, states:
"One explanation we have heard from industry watchers is that some owners who are not necessarily distressed are putting their homes up for resale, thinking the market has already begun to stabilize.”

In the tri-county region, there are 67,850 single-family houses, condominium units, and townhouses on the market, with single-family homes accounting for 39%, or 26,752, of the total residential resale inventory.

On Nov. 24, 2008, when Condo Vultures first started tracking available inventory, there were nearly 108,000 homes available for resale in South Florida. Single-family homes represented about 43%, or about 46,600 residences, of the available resale inventory at that time.

"Underwater" Homeowners Face Dilemma

Florida Gets 418 Million for Distressed Homeowners

This past Friday, Florida was awarded $418 million of federal stimulus spending to help unemployed homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are actually worth. Florida homeowners are eagerly awaiting details of this program, which was announced by President Obama last month. The awards come from a $1.5-billion Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets.

Florida will get $418 million.
 
Treasury officials released guidelines telling state agencies how this stimulus might be distributed:

• Modifying mortgages or giving lenders an incentive to forgive a portion of loans to make payments affordable.
• Paying down part of a mortgage to make it possible to modify the rest of it.
• Making it easier to complete “short sales,” in which homes are sold for less than the mortgage.
• Allowing owners to give up their deeds to avoid foreclosure.
• Aiding unemployed borrowers to help them avoid foreclosure.
• Giving incentives to lenders to reduce or modify second liens on mortgages.
• The program must be limited to those who owe no more than $729,750. State agencies may choose to target low- and moderate-income borrowers.
• More specific information will come from the Florida Housing Finance Corp., a state-funded agency, which promises to provide updates for consumers on its website: FloridaHousing.org.