Foreclosure Roundup

And it goes on and on. The worrying state of business in the US and in Florida is nowhere more evident than in the empty store fronts, deserted shopping centers, warehouses, office buildings.

And in South Florida, we are not the exception. I read daily about bank foreclosures on commercial real estate.
Is this an opportunity?
Unless you believe that the United States will sink like a rock, you must have some confidence that, at a certain point, there will be a real recovery.

Not a recovery sustained by Federal "injections" of money to artificially and temporarily reduce unemployment. But a real change in the economy, when things will revert to what we have known not so long ago. Days when you just go through the newspapers' classifieds and promptly find yourself a decent job. As it was in the good times when worldwide immigrants would flock in search of our number one wealth: Jobs.

Then everything will be alright. People will perhaps reduce their addiction to consumption, live in smaller homes, drive in smaller cars; but everybody who is reasonably trained and educated never be denied of an opportunity to work.

This will be the day when we won't read any more stories like what follows.
And it with this mentality that you could invest today in commercial real estate, because the opportunities are here and tomorrow will possibly be another day.

I read in the South Florida Business Journal - July 2nd, 2010

Magnolia Shoppes hit with foreclosure

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Half of the Magnolia Shoppes in Coral Springs was hit with a foreclosure action by a commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) fund.
Wells Fargo Bank, as a trustee for a CMBS fund originated by Countrywide, filed a foreclosure lawsuit on June 11 against Westview Shoppes Fla, according to Broward County Circuit Court records. It concerns a $12 million mortgage issued in 2006.
Westview Shoppes Fla owns the eastern half of the Magnolia Shoppes, at 9525 and 9545 Westview Drive. Tenants include Anthony’s Coal-Fired Pizza and Mega Discount Liquors. The developer bought the 64,011-square-foot property for $6.2 million in 2004.
The west side of Magnolia Shoppes, which includes a Regal Cinemas movie theater, and its outparcels are owned by different companies and not included in the foreclosure lawsuit.
According to an April report by CMBS analysis firm Trepp LLC, Westview Shoppes Fla was more than 90 days late on the $11.9 million remaining on its mortgage.
Miami attorney Lee Mackson, who represents Wells Fargo and the CMBS fund in the lawsuit, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Juno Beach townhome project defaults on $22M loan

A stalled townhome project near the Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach is targeted for foreclosure.
Branch Banking and Trust Co. filed the foreclosure lawsuit on June 29 against Seminole Ridge LLC, along with managing members Kenneth Page, Matthew J. O’Connor and Gaile Irwin, according to Palm Beach County Circuit Court records. It concerns a mortgage last modified at $21.8 million in 2007 by Colonial Bank, which failed in 2009. BB&T acquired its assets under a loss-sharing agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Seminole Ridge obtained approval from Juno Beach to build 31 townhomes at the site in 2007, but little construction has taken place. The site is located at the intersection of Ocean Drive and Celestial Way and it stretches to U.S. Highway 1, about a block from the ocean.
Fort Lauderdale attorney Richard B. Storfer, who represents BB&T in the lawsuit, was not immediately available for comment.

Townhome project loses $22M foreclosure

Coconut Grove-based Bridgeloan Investors won a $22.3 million foreclosure judgment against the developer of the Townhomes of Oak Lane in South Miami.
The judgment against 5700 Dev LLC was based on a $17.9 million mortgage, plus interest and fees. Colonial Bank originally granted the mortgage in 2003, but it was sold to Bridgeloan Investors.
The judge also denied Gamma Construction’s claim to collect on a construction lien.
The site is set for online auction on Sept. 27.
Planned for 40 townhomes, Oak Lane is on the east side of Red Road (Southwest 57th Avenue) between Southwest 74th Street and Southwest 76th Street. The developer is affiliated with George Allen Luxury Homes of Miami, according to its website.

Capital Loft foreclosure puts county loan in peril

If the $22.7 million foreclosure judgment against the Capital Lofts project in Miami goes through, Miami-Dade County’s $1 million loan to the developer could be wiped out.
Aventura-based investment group Capital Loft Miami won the judgment on June 25 against 117 NE 1st Avenue LLC over a $21.1 million mortgage, plus interest and fees. It targets the 47 unsold units in the project at the same address as the developer.
Following a renovation and conversion into condos in 2008, only 13 units were sold. The county gave the developer a $1 million loan to promote affordable housing units, but the judgment in favor of the lender, which is managed by Guy Sharon, has priority over the county’s debt.
Unless the property sells for more than the $22.7 million judgment at the Sept. 20 online auction, Miami-Dade will be left empty-handed.

N.J. investor buys Palm Beach building

An office building in the town of Palm Beach could be headed to a New Jersey real estate firm after its owner lost an $18.6 million foreclosure.

Henry B. Nathan is a Florida Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.

Visit my website: http://www.condo-southflorida.com

where you can search for Aventura Condos, Florida Condos, Sunny Isles Condos

Which side are you on?

Hurray for Governor Crist!

Insurance Companies had it their way for too long. And they will keep having it unless you and me do something about it.

I have read some distressful news today and these are my thoughts:

As a realtor, I see every day the desperate situation of many homeowners.

It is a time of great distress in America. People are losing their homes, and losing their jobs.

But the aggressive greed of insurance companies (among others) is unlimited. Corporate profit, bonuses, monopoly games, you name it. This has become the standard.

Owning a home in Florida is more difficult now than it has ever been in the past few decades. Cities' greed, counties' greed, mortgage banks' greed. This undeniably is a substantial part of the problem.

Insurance companies are large entities dedicated to accumulate wealth at our expense, often to waste it on incredibly large bonuses on their directors (see AIG). How many real damaging hurricanes have we sustained in the last 20 years, and how much were their losses that can justify the rate increases? How much homeowner insurance rates have increased, compared to actuarial increase in these risks?

The uncompromising attitude of these companies contrast with everything their ads and publicity proclaim.

I totally agree with Governor Crist.

That how I got the news:

Read in the Sarasota Herald Tribune - April 14, 2010

Tussle in Tallahassee over insurance rates control

TALLAHASSEE - Call it Round 3 between the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Crist. Earlier in the session, Crist vetoed a campaign fundraising bill championed by top Republicans. This week, lawmakers and the governor are facing a showdown over a bill that would eliminate tenure for newly hired teachers and links future raises for teachers with student test scores. And now, another storm is building between the Republican Crist and the GOP-controlled Legislature. Legislation that would weaken the state's ability to control property insurance rates is moving through the Legislature. Crist again is threatening a veto.

The legislation is similar to a bill passed last year that would have largely freed major insurance companies from rate regulation for hurricane coverage -- but Crist vetoed that measure. Lawmakers have tempered the bill this year, partly in hopes of winning Crist's support. On Tuesday, the Senate General Government Appropriations Committee approved a bill (SB 876) that would allow property insurance companies to raise their rates an average of 10 percent a year without state approval. But that increase may still be too much for the governor.

Crist has voiced his opposition this spring to any legislation that increases property insurance rates, saying Floridians cannot afford it during a difficult economy. He said if he receives a bill that increases rates, "I will veto it and happily do so." It's another threat in a session that has been characterized by vetoes and anticipated vetoes. Crist has already said no to a bill that would have allowed lawmakers to create "leadership funds" with campaign contributions. Lawmakers say the rate legislation is necessary to revive Florida's property insurance market, arguing that giving companies more leeway in raising rates will attract more companies and spur competition.

Without more private competition, lawmakers say, the state will continue to rely heavily on Citizens Property Insurance, the government-backed insurer that covers more than a million Floridians. If Citizens runs into a deficit, it could result in a surcharge on all insurance policyholders in the state, auto insurance policies included. Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, said the state's current regulatory structure has hurt the ability of Floridians to find coverage from private companies. "We've tried it their way for year after year after year and we have a market that is going down, down, down," said Bennett, who is sponsoring the Senate rate bill. Lawmakers have backed off their original plans for a more wide-open deregulation system for property insurers. And on Tuesday, they moved closer to the governor's position, dropping a plan that would have allowed a series of increases up to 15 percent a year and replacing it with the 10 +ercent limit. The House, which will take up a similar bill (HB 447) today in a policy council, is also expected to back a 10 percent limit. But the modified bill is opposed by the state Office of Insurance Regulation.

Monte Stevens, an OIR lobbyist, said state regulators believe the bill "still goes too far to the side of the companies."

If Citizens runs into a deficit, it could result in a surcharge on all insurance policyholders in the state, auto insurance policies included. Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, said the state's current regulatory structure has hurt the ability of Floridians to find coverage from private companies. "We've tried it their way for year after year after year and we have a market that is going down, down, down," said Bennett, who is sponsoring the Senate rate bill. Lawmakers have backed off their original plans for a more wide-open deregulation system for property insurers. And on Tuesday, they moved closer to the governor's position, dropping a plan that would have allowed a series of increases up to 15 percent a year and replacing it with the 10 percent limit. The House, which will take up a similar bill (HB 447) today in a policy council, is also expected to back a 10 percent limit.

But the modified bill is opposed by the state Office of Insurance Regulation. Monte Stevens, an OIR lobbyist, said state regulators believe the bill "still goes too far to the side of the companies." Stevens also said regulators doubt giving companies an easier way to raise their rates will make hurricane-prone Florida more attractive to large national companies that could be risking their financial health if a major storm strikes. "It is a problem of geography," Stevens said. Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who has been an opponent of the rate deregulation bills, said granting even a 10 percent average increase could lead to rate increases in the range of 20 percent or 30 percent in some coastal areas, since the cap was an average.

"That's totally intolerable," he said.

The Senate General Government Appropriations Committee on Tuesday also backed another major property insurance bill (SB 2044) that also gives insurers the ability to raise rates to pay for reinsurance and other costs as long as the overall rate does not exceed 10 percent a year. The bill also modifies the impact of discounts that insurers must give to residents who harden their homes against storm damage and changes the way consumers are reimbursed for property losses. Insurers have argued that the discounts, reinsurance and other factors that have undermined their ability to cover their costs with premium payments.

Henry B. Nathan is a Florida Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.
Visit my website: http://www.condo-southflorida.com
where you can search for Aventura Condos, Florida Condos, Sunny Isles Condos,