The Daily Soak - May 30

Taxable Value of Homes Plummets in Palm Beach County

The effects of the HousingBath are beginning to be felt down at City Hall. According to the Sun-Sentinel, the taxable value of the 625,000 properties in Palm Beach County fell $12 billion this year, a 7% decrease from 2007. The decline, the first in the county since the early 1990s, reflects both falling home prices and the recent doubling of the Florida homestead exemption from $25,000 to $50,000. Veteran Palm Beach appraiser Gary Nikolits emphasizes the severity of the situation, "It's probably the worst we've experienced. I don't recall a time when the values have been this dramatically reduced." With the tax base eroding, local governments must now curtail the outrageous spending sprees they embarked on over the past five years. (2006 FlashBath)


Tough Times for Housing, Bath & Associates

OK, you know it's bad when law firms start to have layoffs. But according to the National Law Journal, the HousingBath in South Florida is part of the reason for recent "Black Friday" layoffs at large firms like Holland & Knight and Shutts & Bowen. And a third firm in Fort Lauderdale specializing in real estate transactions cut lawyer salaries 12%, because several clients are behind on their legal bills. Oh, and before you break out the Kleenex for the lawyers who received pink slips on Black Friday, there weren't any; only paralegals and administrative staff were kicked to the curb. Apparently the rising tide of foreclosures has created an avalanche of new work for Housing, Bath & Associates....For the Bathers.

No Luck with Lotto? Try Florida Tax Certificates!

The county tax deadline has come and gone, and apparently over 110,000 Central Floridians are delinquent on their tax payments. According to county officials, homeowners owe over $320 million to local governments in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Volusia and Brevard counties. And now the good news...you can profit on the delinquency of others. The Orlando Sentinel explains how anyone can bid on delinquent tax certificates which pay an attractive interest rate depending on the outcome of reverse auctions (bidding starts at 18% and works downward). And the family fun doesn't stop there. The Orlando Sentinel also offers two additional tools for Florida thrillseekers: a Foreclosure Database and a Suprime Mortgage Search Engine. Good night and good luck!