On The Count of 3...You Will Open Your Eyes and Sell A Condo
Ahhh foreclosures, neurotic sellers, reluctant buyers, squatters and vandalism...it's enough to shatter the fragile psyche of a Florida Realtor. So in an effort to help his agents cope and alleviate the stress of a mean housing market, a Palm Beach Gardens broker, Chappy Adams, has hired a meditation specialist to bathe his sales team with housing harmony. Mordy Levine teaches yoga and meditation to a traditional clientele in Boca Raton but is now branching out to heal legions of stressed sales associates coping with the housing status quo. Presumably 15 minutes of breathing exercises help the sales team find their happy place just before leaving the office and crumbling in the fetal position in the back seat of their leased c230s and RX350s. (Editor's Note: HB.com has already optioned the movie rights detailing the friendship between the broker and the meditation specialist tentatively titled, When Mordy Met Chappy). (VideoLink)
Last week, HB.com reported on the unexpected arrival of squatters and vandals in some downtown Miami condos. Well apparently another new guest is keeping a low profile living in the walls of several (unidentified) buildings: mold. CBS4 reports that many owners facing foreclosure are shutting off their A/C units, sealing the units and thus creating the perfect breeding ground for mold. And according to a local attorney the problem doesn't necessarily go away when the banks take possession of the units. Facing stacks of foreclosures and rising expenses, the banks aren't exactly in a hurry to kick on the A/C and start paying exorbitant Florida utility bills. With mold growing in new high-rises and thousands of residents with buyer's remorse looking for cash and a way out, get ready for an unholy alliance of personal injury lawyers and thousands of "victims" filing toxic mold lawsuits. (Warning: Video link features potentially disturbing images of mold and lawyers.)
Earlier this week, HB.com featured an article detailing the demise of downtown revitalization efforts in downtown Tampa, and now the Tampa Tribune reports the local developer of a high-profile project is in financial trouble. Tampa-based SimDag/Robel LLC paid $16 million for the prime waterfront parcel in 2004 and announced the ambitious $300 million dollar, 52-story high-rise in February 2005. Three years and dozens of liens and lawsuits later, the parcel still sits vacant and the developers face upwards of $50 million in debt. One of the most embarrassing lawsuits was filed by Trump himself who wants his name removed from the stalled project. That's quite a change-of-heart from the June 2005 unveiling when the Donald boasted of record unit sales, predicted an influx of New York Yankee buyers, and joked about relocating to Tampa with his new wife, Melania. 
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