The Daily Soak - September 9

Former Flippers Desperately Seeking Loopholes

The high-rise HousingBath in South Florida has hundreds-if not thousands-of buyers scouring their contracts and glossy pre-construction brochures hoping to find material and adverse differences between what was originally promised and what was actually delivered. According to the Wall Street Journal, the loophole seekers may be out of luck. The majority of recent rulings in South Florida have sided heavily in favor of developers and against plaintiffs with no real bonafide contract disputes. Holland & Knight attorney Robert Chasnow says there rulings are drawing nationwide attention given Florida's unenviable leadership position. "The market in Florida is two years ahead of other parts of the U.S., like California or the Sunbelt states, in both the heavy downturn in prices and the lawsuits following it."



Dealing With The Eyesore Next Door

Dania Beach resident Anne Watzke lives next door to a home that was abandoned ten months ago, and she has several visual and fragrant reminders. "There's something dead back there, " said Watzke as she surveys the tall grass around the abandoned property teeming with rats and snakes. The Sun-Sentinel shares a report card on code enforcement efforts in several Broward County cities where the number of abandoned homes are growing like the weeds that surround them. Plantation authorities haven't spent a dime on abandoned homes, while Dania Beach has spent over $9,000 including the demolition of one property. Meanwhile, other municipalities are looking to the future. Boynton Beach officials have only spent $3,025 on abandoned home maintenance this year, but they are allocating $40,000 for nuisance abatement in the next budget year.

With Fannie/Freddie Bailout, Forbes Sees "Hope for Housing"

But first the bad news. Lenders have repossessed over 650,000 properties this year, and that figure should top 1 million by year's end. 102,000 U.S. homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure in August, a figure that is 80% higher than August 2007. And finally, 1.45 million homeowners have faced some sort of preforeclosure action by their lenders in 2008. But Forbes' Ruthie Ackerman sees this week's Fannie/Freddie bailout announcement as cause for optimism for both homeowners and interested buyers. According to Ackerman, "The bailout is expected to lower borrowing costs which will support demand for mortgage-backed securities in the secondary market, offering a key source of capital for lenders. Home prices should recover and lower borrowing costs should make it easier for homebuyers to buy already-foreclosed homes." Let's hope she's right.