The Daily Soak - December 11

Ho-ho-homeless: 933 Foreclosure Auctions Before X-mas

The calls for foreclosure moratoriums don't seem to be having much of an impact in South Florida where lenders are trying to get non-performing home loans off their books before 2009. Still, the cries of victimhood grow louder from people like Shewana Daniels who, according to the Herald, lives in a house with her mother, daughter and three grandchildren. She also claims to be fighting both HIV and lung cancer. Shewana is turning to liberal advocacy group ACORN, fresh off their pre-election registration of Florida voters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, for help. Still, an ACORN official in Orlando says his group is having no luck, "Out of the whole population that comes to us twice a week, we have failed to find one person who will be helped by this 45-day moratorium."


Highest-And-Best-Use: Another Condo or A Public Park?

That's been the debate over one of the last waterfront parcels in downtown Miami, and with the market for new construction high-rises officially dead, the developer is seeing a different kind of green...grass. According to Miami Today, "Tibor Hollo, chairman and president of Florida East Coast Realty, agreed to contribute the 2-acre site to the city's vacant land project. Mr. Hollo said he likes the park concept and has no intent to develop the luxury hotel and condo planned at the site for some years. While he waits for real estate and credit markets to improve, he's willing to lease the land to the city for a $1 a year. Mr. Hollo said he prefers that Miamians benefit from the green space, which the Brickell area desperately needs as more residents move in." So enjoy the park for now, Miami! But once the real estate market turns around, Get the hell out!


Let's Play "Who Wants To Be The Florida Condo Ombudsman?"

A show of hands...anyone? Apparently not. According to the Sun-Sentinel, "Months after former Florida condo ombudsman Danille Carroll left her position, Governor Charlie Crist has yet to announce a permanent successor and the only candidate has withdrawn his application. Nathan Bond, who declined comment, was the only applicant for the office, whose occupant serves as an unbiased liaison and education provider for condo boards, unit owners and condo associations." The state is raising the next Ombudsman's salary from $83,000 to $100,000 thanks to the $4/year contributions that Florida condo owners pay to the state condo trust fund. Good luck finding an interested party. When a job description requires listening to the daily tirades from crotchety Condo Commandos around Florida, I'm thinking the potential pool of applicants will be pretty small. (Flashback to a HB.com July classic from "The Joy of Condos.")