As if some folks in Palm Beach haven't already lost enough money on bad real estate investments, it turns out the $50 billion Ponzi scheme devised by Bernard Madoff is hitting particularly close to Worth Avenue. According to NPR,
"All over Palm Beach, from the country club to the ultra-exclusive Breakers hotel, Madoff and his alleged Ponzi scheme has been the talk of the island. Over the weekend, at least one new multimillion-dollar condo near the Breakers was put on the market by an investor reportedly hit by the fallout." But the fallout is not just limited to the Bushwood crowd...
"Arnold Sinkin, a retired carpet salesman in Boynton Beach, says he put his life savings — nearly a million dollars — into Madoff's fund. He's now being forced to put his townhouse up for sale."
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune continues their look at The State of Citrus with a special focus on the recent conversion of citrus groves into gated communities. During the housing boom, developer Tony Nicholson was paying Central Florida orange growers over $25,000/acre for their land and converting groves into relatively affordable housing developments in Polk County for the Orlando theme park employee base.
"Central Florida is in a transition from an industry of juice to an industry of new homes," Nicholson said during the housing boom. Today, his outlook is a little more somber,
"We're shut down. There are no sales, period. There are no buyers at this point. The market has done a 180-degree turn and, at this point, the demand for housing has dropped to its lowest in 30 years." 
That's what homeowners across the Sunshine State are being asked to do as condo associations struggle to deal with vanishing neighbors and rising foreclosures. In our ongoing series, "The Joy of Condos," we examine one Cape Coral community where residents are being asked to cough up $650 within two weeks or their amenities will be shut off. The developer, Engle Homes, says the request is simply a sign of the times, but residents aren't thrilled with the shifting HOA burden. Resident Kelly Weeks said,
"It's a wonderful place to live and I don't want to leave here, but if these fees keep happening, I won't have a choice, like everyone else. People are actually afraid they are going to lose their homes."
As if some folks in Palm Beach haven't already lost enough money on bad real estate investments, it turns out the $50 billion Ponzi scheme devised by Bernard Madoff is hitting particularly close to Worth Avenue. According to NPR, "All over Palm Beach, from the country club to the ultra-exclusive Breakers hotel, Madoff and his alleged Ponzi scheme has been the talk of the island. Over the weekend, at least one new multimillion-dollar condo near the Breakers was put on the market by an investor reportedly hit by the fallout." But the fallout is not just limited to the Bushwood crowd..."Arnold Sinkin, a retired carpet salesman in Boynton Beach, says he put his life savings — nearly a million dollars — into Madoff's fund. He's now being forced to put his townhouse up for sale."
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune continues their look at The State of Citrus with a special focus on the recent conversion of citrus groves into gated communities. During the housing boom, developer Tony Nicholson was paying Central Florida orange growers over $25,000/acre for their land and converting groves into relatively affordable housing developments in Polk County for the Orlando theme park employee base. "Central Florida is in a transition from an industry of juice to an industry of new homes," Nicholson said during the housing boom. Today, his outlook is a little more somber, "We're shut down. There are no sales, period. There are no buyers at this point. The market has done a 180-degree turn and, at this point, the demand for housing has dropped to its lowest in 30 years." 
That's what homeowners across the Sunshine State are being asked to do as condo associations struggle to deal with vanishing neighbors and rising foreclosures. In our ongoing series, "The Joy of Condos," we examine one Cape Coral community where residents are being asked to cough up $650 within two weeks or their amenities will be shut off. The developer, Engle Homes, says the request is simply a sign of the times, but residents aren't thrilled with the shifting HOA burden. Resident Kelly Weeks said, "It's a wonderful place to live and I don't want to leave here, but if these fees keep happening, I won't have a choice, like everyone else. People are actually afraid they are going to lose their homes."
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