The Daily Soak - December 18

Who Are The Morons Renting Miami Lofts for $1,700?

When I moved back to Miami earlier this year, a friend told me she had a new waterfront condo for rent if I was interested. It turned out to be a 650-square foot studio in an unattractive, foreclosure-riddled high-rise called Onyx. I laughed when she said she was asking $1,700. Today, unable to find a sucker renter at even $1,200, she lives in her unit. And some Miami realtor, who used to send chest-pounding e-mails about all of his successful flips, is now sending me celebratory e-mails whenever he signs a lease contract. The one he sent yesterday (pictured) is mind-boggling. Why would anyone shell out $1,700 for a cramped, one-bedroom loft apartment in the Grove? He followed it up today with an e-mail with quotes and compelling evidence the market has bottomed from a very objective source...Lawrence Yun, the Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors.


Double Trouble: Losing A Loved One, Inheriting A Florida Condo

What if a family member passed away suddenly? That would be terrible. Now imagine the recently departed left you with a Florida condo. Pretty frightening. Sun-Sentinel columnist Daniel Vasquez speaks with a Fort Lauderdale attorney about options for Floridians who find themselves dealing with the emotional grief of personal loss and the financial agony of trying to unload a Florida condo in this depressed market. "In what is the worst market in years, those who inherit condos have a few tough choices: Decline the gift, sell at rock bottom prices, try to rent (if condo documents allow it) or be prepared to pay thousands for property taxes, assessments, maybe even a mortgage."


Another Miami-Dade Development Facing Foreclosure

HB.com reported last week on the renewed fury and ramped-up foreclosure filings by Alabama banks against stalled South Florida developments ever since Florida beat Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on December 6. News today that Regions Bank is filing foreclosure against a 240 single-family home community called Enclave at Black Point Marina in southern Miami-Dade County. Regions originally loaned the developers $32.7 million in 2005 and amended the loan to the unpaid $18 million balance earlier this year. 3 to 5 bedroom homes at the Enclave were advertised from the low $300's. While construction took place on a few of the development's 240 lots, none of the homes were ever completed.