The Daily Soak - December 2

Activist Moving Homeless Into Florida Foreclosures Illegally

Yes, it's finally come to this. A Miami activist is moving homeless families into foreclosed homes. "We're matching homeless people with people-less homes," says Max Rameau, who has moved six families into bank-owned properties so far this year. His organization, Take Back The Land, wants squatters to come out of the shadows and feel comfortable moving illegally into properties they neither own nor pay to maintain. Knowing full well his clients can be charged with trespassing, vandalism or breaking and entering, Rameau reassures his clients that banks are too busy to evict them and the City is looking the other way. Miami spokeswoman Kelly Penton confirmed this in an e-mail, "There are no actions on the city's part to stop this." So with thousands of foreclosed homes and local government basically green-lighting trespassing, it seems the affordable housing problem in South Florida has been solved. Currently confined to suburbia, watch this trend start to creep into vacant units in the new high-rise condos.


As REOs Skyrocket, Governors Try Their Hand at Home Relief

With median home prices falling and unemployment rising, Florida Governor Charlie Crist is trying to put together a relief package for thousands of Florida homeowners facing foreclosure. California's Arnold Schwarzenegger was the first governor to propose such measures including a 90-day moratorium on foreclosure proceedings and interest rate adjustments to lower monthly payments. The specifics of Crist's plan are still being hammered out and could be announced later this week. As Siobhan Morissey of Time notes, "Creeping unemployment, tight credit and property devaluation, where the home is worth less than the amount owed on the mortgage, all tend to indicate the problem will only get worse (absent government intervention)." In Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, the number of homes turned over to the banks spiked 180% during the first nine months of this year.


Senior Living Communities Considering Age Desegregation

Wanted: Young, quiet whippersnappers and their spouses to buy homes in gated, senior-living community. Must keep kids on a short leash. An interesting article from the Wall Street Journal about how several age-restricted communities in the U.S. are considering loosening their ownership covenants and opening the doors to younger families. The debate has been forced by the weak economy, falling home prices and a glut of unsold units in several developments like Century Village East in Deerfield Beach. While some residents like the idea of having an influx of younger neighbors, there are priceless quotes like this one from an 88-year-old resident who doesn't like the way the younger generation drives. "They speed. They use Century Boulevard as a race track!" If he thinks it's bad now, just wait 'til they start moving in with their kids and sharing the amenities.