The Daily Soak - December 9

HSBC Forecloses on Little Havana Condo

The website for the Havana Lofts condo describes the project as "Downtown Miami’s most exciting new riverside condominium" and touts the affordability of the units with the tagline, "Every Luxury But The Price." Apparently, the price still isn't low enough to whip up enough interested buyers in Havana Lofts. According to the South Florida Business Journal, HSBC Bank and Great Florida Bank have filed a foreclosure lawsuit regarding the Havana Lofts project in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. The notice of foreclosure, recorded Dec. 2 in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, applied only to the 75 unsold units in the 90-unit high-rise at 605 W. Flagler St." Units in Havana Lofts were There hasn't been a closing of a Havana Lofts unit, originally priced from $250,000 to $500,000, since March of this year.


Alabama Bank on A Florida Foreclosure "Rampage"

Word out of Alabama that Birmingham-based Regions Bank is throwing down the foreclosure gauntlet on several South Florida distressed properties. The heat is so intense, the Birmingham Business Journal described the move as a full-on "rampage." Now I'm not sure if there's a correlation between what went down last Saturday night in Atlanta and the renewed foreclosure wrath being directed from Alabama to our beloved Sunshine State, but let's just say Urban Meyer and the mighty Gators may be partially to blame. And if you think the Regions bank executives are in a bad mood after the Tide lost in the SEC Championship Game, these guys may have killed each other. Go Gators!


"Get A Home Shrink": $11.5 Million For Foreclosure Therapy

Florida will be receiving over $11 million in federal money to support the network of 77 foreclosure prevention counseling centers statewide. The grant is a small part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act approved by Congress back in July. No word on how the funds will be allocated around the state, but $11.5 million will certainly buy lots of grief therapy time for desperate homeowners coming to grips with horrendous housing market conditions statewide and a prolonged nationwide recession. For those of you looking for some catchy online therapy, check out this "Housing Bubble" clip on YouTube.