Abandoned Homes Chock Full of Surprises

Bitter Homeowners Taking Everything Including The Kitchen Sink

The Orlando Sentinel's Mary Shanklin says dirty pools and uncut grass were the biggest problems associated with Central Florida abandoned homes just a year ago. Today, Shanklin says the problems run deeper than just unsightly exteriors. Peering in the windows of some abandoned Orlando area homes today is like watching a horror movie. Thousands of dead bees, smeared feces on the walls and dying rodents in the attics are a few of the treats foreclosure clean-up crews are finding. Some proactive homeowners are even hiring contractors to strip their homes down to the baseboards prior to bank reposession. Shanklin describes the increasingly familiar scene inside a million-dollar Windermere home: "Inside the house, the custom-made kitchen cabinets, granite counter tops, appliances, switch plates, toilets, crown molding — everything of value — has been stripped from the floors, ceilings and walls. There's a gaping hole in the former kitchen where the counter-top island had been. The master tub with burnished bronze faucet has been ripped from its casing." (Photo Gallery)

Florida Headlines To Make Your Eyes Bleed

Florida Politicians, New Construction, Sales Gimmicks & Rising Rates

Having blogged about the Florida HousingBath for over a year and waited patiently for signs of a recovery, there are four types of news headlines that make blood stream from my eyes like LeChiffre in Casino Royale: 1.) Florida property taxes and insurance rates aren't falling...They're still RISING. Translation: Your "leaders" in Tallahassee reneged on their promises of two years ago, and simply don't care about the added financial strain on average Floridians. 2.) Certain Florida homebuilders are suddenly bullish again and moving forward with new developments. Translation: Plummeting median prices, existing homeowners and tens of thousands of pending foreclosures be damned...we think now is a great time to ramp up Florida's excess home and condo inventory.  3.) Yet another chance to "win" a Florida home for $50. Translation: Suckers Wanted. Some loser can't unload his bad investment, so he's going to make the current Florida housing situation look even more gimmicky and pathetic with another online raffle pricing a tiny townhouse significantly higher than market value four years ago. 4.) Mortgage rates are rising thanks to Fed policy and rising uncertainty. "Translation: Higher rates may deepen the two-year slump which helped trigger the recession and sideline consumers planning to refinance or buy their first home." (Bloomberg)

Florida Hurricane Victims, Old & New

Hurricane Wilma Homeowners & Citizens Policyholders

The 2009 Hurricane Season is only three days old, and local news teams are already stoking the old fears of Cat-5 devastation statewide. But according to Law.com, residents of several South Florida condos are still dealing with unresolved claims from Hurricane Wilma nearly four years ago. Australian insurance giant QBE has amassed a large legal defense team forcing some HOA's to settle, but attorneys for the associations say "QBE hopes to force their clients into unfair settlements to avoid court costs." Meanwhile, Florida politicians promised meaningful homeowners insurance reform back in 2007. So it's interesting that, despite the growing recession and no major storms in three years, Governor Charlie Crist just signed a bill allowing Citizens Property Insurance to raise hundreds of thousands of South Florida home and condo premiums "by up to 10%." Citizens, in turn, says they will likely raise rates the full 10% per year for the next five years for most South Florida homeowners.