Garbage is a Dirty Word

Nov 8th, 2011
by edsmith.
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Garbage can be a dirty word around Destin. With 15% of the voting population signing a petition to suspend an ordinance passed by the City Council, Destin is back to the drawing board with regard to garbage collection. At issue was a provision that would have placed residents’ trash bills on their annual property tax bill. Opponents argued that the city did not have the authority to take such an action to begin with. Other factors were that not all residences In Destin are occupied full-time. Some owners
would have to pay for 12 months of service for properties that are occupied for perhaps a couple of months or less per year.  

 

Also at odds with city residents was the limited discount that would have resulted. Waste Management stood to receive a large increase in both revenues and profit. Revenues because the city would bill out each and every residence.  100% of all homes and condos within the city limits would be assessed. Profit because Waste Management would no longer have to bill out 5,000+ invoices and quarterly stickers for the individual cans. Additionally, Waste Management would no longer have any billing delinquency issues such as they have now.  

 

What is next for garbage collection in the World’s Luckiest Fishing Village? I would suggest that if garbage collection is our biggest challenge next year, 2012 should be a very good year!

 

 
 
 

 

Posted in: Current Events.
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As The Market Turns

Oct 27th, 2011
by edsmith.
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According to Realty Trac, foreclosure filings have surged by 17% in what is being interpretedas a possible end to the review process that has hampered and bogged down the process for more than a year.  A review system was initiated by most of the major lenders in response to the robo-signing debacle that they faced last summer.
 
Many in the know do believe that major lenders are gearing up to accelerate the foreclosure process next year. Consequently, many of them are also gearing up to approve higher numbers of short sale transactions. As an example, Bank of America will complete approximately 100,000 short sales nationally in 2011, but has plans to complete 160,000 short sales in 2012.

Posted in: Short Sales.
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Occupy HUD

Oct 21st, 2011
by edsmith.
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One of our favorite economic prognosticators is a guy in San Francisco named Dick Lepre …  Dick was commenting on all the “Occupy Wall Street” cavorting and shared the following little nugget:

 

“For many potential homebuyers, the lack of cash available to accumulate the required down payment and closing costs is the major impediment to purchasing a home. Other households do not have sufficient available income to make the monthly payments on mortgages financed at market interest rates for standard loan terms. Financing strategies, fueled by the creativity and resources of the private and public sectors, should address both of these financial barriers to homeownership.”

 

Source: The National Homeownership Strategy: Partners in the American Dream, published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1994

 

This was the directive from HUD, not Wall Street. Do the protesters care?

Posted in: Economy.
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A Divorce Decree Does Not Convey the House!

Oct 14th, 2011
by edsmith.
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Even though a divorce decree may state that one spouse is required to relinquish their interest in favor of the other, a former spouse may still be required to sign when the property is resold.

 

In order to convey the property to a new owner, the title insurance underwriters will require more than just a copy of a divorce decree. The underwriters will require that the relinquishing spouse sign a quit-claim deed at closing, if they had not already done so. This is often overlooked in divorce situations and has been known to cause unnecessary delays when it comes time to resell.

 

We recently experienced a closing delay of more than one month because a former spouse claimed to be in China and could not get to the Embassy to have the deed witnessed and notarized. So far as we know, this person may have actually been in Omaha. The emails could have been coming from anywhere. Excuse after excuse and the clock kept ticking. We eventually got it closed judicially, but having to deal with a bitter former spouse on the day of closing is not an enviable position.

 

 

The moral to the story? Get the quit-claim deed signed simultaneously with all other divorce related documents!

 

For information on Destin Florida area short sales, bank foreclosures and general real estate topics, please visit www.FloridaBrokers.com or email us at smith@realtor.com

Posted in: Sellers.
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As the Market Turns

Oct 10th, 2011
by edsmith.
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A recent AP story referred to the current real estate market as “bi-polar. ” That assessment would be difficult to dispute. With nearly all-time record-breaking low interest rates and extremely affordable homes and condos, it is difficult to understand how anything could even be left on the market at this point. The problem of course is the uncertainty and instability that equates to poor consumer confidence numbers. The fact that the fed took aim and sued 17 of the nation’s top mortgage lenders is particularly damaging to the economy.  The fed’s position is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were sold a bill of goods. As if they did not know what they were buying? With $198 billion in toxic asset sales at issue, this comes at a time when banks are already quite vulnerable.

However, the 500 pound gorilla in the room is the distressed shadow inventory that exists throughout the nation. The term “shadow inventory” refers to the millions of distressed properties out there that  have not yet hit the open market. We now have 2.2 million  of them in the foreclosure pipeline. 37% of those have not made a payment in more than 24 months; 34% have not made a payment in more than 12 months. All told, that means that nearly three quarters of the mortgagors in various stages of foreclosure have not, on average, made a single payment in nearly a year and a half! At some point, the banks will have to accelerate the process again and turn these billions of dollars in non-performing assets into cash.  

For Destin, Seaside, Ft. Walton Beach and Sandestin real estate information, contact Ed and Terri Smith at RE/MAX Coastal Properties, 850-837-5500 x1, or by email smith@realtor.com

 

 

Posted in: Uncategorized.

October is Fire Safety Month!

Oct 4th, 2011
by edsmith.
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Yes, it’s that time of year again. October is a great time to change out all the batteries in your smoke and fire alarms! According to organizations such as the National Fire Prevention Association and FireSafety.gov, almost all home fires are both preventable and survivable. Changing your smoke and fire alarm batteries annually and replacing alarms that are more than 10 years old will greatly improve your odds!

 

For many great tips and guidelines pertaining to fire safety, please visit http://www.nfpa.org  and http://www.FireSafety.gov

 

For information on short sales, bank foreclosures and general real estate topics, please visit www.FloridaBrokers.com  or email us at smith@realtor.com

Posted in: Current Events.
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Citizens Raises Sinkhole Coverage Premiums

Sep 13th, 2011
by edsmith.
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State legislators have allowed Citizens Insurance to dramatically increase the premiums it charges for sinkhole coverage. Citizens is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt government corporation.  Citizens was established to act as a safety net, or insurer of last resort for the thousands of Florida property owners who were unable to get coverage elsewhere. Unintentionally, Citizens became the largest property insurer in Florida with more than 1.4 million policies now in place.  That equates to more than $500 billion in property coverage and nearly $3 billion in annual premiums.

 

Fortunately, sinkholes are not a major concern in NW Florida. However, counties such as Orange and Hillsborough have been plagued with them.  Citizens has proposed sinkhole premiums coverage increases of up to 2,000 percent in such sinkhole prone areas. Citizen’s board voted to limit the rate increases (for sinkhole coverage) to 50 percent next year and then phase in the remaining increases over the next several years.

Posted in: Insurance.
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Rescuing the Housing Market

Aug 31st, 2011
by edsmith.
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According to a CNNMoney article today, many experts believe that the best medicine for the housing market is to speed up the foreclosure process,  and they believe that the Obama administration should pave the way!

 

Those of us who work in the trenches fully realize the futility of the attempts thus far by the Obama administration to stem the rising tide of delinquencies and foreclosures.  Jacksonville Florida based  Lender Processing Services, Inc.  states that of the 2.2 million loans in foreclosure today, approximately 37% (more than 800,000) have not made a single payment in more than 24 months. 750,000 of them have not made a payment in more than 12 months.

 

A rapidly growing number of such properties are in a declining state of disrepair, many are abandoned. How can this be good for neighborhoods, communities, and/or the housing market in general?  That which is good for the communities is good for our economies. That which is good for our housing markets is good for our economies. Want to create jobs and put people to work?  Stimulate the housing market!  

 

Generally speaking, I believe in and fully support a more limited federal government role in our lives. However, a very wise man once said, “If you find yourself in a hole, quit digging”. That is exactly what needs to be done in this case.  Somehow, some way, the nation’s largest lenders must be encouraged to accelerate the processes of a) Modifying the rates and/or terms on delinquent loans in their portfolios; b)  Approving short sales; c) Foreclosing the rest.

 

Often, it is the most complex problem that has the most simplistic solution. But don’t try to sell that in Washington, ‘cause as we say in the south, that dog won’t hunt.

Posted in: Foreclosure.
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Oil Spill Dollars on the Way

Aug 26th, 2011
by edsmith.
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Our Florida legislators have seen fit to earmark $30 million dollars for economic development in NW Florida. The funds will be doled out to the tune of $10 million per year for the next three years to the eight counties most affected by the BP oil spill last year. The recipient counties include Okaloosa, Walton, Bay and Santa Rosa. NW Florida’s most prolific economist, Rick Harper will administer the funds through the University of West Florida Office of Economic Development.

 

The Oil Spill Recovery Act will place NW Florida front and center in terms of any state sponsored incentive programs. According to Harper, “This money can then work in concert with existing state incentive funding and local dollars to give more firepower to economic development opportunities. Counties outside the eight-county region will also benefit, by providing residential areas and helping meet increased regional demand for labor.”

Posted in: Economy.
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File your insurance claim with a mobile app?

Aug 25th, 2011
by edsmith.
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According to Florida Trend, some national insurers now have mobile apps to enable policy holders to file claims via a smart phone. Only one Florida based company has jumped on the bandwagon so far, that being Security First Insurance down in Ormond Beach. Just imagine … If you are involved in a fender-bender, you can file your claim and upload the accident photos immediately  while waiting in your car!  The apps can also be used for things like obtaining quotes and making payments. With more than fifty percent of all cell phone users expected to own smart phones within the next several years, we expect to see many more insurers stepping up to the plate in the near future.

Posted in: Current Events.
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