Carmen "Corina" Silva de Fanti

lunes, 21 de mayo de 2012

AVENTURA FOR SALE 11959

PRICE: US$ 257500

LIVING AREA SF: 1077

BEDROOMS: 2

BATHROOMS: 2

HALF BATHS: 0

BUILT YEAR: 2005

WATER FRONT: N LAKE:N POOL: Y

Pembroke Pines for Sale 11196

PRICE: US$ 349900

LIVING AREA SF: 1300

BEDROOMS: 4

BATHROOMS: 2

HALF BATHS: 1

BUILT YEAR: 1998

WATER FRONT: N LAKE: N POOL: N

WESTON FOR SALE SAN MESSINA 11855

PRICE: US$ 238000

LIVING AREA SF: 1866

BEDROOMS: 4

BATHROOMS: 2

HALF BATHS: 1

BUILT YEAR: 1997

WATER FRONT: N LAKE: N POOL: N

WESTON FOR SALE 11405

PRICE: US$ 474900

LIVING AREA SF: 2653

BEDROOMS: 3

BATHROOMS: 3

BUILT YEAR: 1998

WATER FRONT: YES LAKE: YES POOL: YES

DORAL FOR SALE 11371

PRICE: US$ 409,000

LIVING AREA SF: 2317

BEDROOMS: 4

BATHROOMS: 2

HALF BATHS: 1

BUILT YEAR: 1996

martes, 15 de mayo de 2012

Leadership needed on foreclosures

May 6, 2012

When Gov. Rick Scott met with the Sun Sentinel's editorial board and reporters last week, he seemed surprised at the extent to which some banks have shunned responsibility for abandoned homes, with many neighborhoods left with decaying eyesores.
Gov. Scott said he was reading the Sun Sentinel series by reporters Megan O'Matz and John Maines about decaying properties, and would be paying more attention to the problem. It's about time.
The governor loves to talk about jobs, and, during our meeting with him, he even said jobs were the key to the problem of abandoned properties.

It is more complicated than that. And more leadership by the governor and the Legislature is sorely needed.

But we would also urge the governor to be more forceful — now. The governor has the bully pulpit, and should use it to pressure banks to be better corporate citizens, to be smarter on foreclosures, to work with homeowners to keep them in their homes.
Some of these homes sit abandoned and unattended to for months, and even years, hurting property values and even becoming dangerous at times, particularly when there is easy access to an empty home or pool. The ensuing legal limbo leaves many wondering who actually owns and is responsible for the property.
There's no reason why there should be a "legal limbo." If the families that took out the mortgage have been evicted, then surely someone — a financial institution in most cases — has laid claim to the property. Funny, bank repossessed vehicles don't seem to end up in such limbo.
The evidence suggests banks force out the borrowers, and then look the other way while the property falls into disrepair to save money on upkeep. That's unacceptable.
Some cities have used fines and liens to force banks to care for abandoned properties. But the fines are routinely bargained down so banks can attract buyers.
The issue of abandoned, foreclosed homes is not a problem unique to South Florida. In Chicago, the city now requires lenders to ensure abandoned properties are secured and maintained. According to the Sun Sentinel series, housing advocates say lenders will start taking better care of properties only when they face millions of dollars in liabilities.
In 2010, New Jersey became the first state to require lenders to correct code violations at any time during foreclosure. In New York, lenders must maintain properties in the period between winning a foreclosure judgment and taking title.
In business-friendly Florida, more regulation on banks seems unlikely. Even with the Sun Sentinel investigation finding more than 10,300 property code violations lodged against banks in 10 South Florida cities since 2007.
But, like the eyesore properties themselves, this is not a problem that is just going to magically disappear. Leadership — and pressure — from the governor and state officials is needed.
If they are just starting to get up to speed on the problem, they need to do so in a hurry.

Low mortgage rates spur many to try to improve credit scores

By Donna Gehrke-White, Sun Sentinel

4:03 a.m. EDT, May 4, 2012

Home interest rates plunged to historic lows this week as more South Floridians are working to boost their credit records so lenders will trust them with a mortgage.

The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage interest rate plunged this week to 3.84 percent, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Last year at this time, the rate was almost a percentage point higher at 4.71 percent.

The average interest rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages also dropped to a new low of 3.07 percent, from last week's average of 3.12 percent, Freddie Mac said.

With mortgage interest rates setting record lows since last fall, the number of people seeking credit counseling to improve themselves in the eyes of lenders has grown.

"We've definitely seen a surge" in people trying to qualify for home mortgages, said Kevin Maher, community outreach director of Credit Card Management Services in West Palm Beach.

Monica Benavides, a Consolidated client who lives in Miami, estimates she needs another 18 months to pay off bills and improve her credit score before she starts house hunting.

"I'm nearing the finish line," Benavides said. The goal is to not only get a mortgage but to also qualify for a rock-bottom interest rate, she said.

Sheila Austin will close on a three-bedroom pool home in Sunrise on Friday after two years improving her credit score. She paid off her car loan and made regular credit card payments.

The result: Her house will cost only $50 more a month than she's paying to rent a two-bedroom apartment.

"I can't believe it's happening," Austin said, adding, "I got my credit score in the low 800s."

For prospective homebuyers who have dealt with unemployment — South Florida's unemployment rate was 10.1 percent in 2010 — raising a credit score may take months of paying down credit card debt and developing a track record of paying on time.

Although Austin had a stellar credit score, her mortgage broker Adam Cohn said people can get home loans with scores of 600-640. A credit score is a three-digit number that attempts to predict credit worthiness and the risk of a consumer becoming seriously delinquent in the two years after the score is tabulated.

The trek to mortgage-worthiness will take longer for some. Last year, 34,492 South Floridians filed for bankruptcy. Others faced foreclosure: 20,511 properties in Broward County and 18,269 in Palm Beach County were in some stage of foreclosure last year, according to RealtyTrac, a foreclosure listing firm.

Credit rehabilitation will take longer for those prospective homebuyers.

Some could wait four to five years, said April Lewis-Parks, director of education and public relations for Consolidated Credit. When they do qualify, they will face interest rates that are higher than average, she said.

Those with a short sale or a foreclosure in their past may need two to five years to improve their credit, said Randy Bianchi, co-owner of Paradise Properties of Florida in West Palm Beach.

Some lenders have been forgiving recent short sales as long as the buyers weren't dumping a home so they could buy another, cheaper house, said Cohn, a Boca Raton mortgage broker.

If a family had a short sale to relocate for work, then some banks will go ahead with a new loan within months of the short sale, Cohn said. "As long as there is legitimate reason," he added. "I personally have gotten several approved."

For those working to improve their credit, experts advise:

Regularly pay bills on time, Maher said.

Resolve old cellphone contract disputes, he said.

Go to hud.gov to find a free, federally approved housing counselor.

Get preapproved for a mortgage amount before searching for a home, Bianchi said. "Otherwise, it's just a dream tour."

Staff writers Paul Owers and Marcia Heroux Pounds contributed to this report.

Small North Lauderdale bank closed, sold

By Doreen Hemlock, SunSentinel

11:01 a.m. EDT, May 5, 2012

A small North Lauderdale bank was closed Friday and sold to a stronger bank in Coral Gables.

Authorities shut the three-branch Security Bank NA and sold nearly all of its assets to financially sound Banesco USA in a deal the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. considered its least costly option.

The transition should be seamless for customers. Depositors are federally insured up to $250,000 per bank. The three branches will reopen as Banesco on Monday.

Security Bank NA had $99.1 million in deposits as of March 31.

The FDIC said it will share in Security Bank's losses, estimated to cost its deposit insurance fund about $10.8 million.

Security Bank NA is the third FDIC-insured bank shut in Florida this year. The last one closed was the small First Guaranty Bank and Trust Co. of Jacksonville in January.

The pace of bank closures in Florida has slowed dramatically in 2012, as banks recover from the state's severe real estate slump and recession. The worst pain for Florida's economy came in 2009, but foreclosures, loan delinquencies and other woes caught up with banks later, making 2010 their worst year.

Last year, authorities closed 13 banks in Florida, down from 29 shuttered in 2010. Georgia became the state with the most bank closures in 2011, taking the title from Florida, FDIC records show.

This year, as Florida's economy improves, the number of Florida banks shut should slip below 10, independent bank analyst Ken Thomas of Miami has predicted.