The Orlando Sentinel reports from Florida. “Developer Cameron Kuhn said Thursday that he is all but broke, in the process of swapping property and assets to clear his debt, and will soon be down to just one employee to keep his Orlando-based development business going. ‘There is a clarity in going broke. You find out who your friends are,’ Kuhn told about 70 business people attending a meeting in Orlando.” (Click on link for full article)
From Monday through April 13, auction giant Hudson & Marshall will offer more than 500 foreclosed or bank-owned homes across Florida. About 200 homes will be auctioned in Miami alone. Nearly a hundred more are in the Orlando area, with about 80 others in Tampa.”
“‘Overbuilding and the disproportionate number of foreclosures in Florida compared to other states has severely weakened Florida’s real-estate market,’ principal Dave Webb said in a statement.”(Click on link for full article)
The Palm Beach Post. “After unsuccessfully trying to sell his spacious spread west of Boynton Beach for the past six months, Art Espanet decided he had little choice but to cut his price.”
“Discouraged by the lack of interest from buyers, Espanet dropped his listing price from $832,000 to $795,000. It’s not exactly a fire sale, Espanet acknowledges, but he considers $795,000 for a 1.8-acre property that includes a 3,800-square-foot home and a four-car garage a fair price.”(Click on link for full article)
The Daily Business Review. “It took condo converter Juan Puig little more than a decade to build his fortune. After a seven-hour auction, the developer’s expensive possessions were gone, gone, gone to the highest bidder.”
“The items ranged from a collection of Latin American art works to luxury autos to jewelry. Not everyone in attendance was impressed with Puig’s taste.”(Click on link for full article)
From TC Palm. “The Sunshine State led the nation in mortgage fraud in 2007. Florida’s ranking — the second consecutive year it topped the mortgage fraud list — comes from the Mortgage Asset Research Institute, in its report to the Mortgage Bankers Association.”
“‘It’s sloppy work by the title companies,’ said Steven Allender, a Cocoa Beach-based real estate attorney. ‘When the real estate market was buzzing, some of these title companies offered loans with no documents required.’”(Click on link for full article)
The News Press. “Natalia Lage said she and her family have found the good life in Cape Coral. She described the neighborhood as a close-knit one struck by a trend that is scattering friends to the four winds.”
“‘A lot of people are moving now, a lot of people are doing short sales,’ she said. ‘I’m sad they’re moving.’”(Click on link for full article)
The St Petersburg Times. “In a cobalt blue Bentley that he bragged once belonged to boxer Mike Tyson, Marty Donovan looked the part of a superstar real estate agent. The Chicago native racked up dozens of home sales between 2004 and 2007, most in a single neighborhood, Clearwater’s Island Estates. His $40-million in annual sales placed him at the top of heap.”
“‘I was living in la-la land in Island Estates,’ Donovan says now. ‘I even did tours in a pimped-out golf cart. People loved it. It was island living.’”
“Island living isn’t so sweet anymore. And a lot of residents single out Donovan’s business dealings for ruining their neighborhood. Of the 36 houses in some stage of foreclosure in Island Estates, at least a quarter were owned, listed or handled by the 44-year-old Realtor.”(Click on link for full article)
