Buy my house, please!

As the market cools, it will take more work to get that 'For Sale' sign out of your front yard.

Home sales drop; buyers await deals

For five months, Victor Peralta tried to sell his four-bedroom, Old Spanish home in Miami Shores. Twice he lowered the price, by $150,000 in all, yet only two people stopped in to see it. Now he's dangling the keys to a $32,000 car before buyers' eyes.

When homeowners are desperate to sell

Was it only last summer that houses sold in a day, buyers were bidding up prices and sellers in some markets haggled down real-estate agents' commissions? Nationally, 39% more "existing" homes -- not new ones -- are on the market than last year this time. Real-estate agents are giving stunned sellers crash courses in marketing. Agents now command the full traditional 6% commissions -- sometimes more -- if only to use most of it as bait so they can offer up to 4% or 5% to a buyer's agent for a successful sale.

HOUSE OF LIES | TOWN HALL MEETING

Promises aplenty at Dade housing agency meeting.

Top officials promise swift changes to Dade's housing agency and swift justice for wrongdoers.

How to fight your ballooning property tax

More than half of homeowners pay too much because their property has been wrongly assessed. Here's how to research, correct mistakes and navigate the appeals process.

Floridians, get a free home inspection and up to $5000 for repairs.

Our mission is to help you learn what specific home improvements can be made to better protect you and your family against hurricanes and to help provide you with the information and resources necessary to make your home stronger and safer from storms. In fact, if you receive a free home inspection and decide to take steps to strengthen your home, you may be eligible to match your money through this program up to $5,000.

Do we need a real estate agent?

We're first-time home buyers, and we're still doing our homework. Is it better trying to get everything done ourselves without dealing with a real estate agent (so we can get the price of the house lower), or should we deal with a real estate agent? Can you tell me the advantages and disadvantages of each path? Do you have any suggestions about us doing it ourselves?

THE PRICE OF PARADISE

Area sees middle class exodus

An outward migration is eroding South Florida's middle class, even as the region grows overall. Quality of life is cited -- congestion and the cost of housing and insurance.

Miami lags in consumer confidence

''Miami is poised to take it on the chin from the real estate market,'' said McCarty, who notes that for many consumers, especially in South Florida, real estate had been a big source of wealth. That's more difficult now with lenders tighter refinancing requirements. Others with adjustable rate mortgages are feeling the rise in interest rates.

How can you lower your windstorm insurance premiums?

From crossing a friend at the supermarket to talking with your neighbor while watering your lawn. It use to be that the hot topic was real estate and how you had to get some.

Well, things have change just a bit. Real estate continues to be a very hot topic, however, it carries a big spin. Now it's whether or not we can afford to stay in the home that we purchased at such a great price just two years ago.

The real estate market in South Florida has been the victim of several busy hurricane seasons overburdening the insurance companies with claim upon claim resulting in the outrages premiums we are now forced to pay.

Here is something your insurance company won't tell you. If you own a relatively new home that has been constructed to Florida building code, you stand to receive several discounts on your windstorm insurance that can amount to a 30% to 50% reduction in your premium.

Items such as shutters and roof construction are seldom outlined in you insurance's declaration of coverage. Speak to your agent and ask them for your carrier's mitigation verification affidavits for these features in your home and have an inspector complete the forms for you.

If you don't already know an inspector, allow me to suggest John Turner with Don Meyler Inspections, Inc. For a nominal fee of $150 you can literally save hundreds upon hundreds of dollars every year. His direct number is (954) 600-8880.

It's worth the call!

Housing market hitting a rough patch

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Aug. 10, 2006 -- The "For Sale" signs are staying out longer. House prices are easing as sellers try to lure in buyers.

High-flying housing market hitting some turbulence

WASHINGTON -- The ``For Sale'' signs are staying out longer. House prices are easing as sellers try to lure in buyers.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-89housingmarket,0,4379834.story?coll=sfla-business-front

As real estate market softens, players need to adapt

For all-weather real estate players, a flattening market means changing one's tactics, not burrowing away to hibernate until the market warms up. For sellers, it means getting acquainted (or reacquainted) with the toolbox of techniques developed during the down periods of the 1970s, '80s and '90s to move houses. For example, seller financing, where you take back a second note on concessionary terms to push the sale, take back a first note if you can afford to, or "buy down" your purchaser's interest rate to lower monthly payments.

Experienced real estate brokers can fill you in on these strategies, along with their pros and cons. They can also guide you on how to price realistically to sell now, not five months from now.
For buyers, down markets often offer exceptional opportunities to acquire real estate at prices and on terms that were unthinkable just a few years before. Again, the message is: Don't go to sleep. To the contrary, get off your duff and scour the market for properties that may never be cheaper, or even available.

http://www.planetrealtor.com/florida/news/daily/news.cfm?article=n1-08072006

HOUSE OF LIES | REACTION

Housing firms donated to Dade commissioners

Companies that failed to deliver on projects for the Miami-Dade Housing Agency have contributed to the election campaigns of commissioners, who have now promised action in the recent building scandal.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15207485.htm

HOUSE OF LIES | REACTION

Grand jury flays Housing Agency

Citing cronyism and corruption, the Miami-Dade grand jury condemned the county Housing Agency for mismanaging taxpayer dollars and not helping the poor.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15203697.htm

Middle-priced homes the buzz among builders

Amid a widening housing market slowdown, developers are starting to target one area where demand remains strong: middle-income housing. READ MORE

Five ways to play the housing slump

If you didn't buy a house while prices in Las Vegas zoomed 46 percent in 2004 and 15 percent last year, maybe you felt like a sucker. But given that the Standard & Poor's Homebuilding Index has skidded nearly 38 percent so far this year, you probably feel lucky if you don't own real estate stocks. But are you brave enough to bet against conventional wisdom and buy real estate stocks now? READ MORE