For Florida homebuyers, mortgages are safer but tougher to come by

| 9/17/2018

For Florida homebuyers, mortgages are safer but tougher to come by

Banks remain a bit gun-shy after racking up billions in losses stemming from mortgages gone bad. That means homebuyers, especially those with less-than-stellar credit, face more hurdles qualifying for a mortgage than they did in the housing boom years. But the loans are safer, more transparent and actually take into account whether a borrower can afford to keep up with payments. This report from the AP follows Keri Weishaar and her husband, who live near Tampa, as an example of how home financing has changed, post-recession.

Commercial real estate finance firm moving home office from Boston to Sarasota

Commercial real estate finance firm Valencia Realty Capital will move its headquarters to Sarasota from Boston. Valencia, which began operations nearly five years ago in Boston, helps real estate investors and developers borrow money to acquire, develop or refinance commercial properties. [Source: The Real Deal]

Palm Beach County real estate to be the star of new streaming channel

If pretty houses are your thing, you’ll want to check out a new streaming channel dedicated to Palm Beach County real estate starting Monday. Called Lang Realty TV, after the real estate company, the channel at Langrealty.tv will showcase 30-minute programs about luxury living and properties for sale. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel ]

Florida, Tampa Bay rank high in risk of mortgage fraud

New York, New Jersey and Florida remain the top three states for the risk of mortgage fraud as fraud on mortgage applications ticks up nationally. Among the top 25 metro areas, the Tampa Bay area ranked eighth in the risk of application fraud. [Source: Tampa Bay Times ]

Backers of Amendment 2, which would limit property taxes, make big ad buy

A political committee backing a proposed ballot measure about limiting property taxes spent $4 million last week on advertising, a new finance report shows. The committee known as Amendment 2 is for Everybody paid the money Sept. 4 to the New York-based firm McLaughlin & Associates. [Source: Florida Politics]

STAT OF THE WEEK
$34.5 million
Commercial real estate heavyweights Blackstone Group and Stiles Corp. recorded the two priciest retail trades in South Florida in August. A company tied to Blackstone bought a Sedano’s-anchored shopping center near Miami Lakes for $34.5 million. [Source: The Real Deal]

ALSO TRENDING:

› Columbus real estate firm purchases Florida property for $80M [Columbus Business First]
A fast-growing Columbus property management group is deepening its investments in Florida. Coastal Ridge Real Estate recently acquired a 228-unit, 924-bed student housing community called The Reef in Fort Myers for $78.75 million.

› Costs keep apartment development slow in St. Augustine as it booms in Jacksonville [St. Augustine Record]
In a tight market, St. Johns County renters are seeing new opportunities with robust building. But they’ll have to move to Jacksonville to take advantage of them.

› Sarasota agent ranked among Florida’s top realtors [Sarasota Magazine]
Peter Laughlin of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty was recently ranked No. 30 in Florida for individual real estate sales by volume in the 2018 REAL Trends “America’s Best Real Estate Professionals List.”

› Coral Gables firm set to buy vacant labs, offices from Port St. Lucie for $14.5M [The Real Deal]
A Coral Gables-based firm moved a step closer to purchasing a vacant laboratory and office building from the city of Port St. Lucie for $14.5 million, or $135 per square foot.

Tags: Real Estate eNews

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