Florida Property Tax Reform – FAR Perspective for Special Session June 12-22, 2007 – Florida legislators have been working diligently for the last several months to come up with a plan to reduce Florida’s tax burden. An agreement could not be reached during the regular session, but the stalemate between legislators is getting closer to […]
Green Building is Poised to go Mainstream in Florida
Florida has lagged the burgeoning national ‘green building trend’, but it is now poised to go mainstream with increasing commercial retail and office buildings going to the process of green or LEED certifications. As of 2006 there has not been any residential homes that have received LEED certification in Florida although homes may have been […]
Mortgage Interest Rate Survey – June 1, 2007
In this week’s Mortgage Interest Rate Survey, according to Freddie Mac rates jumped another 5 basis points or .5/100%. “The interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages increased further following stronger growth in orders for durable goods,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “Recent reports have indicated that economic growth outside of the […]
South Florida “Subprime” Mortgage Market
South Florida “Subprime” Mortgage Market – the area has much at stake in the furor over the quality of its so-called “subprime” mortgages. How do South Florida’s numbers compare to the national average and other areas of the country? The latest twist – were half of the subprime borrowers ripped off? Did they actually qualify […]
3 Palm Beach County High Schools in Top 50 of Nation’s Best
Palm Beach County Top 3 High Schools Three high schools in Palm Beach County made the Top 50 in NEWSWEEK Magazine’s list of the Top 1,200 Schools in the Nation. Suncoast High in Riviera Beach (5), Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach (17) and Atlantic High in Delray Beach (37) also […]
Mortgage Interest Rate Survey – May 25, 2007
In this week’s Mortgage Interest rate survey, according to Freddie Mac, rates jumped 10 basis points or 1/100%, as investors sold bonds on the market – the law of supply and demand causes bond prices to go down. When bond prices fall, bond yields rise, and mortgage rates follow the trend. Freddie Mac released its […]
Insurance reform attracts new insurers to Florida
Florida’s property insurance market is becoming more welcoming to new insurers thanks to recent changes in the insurance regulation laws that are helping them financially. Four new homeowners insurance carriers have entered the Florida market since the state passed legislation in January to lower premiums and entice new carriers to write policies. Another three companies […]
What to know before you buy – Good info for first-time buyers and buyers relocating to Boca Raton
The softening Florida real estate market may signal some good news for first-time home buyers, and many others who have been shut out of the local real estate market due to sky-high home prices. But now, with more inventory on the market, lower fixed-rate mortgages, and sellers desperately cutting their asking prices, home buyers are […]
Credit Crackdown Shutting Out Home Buyers
Even before Goodman Griffin and his girlfriend began house-hunting a month ago, they sat down with a mortgage broker and were pre-qualified for the nontraditional loan they needed to purchase the kind of home they wanted. So it came as a shock when the loan they thought they had was yanked away from them this […]
Drought spurs order to shackle sprinklers
Turn off those sprinklers. Water restrictions are returning to South Florida. This time, they might be here to stay. Water managers voted Thursday to impose three-day-a-week limits for sprinklers from Tequesta to the Keys, saying it’s time for residents and businesses to share the pain of a drought that threatens the region’s wells and wildlife. […]
