– Hard lessons businesses learned after the hurricane When you plan effectively for a hurricane and get 90% right, the 10% you missed will still frustrate you. These biz owners will plan better the next time. How will buyers and sellers bridge the pricing gap? Still-climbing property values are...
– Merritt Island Realtor is NAR Good Neighbor Award winner Louise McLean, Florida Realtors 2014 Humanitarian of Year, founded the Space Coast Assoc.’s charitable arm that helps over 2.2K homeless children in Brevard County. Tax reform: Deduct property taxes or mortgage interest? The U.S. House continues to consider tax...
– Another foreclosure wave as HELOCs default? Didn't happen Many owners took out interest-only home equity lines of credit before the market collapse, but most owners refinanced before they reset to a higher interest rate. Fla.'s Irma-related insurance claims continue to mount FEMA has approved 144,407 applications and provided...
– It's getting easier to crowdfund a downpayment Crowdfunding tools help everyone to “pitch in” when a buyer needs downpayment help, and the newest ones charge no fees and make it easy to do. Scott declares emergency amid Puerto Rico crisis If up to 100K Puerto Ricans relocate to...
– Real estate QandA: Mortgage relief after Hurricane Irma? Many Floridians missed work and spent money on repairs after Hurricane Irma departed. Now some can’t make their next mortgage payment, but they may have options. NAR unhappy with Washington tax proposal The just-proposed tax reform measure put together by six...
– Harsh reality hitting Floridians without flood policies In five years, the number of federal flood policies in Fla. fell by 15%, and many non-covered people are now wondering how they can afford to fix their homes. What will the housing market look like in 2018? According to Freddie...
– Mortgage rates increase after lengthy decline Average long-term mortgage rates rose to 3.38% in Freddie Mac’s weekly survey – the first FRM increase in almost two months. It's official: Fed will start selling bonds Experts have predicted rising mortgage rates for a long time, but this bond sale...
– FHA allows transactions to proceed with immediate reinspection FHA loans require a post-disaster inspection in declared catastrophe areas, but a rule that could delay closings is waived. Hurricane Irma damage could be as high as $65 billion Irma’s 185-mph winds seemed to be the biggest menace, but a...
– Irma's Fla. insurance claims already near $2 billion State officials say Hurricane Irma has already exceeded claims and losses (335,000 claims, $1.9B in property losses) from the two Fla. hurricanes last year. SE Fla. real estate market OK despite Irma's punch Beyond uprooted trees, debris in the streets...
– NAR: Student debt delays millennial homeownership by 7 years Despite being in prime home-buying years, a majority of millennials with student debt currently don’t own a home – and many believe student debt is the reason. IRS offers tax relief to Hurricane Irma victims Some Fla. Hurricane victims...
