Fort Lauderdale Real Estate News

On August 11, the Broward Legislative Delegation will meet to hear public concerns and opposition against the proposed undersea natural gas port off the coastline of Fort Lauderdale. Residents along Fort Lauderdale beach area especially owners of Fort Lauderdale Condos at Galt Ocean Mile and Lauderdale by the Sea plan to make their objections heard at this meeting and vow to flood the office of Governor Charlie Crist with phone calls and faxes since it appears the final decision will fall to the Governor.

The undersea port project, “Calyso” proposed by Suez, a subsidiary of a French energy giant will consist of two natural gas terminals that will be constructed approximately 8 to 10 miles off the Fort Lauderdale coast. Tankers with liquefied natural gas will be able to dock alongside, heat the gas back to vapor and transport it through a pipeline to Florida’s energy plants.

The meeting on August 11th will be open to the public and will be held at the Beach Community Center at 3351 NE 33rd Ave, Fort Lauderdale, Florida from 5:00 - 7:30pm.

Anyone planning to speak should register online at least 2 days prior to the meeting .

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On July 26th, in a rare weekend session, the Senate approve a bill that has many trumpeting as the most consequential housing legislation in decades. With bi-partisan support, 72-13, the bill is aimed at assisting homeowners struggling to make their ballooning mortgage payments refinance into more affordable loans, avoid foreclosure and ultimately keep their homes.

Some estimates indicate that there are approximately 2 million people going through some stage of the foreclosure process. This bill now provides them the opportunity to restructure their loan payments, avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes.

After originally calling the bill an expensive bail-out for irresponsible borrowers and lenders, President Bush has indicated that he will sign the bill later this week. About 400,000 families could see some relief as early as this fall.

The portion of the bill that permits homeowners to refinance into more favorable loans will only be available for a few years.

Also included in this bill, about 4 billion in grants for purchasing and renovating foreclosed properties in hard hit areas, funding for new housing counselors and a tax refund for first time home-buyers.

Summary of The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008

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A Question of Outside Condo Property Taken to Court

The hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 were difficult on the state of Florida, but since then there has been an issue between Florida condo boards, unit owners, insurance companies, and the state that has made the hurricanes even more difficult to deal with. What’s the deal? The outside property belonging to any one condo unit in South Florida.

If a hurricane destroys things such as a condo’s hot tub, grill, lounge chairs, and Jacuzzis, who has to pay to repair or replace them? This has been an issue of debate since the hurricanes came to the state and ravaged many of these items. The issue was first raised when two years ago the Department of Business & Professional Regulation decided that condominium associations were liable for the damages if the property outside of a condo unit was damaged and these rulings became effective across the state.

This issue was brought to the forefront when a Florida condo association in Doral was receiving numerous requests from owners to have their items replaced or repaired that were damaged while in a condo common area. Problems ensued because everyone including the unit owners, the condominium association, and the insurance companies were all being given different information.

The association did not want to have to pay more than $1.5 million a year in insurance costs, so they brought the matter to the department and asked them to interpret the state law. The department ruled against the association, which appealed.

On July 2, 2008 the 3rd District Court of Appeal called into question this matter again when they decided that the rulings mentioned above were “utterly unfair.” The court was under the impression that everyone shouldn’t have to pay for the property of one. This court ruling backs a law that was signed on June 30th by Governor Charlie Crist. The problem is that many people say that the law, CS, SB 601, isn’t clear enough and it may not even be enforceable.

A spokesperson for the department stated that it will ask the 3rd District Court of Appeal to hear the case again. This is a sign that the Department of Business & Professional Regulation is not happy with the new law and wants to appeal it. If the law is appealed, this issue could be brought to the Florida Supreme Court to be heard. It is not yet known if the new law signed by the governor will be enforceable or upheld.

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Las Olas River House condo 2306, a luxury Florida condo in downtown Fort Lauderdale is now available as a furnished rental.

This absolutely stunning high floor Lexington east/west floor plan features 2 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, professionally designed by Perla Lici, offers approximately 2,000 square feet of living area and is indeed the ultimate vacation condo or local residence.

Featuring a European kitchen with Snadairo cabinets, stainless appliances and granite counters. Split bedroom plan, 2 balconies boasting impressive panoramic views of downtown Ft Lauderdale, the Atlantic Ocean, Nu River and Intracoastal Waterway.

Las Olas River House is one of the premier Las Olas condos that offers residents exceptional amenities including a state-of-the-art Fitness Center, heated pool, Bistro lounge, security, concierge and valet parking. This condo is also offered for sale at $799,000.

Contact John Sabia at 954-850-2397 to request a viewing of this luxury downtown condo.

More Las Olas River House Condos for Rent More Las Olas River House Condos for Sale

The St Regis Hotel & Resort on Fort Lauderdale Beach will no longer be managed by Starwood Hotels which owns the St Regis brand name. As of August 11, the 220-unit resort owned by Castillo Grand LLC will no longer be affiliated with the St Regis name. According to a spokesperson, the contract cancellation decision by Starwood Hotels came after several undisclosed disputes.

The St Regis Fort Lauderdale Condo-Hotel opened on Fort Lauderdale Blvd (A1A) across from the Atlantic Ocean in May 2007, promoted as a prestigious landmark, offers lavish hotel suites as well as luxurious condos for sale ranging in price from just under $2 million and up

Update: Ritz-Carlton will take over operations beginning August 11th marking the St Regis it’s fourth South Florida property including hotels in Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne and South Beach.

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Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Listing and Sales Activity for the month of June reports an upward swing over last months figures reporting positive numbers for single family sales (32%) and condo-townhome sales (10%).Average Sales price for single family homes is up 8% while condos-townhomes are down -9%.

Pending Sales for both types of property are also in positive territory: Single Family (6%) and condo-townhouse pendings (2%).

Monthly supply of Inventory is down for both single family (-25%) and condo-townhouses (-12%).

More detailed information at Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Listing and Sales Activity.

Looking for things to do in Fort Lauderdale this week?

Full Details on the following events can be found at Sun-Sentinel .

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I was watching a recent television airing of the Suze Orman Show when she talked about the decline in the real estate market and how a great number of people are panicking and freaking out because they are watching the value of their home decline significantly. Many people are agonizing about what to do… should they sell? should they stay?

The truth of the matter is that while some people are in the position where they have to sell and will have to bite the bullet in order to move on with their lives, many more people have absolutely no intention whatsoever of selling their home. They are happy in their homes, they are able to afford the monthly expenses and they plan to stay there for many years to come.

These people were very happy in their homes until they started watching the negative news everyday, listening to the radio and reading the newspaper all beating the same drum that the value of their home is going down, down, down. All of a sudden, the bliss turns to frustration because they feel that they are now poor, they have lost a lot of money, they don’t know what to do, should they sell and so on…

Suze warns it is time to stop thinking this way. She explains that while it is true that the housing market in many areas of the country is declining and it is possible the decline can continue for the rest of 2008 and into 2009, the fact of the matter is “a house is where you live.” She drives home the point, “what do you care what the value of the house is, if you are not planning to sell?

“If you have a good mortgage, you are able to keep up with the payments, you love the house, you love the neighborhood, you love the schools, etc, than stop worrying, and stop paying attention to the value of your home! The value of your home will eventually go back up.”

Suze cites as an example, the Hong Kong real estate market in 2001-2002. Hong Kong’s real estate market was very similar to the real estate boom we experienced here in the United States. Properties were skyrocketing. All of sudden, in 2001/2002 the real estate market in Hong Kong fell apart, similar to what we are experiencing now. Properties there had declined drastically to a point that many property owners saw the values of their homes decline to far less than what was owed on the property. Sound familiar?

Suze’s advice to them at the time, ironically, is the same advice she has now, “Just stay put. If you can afford the monthly mortgage and expenses, and you are loving everything about your home, just stay put!”

The real estate market in Hong Kong has rebounded and the property values today are higher than ever before. Will this happen in the United States? “Absolutely!” When it will happen, no one knows. Markets go up and markets go down. The key to remember is that your house is a home. If you can afford it and you love your home, stop worrying about the decline in value.

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