Orlando Real Estate Law Blog

Sometimes a legislative measure can bog down for lack of time to iron out the kinks, or the same support for a bill in one body of the legislature doesn't exist in the other body. That may happen in Florida with respect to a proposed bill that purports to speed up the foreclosure process while preserving due process rights. The bill passed the Florida House by a wide majority but the deadline for the Senate to approve it is Friday, the last day the state legislators are in session.

Foreclosure cases in Florida continue to swamp the court system. According to one legislator, this legislation is needed to help borrowers, lenders and the economy of the state of Florida. The bill, however, does not contribute to keeping homeowners in their homes but is geared only toward getting the foreclosure process done more quickly. Critics say that it would simply perpetuate the present suffering of homeowners or former owners who are being constantly pursued by lenders and their lawyers.

If you've been waiting for a long time to list your home for sale, now may possibly be the time to do it. At least that was the opinion of the chief economist for the Florida Realtors' Association who gave a recent real estate talk to a group of Gainesville realtors. He pointed out that after there being a glut of available homes in 2008, there is now a slender 5.5 month supply and sales are bristling.

That kind of a supply curve indicates a balanced real estate market. However, as sellers become informed of the current opportunities, supplies will creep up again in 2013 and 2014. He also noted that the biggest indicator of a recovery, employment, has been rising in Florida since the beginning of 2010.

When there are so many empty homes due to foreclosures, it sometimes brings unsavory figures out of the shadows to capitalize on the misfortunes of others. The Florida real estate situation has created thousands of homes owned by banks and thousands of others that are left abandoned. These mostly empty houses are prey for fraud and sleight-of-hand operators.

One real estate partnership in the Miami-Dade area has accumulated a holding of over 30 houses and condos by using fake deeds, deception and other illusory tactics. In virtually every instance of a reported real estate transaction giving title to the partnership, further investigation reveals that the owners never signed a deed, according to an investigation by the Miami Herald. But somehow, police authorities seem perplexed and unable to justify making arrests.

It's somehow difficult to re-tool one's vocabulary with the discarded language of a real estate boom when so much of the predominant terminology of the past several years has been impressed with words like fear, loss and recession. But truth be told, there is a full-fledged residential real estate boom now emerging in south Florida. Indications are strong that the boom is spreading statewide.

A recent report in a Miami news publication confirmed living proof of a boom by illustrating numerous examples of houses put on the market and sold almost instantly for the listing price. This is backed up by many examples of intense competition among buyers to snap up available listings. With strong demand and limited supply in the residential property market, the median sales prices residential property in Miami-Dade is up to much higher levels.