Many people are complaining...saying that we shouldn't be bailing out the financial sector. They put us all in this mess. That's true to a point, but when you are the world's largest company, if you go under...the economy will take a fall also! But we must also remember that the FED sets interest rates...many of the problems we are seeing today has a lot to do with Real Estate Agents, Mortgage Lenders, Builders, but more importantly the FED regluators. We didn't see this many foreclosures and REO/short sales when you were putting down 20-30% and had higher interest rates.
We have talked about this at http://www.investsmarter.com/ and titled it the Minimum Monthly Payment Problem. Our society looks at things these days more as can we afford the payment, not can we afford the item. The article below shed some light on what's happening and some other thoughts. Whether you are looking at Panama City Beach Florida Residential Property or Panama City Beach Florida Commercial Real Estate, this will all play into account.
Daily Real Estate News September 23, 2008Financial Bailout Plan Advances Under pressure from the Bush administration to act swiftly, the plan to revive the U.S. financial system continues to move forward. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pitched the bailout plan during testimony before the Senate banking committee on the morning of Sept. 23. (See NAR Gets Behind Efforts to Restore Market.)
"In order to avoid a continuing series of financial institution failures and frozen credit markets that threaten American families' financial well-being, the viability of businesses both small and large, and the very health of our economy," Paulson told the Senate Banking committee this morning.Bernanke said there was no other option. "Action by the Congress is urgently required to stabilize the situation and avert what otherwise could be very serious consequences for our financial markets and for our economy," Bernanke said.Some lawmakers from both parties have already expressed concern about the $700 billion price tag and its chances for success. Meanwhile, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and his staffers have drafted a counter-proposal that works in many of the priorities outlined by Senate Democrats. Source: New York Times, David M. Herszenhorn (09/23/08) and CNN Money, Chris Isidore (9/23/08)© Copyright 2008 Information Inc.
We have more information online at http://www.randbcoastalrealestate.com/ where you can view properties for sale from Pensacola to Panama City Florida. Please let us know your thoughs on these matters also!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Commercial Real Estate and Loans Still Staying Strong
One of the most solid investments is and will continue to be Commercial Real Estate, mainly commercial buildings. That is of course if you buy them correctly. We take time at www.InvestSmarter.com to help people understand the Commercial Real Estate Market not only in Panama City, Panama City Beach, and Destin Florida, but all across the country. The basics are the exact same everywhere...the number of 0's are just sometimes different!
Commercial Loans Still in Good Shape
The commercial loan business continues to be in a lot better shape than other kinds of lending.The historical average delinquency rate on loans that support commercial real estate securities is 0.61 percent over the past 10 years. Current delinquency rates are generally lower, Moody's Investor’s service points out. The current number of commercial real estate loans that are in arrears rose in June to 0.45 percent, up from 0.01 percent in May. The rate has risen 0.21 percent compared to a year ago, according to Moody’s.Delinquencies in apartment loans are a little higher, standing at 1.37 percent in June from a low of 0.51 percent in August 2007.Despite the overall favorable outlook, prices on commercial properties fell 3.5 percent in May for the third straight month, according to Moody's.Investors may be waiting to see some evidence that the worst is over for commercial real estate," Moody's analysts wrote in the report. "Until that time, most investors appear content to sit on the sidelines."Source: Reuters News, Richard Leong (08/04/2008)
Commercial Loans Still in Good Shape
The commercial loan business continues to be in a lot better shape than other kinds of lending.The historical average delinquency rate on loans that support commercial real estate securities is 0.61 percent over the past 10 years. Current delinquency rates are generally lower, Moody's Investor’s service points out. The current number of commercial real estate loans that are in arrears rose in June to 0.45 percent, up from 0.01 percent in May. The rate has risen 0.21 percent compared to a year ago, according to Moody’s.Delinquencies in apartment loans are a little higher, standing at 1.37 percent in June from a low of 0.51 percent in August 2007.Despite the overall favorable outlook, prices on commercial properties fell 3.5 percent in May for the third straight month, according to Moody's.Investors may be waiting to see some evidence that the worst is over for commercial real estate," Moody's analysts wrote in the report. "Until that time, most investors appear content to sit on the sidelines."Source: Reuters News, Richard Leong (08/04/2008)
Friday, July 4, 2008
REITs beating the Dow
One concern is always what is the true source of investment power. The REIT industry has been up and down the last couple of years mainly due to inexperience on other investors parts. Competition drove prices up and even the experienced investors began to get the greed bug. The good thing is now they true players are still in the game and the others have gone elsewhere.
REITs Fell in 2nd Quarter, Still Outperform Dow The Dow Jones Equity All REIT Total Return index fell 4.9 percent in the second quarter versus a gain of 1.4 percent in the first three months of this year. REITs (real estate investment trusts), which outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index in that first quarter, lagged behind the following three months with that broader index down 2.7 percent on a total-return basis. Still, REITs did manage to outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average's total return, which fell 6.85 percent in the April-through-June period. According to various analysts, REITs fell victim in the last three months to broader market concerns, such as the growing trouble in the financial sector. Real estate requires substantial capital to build, purchase and maintain assets. As a result, the industry is substantially more dependent on bank lending than other industries are. To this end, when banks scale back their lending, property firms face a more difficult challenge to expand and deliver investors returns. Green Street Advisors' Jim Sullivan notes, "For REITs, [the pullback in lending] stretches their balance sheets, hurts their earnings and negatively affects commercial real-estate values." Hotel REITs saw the biggest stock decline at 14.9 percent, mainly in response to moves by airlines to cut flights. Retail strip-center REITs, meanwhile fell 10.3 percent thanks to such factors as weaker housing growth and scarce financing. The top-performing category, posting a 4.6 percent increase, was a miscellaneous grouping that includes timberland REITs Plum Creek Timber Co. and Rayonier Inc., among others. Next were REITs specializing in hybrid office-industrial buildings, up 3.6 percent. Source: Wall Street Journal, Kris Hudson (07/02/08) Copyright Info Inc.
For more information in and arround the Panama City Commercial Real Estate market and the Panama City Beach Commercial Real Estate market visit www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
REITs Fell in 2nd Quarter, Still Outperform Dow The Dow Jones Equity All REIT Total Return index fell 4.9 percent in the second quarter versus a gain of 1.4 percent in the first three months of this year. REITs (real estate investment trusts), which outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index in that first quarter, lagged behind the following three months with that broader index down 2.7 percent on a total-return basis. Still, REITs did manage to outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average's total return, which fell 6.85 percent in the April-through-June period. According to various analysts, REITs fell victim in the last three months to broader market concerns, such as the growing trouble in the financial sector. Real estate requires substantial capital to build, purchase and maintain assets. As a result, the industry is substantially more dependent on bank lending than other industries are. To this end, when banks scale back their lending, property firms face a more difficult challenge to expand and deliver investors returns. Green Street Advisors' Jim Sullivan notes, "For REITs, [the pullback in lending] stretches their balance sheets, hurts their earnings and negatively affects commercial real-estate values." Hotel REITs saw the biggest stock decline at 14.9 percent, mainly in response to moves by airlines to cut flights. Retail strip-center REITs, meanwhile fell 10.3 percent thanks to such factors as weaker housing growth and scarce financing. The top-performing category, posting a 4.6 percent increase, was a miscellaneous grouping that includes timberland REITs Plum Creek Timber Co. and Rayonier Inc., among others. Next were REITs specializing in hybrid office-industrial buildings, up 3.6 percent. Source: Wall Street Journal, Kris Hudson (07/02/08) Copyright Info Inc.
For more information in and arround the Panama City Commercial Real Estate market and the Panama City Beach Commercial Real Estate market visit www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
Friday, May 16, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Going Green
Daily Real Estate News May 15, 2008
Green Future for Commercial Buildings
WASHINGTON — Climate change is in the political crosshairs, with presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle advocating policies to reduce greenhouse emissions, particularly carbon dioxide. That could mean big changes for commercial real estate, since buildings account for 29 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, said Andy Ehrlich, senior vice president of B&D Consulting, a national advisory and advocacy firm based in Washington, D.C. He spoke to commercial practitioners at Wednesday’s Commercial Legislative and Regulatory Subcommittee at NAR’s Midyear Meetings.Congress has already created an agency in the U.S. Department of Energy to evaluate ways in which commercial buildings could reduce emissions and save energy. In addition, a proposed bill (S. 2191) would require commercial buildings to reduce energy use by 30 percent beyond the standard currently espoused by American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). After 2019, standards would get even tighter. The bill would also offer incentives to states to update their building and energy efficiency codes. The goal of the legislation, according to Ehrlich, is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately two-thirds by 2050. Most scientists estimate that this level of reduction would be sufficient to prevent significant climate change, said Ehrlich. Even without regulation, higher fuel prices and growing tenant demand are greatly increasing the demand for green buildings in the U.S., said Ehrlich. While green buildings account for only about 2 percent of new commercial construction today, he estimated that by 2010, that percentage could increase to as much as 10 percent of new construction. “There’s no perfect bullet to reducing green house gases; we’re all going to have to take part, including the owners and managers of commercial real estate,” he concluded. — By Mariwyn Evans for REALTOR® magazine online
www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
Green Future for Commercial Buildings
WASHINGTON — Climate change is in the political crosshairs, with presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle advocating policies to reduce greenhouse emissions, particularly carbon dioxide. That could mean big changes for commercial real estate, since buildings account for 29 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, said Andy Ehrlich, senior vice president of B&D Consulting, a national advisory and advocacy firm based in Washington, D.C. He spoke to commercial practitioners at Wednesday’s Commercial Legislative and Regulatory Subcommittee at NAR’s Midyear Meetings.Congress has already created an agency in the U.S. Department of Energy to evaluate ways in which commercial buildings could reduce emissions and save energy. In addition, a proposed bill (S. 2191) would require commercial buildings to reduce energy use by 30 percent beyond the standard currently espoused by American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). After 2019, standards would get even tighter. The bill would also offer incentives to states to update their building and energy efficiency codes. The goal of the legislation, according to Ehrlich, is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately two-thirds by 2050. Most scientists estimate that this level of reduction would be sufficient to prevent significant climate change, said Ehrlich. Even without regulation, higher fuel prices and growing tenant demand are greatly increasing the demand for green buildings in the U.S., said Ehrlich. While green buildings account for only about 2 percent of new commercial construction today, he estimated that by 2010, that percentage could increase to as much as 10 percent of new construction. “There’s no perfect bullet to reducing green house gases; we’re all going to have to take part, including the owners and managers of commercial real estate,” he concluded. — By Mariwyn Evans for REALTOR® magazine online
www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Interest Rates Continue to Come Down
Daily Real Estate News May 1, 2008
Fed Cuts Rates One-Quarter Point
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates Wednesday 25 basis points to 2 percent. It’s the lowest point in four years. The Fed was divided 8-2 on the cut. A statement from the majority of Fed members said: "The substantial easing of monetary policy to date ... should help to promote moderate growth over time and to mitigate risks to economic activity."Observers believes this means that the Fed is unlikely to make any more cuts – at least through the end of this year. "The Fed didn't completely shut the door on rate cuts, but they closed it part way," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "I think the overall message was they've done a lot already to help the economy and think this will be enough. But they stand ready to do more if that is needed."Source: The Associated Press, Jeannine Aversa (04/30/2008)
What does that mean for you? Basically most people are looking at what the monthly payment is or if it's an investment property...what do I need to rent the property out for to make a solid return. As this gab narrows, the easier it is to get funding.
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Fed Cuts Rates One-Quarter Point
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates Wednesday 25 basis points to 2 percent. It’s the lowest point in four years. The Fed was divided 8-2 on the cut. A statement from the majority of Fed members said: "The substantial easing of monetary policy to date ... should help to promote moderate growth over time and to mitigate risks to economic activity."Observers believes this means that the Fed is unlikely to make any more cuts – at least through the end of this year. "The Fed didn't completely shut the door on rate cuts, but they closed it part way," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "I think the overall message was they've done a lot already to help the economy and think this will be enough. But they stand ready to do more if that is needed."Source: The Associated Press, Jeannine Aversa (04/30/2008)
What does that mean for you? Basically most people are looking at what the monthly payment is or if it's an investment property...what do I need to rent the property out for to make a solid return. As this gab narrows, the easier it is to get funding.
www.InvestSmarter.com
www.RandBCoastalRealEstate.com
www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-MLS.com
www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Condominiums.com
www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
U.S. Economists Say Recession is Here
Daily Real Estate News April 29, 2008
U.S. Economists Say Recession is Here
Two-thirds of the 52 economists surveyed last week by USA Today say the U.S. is in recession. Another 13 percent believe that the economy is headed that way sometime this year.The good news is that nearly all believe the recession will be short and shallow and inflation will decline. Unemployment, one of the hallmarks of a recession, will probably rise to about 6 percent, says David Berson, chief economist for the PMI Group. "That's pretty low for a recession," he saysBut Berson continues to worry about real estate. "Given the drop in home prices, there's a big risk that foreclosures will go up more than expected," Berson says.Some economists, however, are more optimistic and do not think the economy has -- or will necessarily -- fall into a recession. "A recession, by definition, is a broad-based decline in GDP that lasts more than a few months," says Ken Mayland of ClearView Economics. So even if there were a decline in the first quarter, Mayland says, that doesn't mean there will necessarily be a decline in the second quarter. Source: USA Today, John Waggoner and Barbara Hansen (4/29/08)
www.RandBCoastalRealEstate.com
www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
www.InvestSmarter.com
U.S. Economists Say Recession is Here
Two-thirds of the 52 economists surveyed last week by USA Today say the U.S. is in recession. Another 13 percent believe that the economy is headed that way sometime this year.The good news is that nearly all believe the recession will be short and shallow and inflation will decline. Unemployment, one of the hallmarks of a recession, will probably rise to about 6 percent, says David Berson, chief economist for the PMI Group. "That's pretty low for a recession," he saysBut Berson continues to worry about real estate. "Given the drop in home prices, there's a big risk that foreclosures will go up more than expected," Berson says.Some economists, however, are more optimistic and do not think the economy has -- or will necessarily -- fall into a recession. "A recession, by definition, is a broad-based decline in GDP that lasts more than a few months," says Ken Mayland of ClearView Economics. So even if there were a decline in the first quarter, Mayland says, that doesn't mean there will necessarily be a decline in the second quarter. Source: USA Today, John Waggoner and Barbara Hansen (4/29/08)
www.RandBCoastalRealEstate.com
www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
www.InvestSmarter.com
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Real Estate Pros Woo Foreign Buyers
Daily Real Estate News April 24, 2008
Real Estate Pros Woo Foreign Buyers
Real estate professionals are looking to attract foreign home buyers by learning to speak their language and paying airfare and hotel bills of those who actually close the deal.Because of the falling value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies, a foreigner who buys a home gets a discount averaging 30 percent, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® estimates.Here are some of the creative ways real estate professionals are getting foreign attention.
Jacky Teplitzky, the fourth-ranked producer at Prudential Douglas Elliman, which has 3,300 agents in metro New York City, has hired staff lawyers who specialize in foreign buyers. That’s part of the reason that sales to foreigners rose from 10 percent of her business to 25 percent last year.
Atlanta-based Jenny Pruitt & Associates has added practitioners to the staff who speak Dutch, Korean, Farsi, and Arabic. A search function on its Web site can help a potential buyer locate someone who speaks his language.
Rick Wohlfarth, owner of Wohlfarth & Association, in New York City, travels regularly to Brazil to help link wealthy buyers with properties. Foreign buyers make up about 20 percent of his sales.Source: USA Today, Stephanie Armour (04/24/08)
www.InvestSmarter.com
www.RandBCoastalRealEstate.com
www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
www.Destin-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
Real Estate Pros Woo Foreign Buyers
Real estate professionals are looking to attract foreign home buyers by learning to speak their language and paying airfare and hotel bills of those who actually close the deal.Because of the falling value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies, a foreigner who buys a home gets a discount averaging 30 percent, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® estimates.Here are some of the creative ways real estate professionals are getting foreign attention.
Jacky Teplitzky, the fourth-ranked producer at Prudential Douglas Elliman, which has 3,300 agents in metro New York City, has hired staff lawyers who specialize in foreign buyers. That’s part of the reason that sales to foreigners rose from 10 percent of her business to 25 percent last year.
Atlanta-based Jenny Pruitt & Associates has added practitioners to the staff who speak Dutch, Korean, Farsi, and Arabic. A search function on its Web site can help a potential buyer locate someone who speaks his language.
Rick Wohlfarth, owner of Wohlfarth & Association, in New York City, travels regularly to Brazil to help link wealthy buyers with properties. Foreign buyers make up about 20 percent of his sales.Source: USA Today, Stephanie Armour (04/24/08)
www.InvestSmarter.com
www.RandBCoastalRealEstate.com
www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
www.Destin-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Unfinished Homes in Somee Areas Begin to Crumble
Unfinished Lee County homes start to crumble
By Don Ruane • druane@news-press.com • April 23, 2008
Some 220 houses - almost all of them in Lehigh Acres - stand abandoned in Lee County as stark reminders of a derailed real estate market.
A record 10,700 foreclosures last year are stark evidence of the market's condition.
Weeds have overtaken yards and obscure the view of doors and windows at some homes. At others sites, pipes, septic tanks and construction materials are exposed, causing safety hazards.
Still other houses are a magnet for vandals and thieves who break in and strip the place of construction materials or leave behind walls spray-painted with graffiti.
"Juveniles are squatting in them. Criminals are squatting in them," said Lee County sheriff's Capt. Ed Tamayo, who oversees Lehigh Acres.
In many cases the property owners correct the problems after they've been contacted by code enforcement, but some owners go before Lee County's hearing examiner and risk daily fines, said Joan LaGuardia, spokeswoman for the county's Community Development department.
The county's list of abandoned houses includes four properties in south Fort Myers, Tice, Bokeelia and Matlacha, but it doesn't include properties in Lee's cities.
The county considers a construction project abandoned
when it hasn't passed an inspection in six months. There probably are other unreported cases scattered around unincorporated Lee that haven't made the list, LaGuardia said.
Persistent problem
The bulk of abandoned houses is in Lehigh.
Nine full-time code enforcement officers work the area, where about 8,600 code cases were handled last year.
Deputies frequently find signs of partying, drug use, vandalism and people living in abandoned houses, Tamayo said.
The buildings are hard to police because they are spread throughout Lehigh's nearly 100 square miles, Tamayo said. Some areas are like ghost towns, where abandoned construction is mixed with finished, unoccupied houses, he said.
Problems with 132 of the Lehigh sites have been resolved with the help of the property owner or through a cleanup with the help of Lee County's solid waste division. Still, 70 cases are pending before the Lee County Hearing Examiner's Office, which can fine a property owner for code violations. There are 34 fines accumulating at a rate of $150 to $200 a day.
In Bonita Springs, code enforcement officers are investigating one potential abandoned property, said Chris Campbell, the department supervisor.
"It's premature in the investigation to determine if it's abandoned or not," Campbell said.
Cape Coral, meanwhile, has been trying to get abandoned houses cleaned up.
The number of abandoned homes in the Cape wasn't available Tuesday, but last November, police revived the Neighborhood Watch program in part because of abandoned homes.
Council in December spent $90,000 on a contract for mowing lawns at abandoned homes.
In Lehigh, the houses are in various stages of construction. Some are eyesores with weeds and piles of dirt overtaking yards. Others are unsafe because of exposed construction materials.
One property on North Richmond Avenue in Lehigh is a slab with pipes rising over the concrete. Erosion is undercutting the slab at one corner and at a second point along the front of the slab.
Other houses, such as those on Yolanda Street and Mercedes Court, have tar paper on the roof but no shingles. No stucco has been applied to the concrete block walls.
A house at 5204 Lee St. has gaps in the tar paper on the roof and an exposed septic tank and drain field.
Children broke into the home and left graffiti, said neighbor Andy Morris. Two doors of the boarded-up house were ajar recently.
Houses in such condition can further erode property values in an already-depressed market, but Morris expects to live with the situation for awhile.
"There are too many houses for sale out here," he said.
Who pays?
The county is left to deal with cleaning up the mess as it faces its own budget cuts.
"We have to cut our budget in code enforcement. We have to cut across the board," LaGuardia said.
In many cases the property owner is trying to resolve the situation, LaGuardia said.
When owners can't be found or won't cooperate, the county can put a lien on the property to recover demolition or clean-up costs, which vary depending on the state of the property. But the county may not collect on the lien for some time.
"There may be no one to pay for the demolition except the taxpayers," LaGuardia said.
So far only one house has been demolished in Lehigh because its walls were in danger of collapsing, she said. The cost to knock it down: $3,000.
Some owners are waiting for foreclosure to be completed to erase their responsibility for the problem.
Sonet and Robert Goodwin of Pine Island and Coldwater, Mich., are waiting to get out from under an investment property on the county's list. They had a problem with their builder, Merit Homes, and got caught in the real estate tailspin, Sonet Goodwin said.
"It was 85 percent done and they couldn't get it done," said Sonet Goodwin, who also has a vacant lot she planned to develop.
"We put a lot of money down on those two and we lost it," she said.
— Staff writers Jennifer Misthal and Jacob Ogles contributed to this report.
www.InvestSmarter.com
www.RandBCoastalRealEstate.com
www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
By Don Ruane • druane@news-press.com • April 23, 2008
Some 220 houses - almost all of them in Lehigh Acres - stand abandoned in Lee County as stark reminders of a derailed real estate market.
A record 10,700 foreclosures last year are stark evidence of the market's condition.
Weeds have overtaken yards and obscure the view of doors and windows at some homes. At others sites, pipes, septic tanks and construction materials are exposed, causing safety hazards.
Still other houses are a magnet for vandals and thieves who break in and strip the place of construction materials or leave behind walls spray-painted with graffiti.
"Juveniles are squatting in them. Criminals are squatting in them," said Lee County sheriff's Capt. Ed Tamayo, who oversees Lehigh Acres.
In many cases the property owners correct the problems after they've been contacted by code enforcement, but some owners go before Lee County's hearing examiner and risk daily fines, said Joan LaGuardia, spokeswoman for the county's Community Development department.
The county's list of abandoned houses includes four properties in south Fort Myers, Tice, Bokeelia and Matlacha, but it doesn't include properties in Lee's cities.
The county considers a construction project abandoned
when it hasn't passed an inspection in six months. There probably are other unreported cases scattered around unincorporated Lee that haven't made the list, LaGuardia said.
Persistent problem
The bulk of abandoned houses is in Lehigh.
Nine full-time code enforcement officers work the area, where about 8,600 code cases were handled last year.
Deputies frequently find signs of partying, drug use, vandalism and people living in abandoned houses, Tamayo said.
The buildings are hard to police because they are spread throughout Lehigh's nearly 100 square miles, Tamayo said. Some areas are like ghost towns, where abandoned construction is mixed with finished, unoccupied houses, he said.
Problems with 132 of the Lehigh sites have been resolved with the help of the property owner or through a cleanup with the help of Lee County's solid waste division. Still, 70 cases are pending before the Lee County Hearing Examiner's Office, which can fine a property owner for code violations. There are 34 fines accumulating at a rate of $150 to $200 a day.
In Bonita Springs, code enforcement officers are investigating one potential abandoned property, said Chris Campbell, the department supervisor.
"It's premature in the investigation to determine if it's abandoned or not," Campbell said.
Cape Coral, meanwhile, has been trying to get abandoned houses cleaned up.
The number of abandoned homes in the Cape wasn't available Tuesday, but last November, police revived the Neighborhood Watch program in part because of abandoned homes.
Council in December spent $90,000 on a contract for mowing lawns at abandoned homes.
In Lehigh, the houses are in various stages of construction. Some are eyesores with weeds and piles of dirt overtaking yards. Others are unsafe because of exposed construction materials.
One property on North Richmond Avenue in Lehigh is a slab with pipes rising over the concrete. Erosion is undercutting the slab at one corner and at a second point along the front of the slab.
Other houses, such as those on Yolanda Street and Mercedes Court, have tar paper on the roof but no shingles. No stucco has been applied to the concrete block walls.
A house at 5204 Lee St. has gaps in the tar paper on the roof and an exposed septic tank and drain field.
Children broke into the home and left graffiti, said neighbor Andy Morris. Two doors of the boarded-up house were ajar recently.
Houses in such condition can further erode property values in an already-depressed market, but Morris expects to live with the situation for awhile.
"There are too many houses for sale out here," he said.
Who pays?
The county is left to deal with cleaning up the mess as it faces its own budget cuts.
"We have to cut our budget in code enforcement. We have to cut across the board," LaGuardia said.
In many cases the property owner is trying to resolve the situation, LaGuardia said.
When owners can't be found or won't cooperate, the county can put a lien on the property to recover demolition or clean-up costs, which vary depending on the state of the property. But the county may not collect on the lien for some time.
"There may be no one to pay for the demolition except the taxpayers," LaGuardia said.
So far only one house has been demolished in Lehigh because its walls were in danger of collapsing, she said. The cost to knock it down: $3,000.
Some owners are waiting for foreclosure to be completed to erase their responsibility for the problem.
Sonet and Robert Goodwin of Pine Island and Coldwater, Mich., are waiting to get out from under an investment property on the county's list. They had a problem with their builder, Merit Homes, and got caught in the real estate tailspin, Sonet Goodwin said.
"It was 85 percent done and they couldn't get it done," said Sonet Goodwin, who also has a vacant lot she planned to develop.
"We put a lot of money down on those two and we lost it," she said.
— Staff writers Jennifer Misthal and Jacob Ogles contributed to this report.
www.InvestSmarter.com
www.RandBCoastalRealEstate.com
www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Commercial-Real-Estate.com
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