Kat's Blog

So did your taxes go down this year?  Why not?  It looks like it may be a long time before the Assessor catches up with all of the dirty sales that are on the books.  These frauds and flips are hitting all of us taxpayers right in our pocket book.  So the bad guys go to jail, nice but we're still going to pay for it out of our Pocket.  Kat...

Fraud cases still causing high property values
Naplesnews.com

By ELIZABETH WRIGHT (Contact)
7:33 p.m., Sunday, September 21, 2008

Buyers were locked into mortgages they couldn't afford, paving the way for substantial losses for financial institutions and adding to the current boom in foreclosures.

But as a recent case of mortgage fraud in Cape Coral shows, this kind of financial crime can have more subtle consequences for others beyond the buyers and banks involved.

In some cases, local taxpayers have had their properties' values assessed based in part on fraudulently inflated sales prices.   Click for the whole Story

How important is the housing industry in Florida? And what impact will it have if the state makes a change in the way it taxes real estate? A 56-page report released by FAR has some answers. Researched by NAR, the report, "Effect of Policy Changes on Homeownership - Focus: Florida," provides an overview of housing's impact nationally and in Florida. It then analyzes possible changes the Florida Legislature could consider - transfer taxes, business receipt taxes, property taxes and general housing taxes - and how those changes could impact Floridians and the real estate industry.

To read the complete report, visit FAR's Web site, floridarealtors.org, at: http://www.floridarealtors.org/LegislativeCenter/Research/index.cfm

It's been a long time since I've heard the jokes about people being sold Florida Swamp land.  But it sure was a popular theme not so many years ago...  Even Dinsney World was once know as a swamp.

Well I had a very interesting Date of Death Appraisasal that I completed for an estate.  The date of death was 3rd quarter of 2006.    This lot was located in the Middle of Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve.  If you  are not familiar with it Fakahatchee Strand was the setting for Susan Orlean's book "The Orchid Theif" and the movie based on it "Adaptation".  WE ARE TALKING SWAMP LAND FOLKS.

http://www.floridastateparks.org/fakahatcheestrand/  

http://www.friendsoffakahatchee.org/

Would you beleive that I had no trouble finding sales for this report, lots of sales many were flipped several times.  One party buying 4-5 of these lots!  The problem is they can't be used for anything.  You may camp on them but you may not Build any permenent structures, nor may you hunt in the strand.  Further, you need a permit from the state to hike there.

The inset in this picture shows the individual lots.  The white marks are 2006 sales.

This goes to show just how crazy the Real Estate Bubble got.  And that people still buy Florida Swamp land

Kat Bryce
http://www.leecountyappraisals.com

What is going to happen to the values of condominiums when the homeowners association goes bankrupt?  We hear about foreclosures, but those are just the tip of the iceberg.  As developers begin to walk away from unfinished communities, or refuse to continue to contribute to the HOA many condo owners are going to be facing enormous costs to continue to maintain their common elements.

Is your appraiser examining the condominium budgets or doing the research necessary to determine if there is any pending or ongoing litigation?  Make sure your buyers are getting a sound investment and look carefully at not only the condo, and it's market but the health of it's Association.

News-Press.com
Condos cause conundrum
By DICK HOGAN • dhogan@news-press.com • September 25, 2008

Unit owners resist paying extra expense 

Buzz up! The developer of half-built Prentiss Pointe at Winkler and Summerlin roads in south Fort Myers wants the 50 condo owners to pay for all the community's operating expenses. 

They're fighting back with protests to the state Division of Condominiums, saying that developer Prentiss Pointe Ltd. is obligated to pay its share of the expenses. 

Gary Howe, managing partner of Prentiss Pointe, couldn't be reached for comment but condo owner Marilyn Boyer - who has the only non-developer seat on the condo association board - said he's told residents he's broke and can't pay.  Click here for the rest of the story 

Kathleen M Bryce
St.Cert.Res.REA RD-4424
http://www.leecountyappraisals.com
appraiserkat@earthlink.net

Here is a chart of Market trends taken from Rapattoni MLS and includes all sales occurring in Fort Myers, FL from 8/1/2004 through 8/31/2008.

This chart show the increase in market activity through 2nd Quarter 2005, followed by increase in values @$/Sq.Ft. of living space. With the collapse of sales volume 3rd Quarter 2005 the sales prices began trending downward. Currently sales levels are at or below average 2004 sales prices.
Increasing Days on Market are observed and are currently average 3-4 months.

More information is available on request.

Kathleen Bryce

It seems very timely that Judge Roger W. Titus United States District Judge would publish a opinion in the case of Harold H Huggins Realty, Inc., et al. vs FNC, Inc. in advance of the deadline for Appraisers to agree to FNC's Appraisal Ports new user agreement which will become effective 9/13/2008. Click here to read the agreement in full.
	It has been brought to the forefront from others more versed in legal matter than I, that this new users agreement has language in it that will restrict you from participating in this or any lawsuit.  Yes, retroactively.   So if you log in after September 12,2008 you by default have agreed to their new "clickwrap"1 user agreement.   Further, it would prevent you from suing them for any future grievances.  Oh! And if you and FNC are named in a lawsuit from a borrower for instance which is common practice to sue everyone that ever touched the file from builder to the lender, title agent, appraiser, web portal, on and on.
You agree to pay all of FNC's legal fees for that incident, which will not be covered by any insurance it will come from our "Bulging" pockets. Judge Titus suggests that FNC shot themselves in their foot with their users agreements of the past.  With this new users agreement they are now attempting to close the barn doors.  Those on the inside may continue to feed at FNC troughs but will be chained to their stalls.  Those locked on the outside, by not agreeing to the new users agreement, will be prevented from feeding off of FNC but may still be able to kick the barn door down.   Read the "Titus Opionion of Motion"   Kathleen M Bryce State Certified Residential Appraiser DR-4424 http://www.leecountyappraisals.com     1 In introducing this term to the judicial lexicon in 1999, Judge David O. Carter provided a useful definition: A "clickwrap agreement"allows the consumer to manifest its assent to the terms of a contract by "clicking" on an acceptance button on the website. If the consumer does not agree to the contract terms, the website will not accept the consumer's order. Such agreements are common on websites that sell or distribute software programs that the consumer downloads from the website. The term "clickwrap agreement" is borrowed from the idea of "shrinkwrap agreements," which are generally license agreements placed inside the cellophane "shrinkwrap" of computer software boxes that, by their terms, become effective once the "shrinkwrap" is opened.