Unusual Real Estate Foreclosures In The News
February 25th, 2010 Categories: Foreclosure, Pensacola Real Estate News
Real estate foreclosure is a grim reality of this current real estate market. In the Pensacola Real Estate market, on February 25, 2010, there were 213 foreclosure properties and 564 short sales listed as Pensacola Homes For Sale. The total number of homes and condos listed in the Pensacola real estate market was just over 4400. This means approximately 17% of the Pensacola homes for sale are either foreclosures or short sales.
Foreclosure properties are already owned by the bank. Short sales are still owned by the homeowner, but are destined for foreclosure if they cannot be sold at a price lower than the amount owed to the bank. See the article Short Sales – Is It Really Worth It?
A couple of interesting real estate foreclosure stories have surfaced this week that I thought were worth noting. Fortunately, no one got so frustrated that they flew a plane into a bank building, as in the case of the Joe Stack who piloted his plane into the Austin Texas IRS building.
However, a man in Ohio bulldozed his home in retaliation of a bank’s plans to foreclose on his home. Apparently, Terry Hoskins only owed $160,000 on the home, which was valued close to $350,000. He was already in hot water with the IRS in relation to his businesses. Then the bank refused to stop foreclosure proceedings even though he indicated that he had a buyer who would pay off the balance of the mortgage. As the story goes, the bank wanted to foreclose so they could resell the home for more than the balance owed and actually profit from the deal. There is always more to a story than you read in the news, so I’m not sure of all the details. Either way, the home is now a mound covered by snow. 
Terry has now become somewhat of a hero to those who resent how banks have been so generously treated by the government with bailout money while still giving out large bonuses to employees. Ronnie Ray Jenkins even wrote a song called the Ballad of Terry Hoskins. Check out the video below. Here are some teaser lyrics:
There were no bailouts for Terry
There were no bonuses to spend
So he grabbed the keys to his dozer
It was the beginning of the end
Thanks for the great song Ronnie!
In an unrelated story, Bank Of America foreclosed on a home that was owned by a couple who had paid cash for it. Yes, they owned the home outright.
The couple filed a lawsuit on January 20 that alleges Bank of America seized the house, removed the belongings, and changed the locks on the their home. The bank had an incorrect address on foreclosure documents. The house it meant to seize was across the street and about 10 doors down. But the couple and a Realtor employed by Bank of America were unable to convince the bank that it had the wrong house. The couple are seeking unspecified damages from Bank of America, including negligence, trespassing, emotional distress, defamation, libel, and a tarnished reputation.
When the media made an inquiry to the bank regarding this situation, here is the email response they received. ”We have reached out to the Cardosos’ representatives and hope to have the opportunity to work with them to properly assess and address their allegations”. “We are reviewing the allegations in the lawsuit, the actual events that led to them and the causes of those events, and will consider any hardship that resulted.”
Talk about legal speak. After the travesty perpetrated by the bank, you would think they could show a little more compassion and understanding when dealing with these sensitive situations. With the money they have, I would think they could hire some PR people that could do a much better job of publicly addressing this embarrasing mistake.
These are pretty extreme stories, but foreclosures are so common today that these types of situations do not come as a big surprise to me. Look for me to publish an article shortly detailing some important things you need to know about foreclosure.
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A Pensacola Real Estate News Perspective on Gerrymandering
February 24th, 2010 Categories: Pensacola Real Estate News
I love to write about Pensacola real estate. I also love to share great information, whether real estate related or not. In this post, I’m delighted to share an article written by local writer and photographer Bill Stockland. You can see some of his great photography at his website http://www.pensacola110.com.
Gerrymandering
By Bill Stockland
MOVING TO A NEW CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT?
I’m sure that in the long history of real estate transactions, there have been people who have selected or rejected a property because of its political district. However, it’s a fact that your property could be in one district today, and an entirely different one next year.
There are 435 United States Congressional Districts spread across the 50 states. The 2000 Census set our population at 281,000,000. With a little simple math, we can figure that each district should contain approximately 647,000 people. Each state is guaranteed at least one US Congressional District. Apportionment of districts is done by the House of Representatives. It becomes tricky when you consider some states have less than 647,000 people but still get a seat in the House of Representatives. In addition, no state has a population that is divisible exactly by 647,000. Congress must then apportion the available seats among the states in as equitable fashion as possible.
I imagine you can see what’s coming. While the apportionment can be done with a computer, redrawing the resulting districts can become a nightmare as states lose and gain representatives. The state legislatures (Read: The party in power.) are responsible for redrawing the districts within their borders. Ah yes, partisan politics rears its ugly head in this process, and has from the beginning. Parties in power tend to use the power to redistrict to further their political advantage through a process called Gerrymandering.
States gain and lose population continually and the main role of the Census is to track this as an aid to apportionment of representatives in the US Congress. When I was receiving my Political Science degree, Florida had 12 representatives, Today, we have 25. During the same period, New York has shrunk from 41 representatives to 29. California has grown from 38 to 53 representatives. Ohio has lost 6 representatives while Texas has gained 9. Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota and Vermont still have fewer than 647,000 people each, but their representation remains at the minimum number of 1. They have 1 statewide district each.
The largest congressional district (In land area) is the First (and only) Congressional District in Alaska. It contains over 663,000 square miles.
The smallest congressional district is New York’s Fifteenth Congressional District. It contains over 647,000 people, however it is about 10 square miles in size.
Pensacola is in Florida’s First Congressional District.
GERRYMANDERING
In 1812, Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts led the redrawing of his Congressional districts in such a wild and unfair way; a newspaper political cartoonist described the districts as GERRYMANDERS because they represented salamanders in shape.
Since then, the major parties have taken turns redrawing districts to increase their political position.
For the sake of discussion, let’s imagine a new state has entered the union. The 2010 Census will reveal it has 5,200,000 people and is thus entitled to 8 representatives. It is shaped almost square and is equally split between Republicans (Red) and Democrats (Blue).
If non-partisan politicians draw the boundaries, they could come up with a plan that would favor Reds in 3 districts, Blues in 3 districts and would leave 2 districts as toss-ups.
The fair district arrangement might look like this:
This appears fair and eliminates the task of making each district competitive. It also maintains some geographic unity. Granted, only Wyoming is close to being square in shape but the principle is reasonable.
Now look what happens if we allow Red to draw the districts:
Here is an exploded view.
As you can see, Red has only 50 % of the population but that party now has a solid majority in 6 of the 8 districts! Note the strange and impractical shapes.
Of course, Blues will eventually come back to power and the districts will look like this:
An exploded view:
As you can see, Blue now has the strong majority in 6 of the 8 districts. Just as with Red’s plan, half of the population now has little or no voice in legislative activity because they will be in the minority in what has become largely a partisan exercise by each party in control.
The concept of Gerrymandering districts is now used in both state and local levels of government today. Both political parties practice it when they have the opportunity.
Other articles from Bill Stockland on Pensacola Real Estate News:
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Emerald Shores Subdivision Report – Pensacola Real Estate News
February 22nd, 2010 Categories: Southwest Pensacola
This article provides a Pensacola real estate market report on the Emerald Shores subdivision. If you are interested in seeing any homes in the Emerald Shores subdivision, or any other Pensacola Homes For Sale, Contact Me for assistance. All of the homes pictured on this page were for sale at the time this article was published.
To see all current Pensacola Homes for Sale in Emerald Shores, simply click the link below:
Pensacola Homes For Sale In Emerald Shores
Emerald Shores is located in SouthWest Pensacola. Emerald Shores is accessible from Old Gulf Beach Highway, just west of Blue Angel Parkway.
If you have younger children, the Perdido Kids Park is just a mile or so down the road, along with the Big Lagoon State Park. And Perdido Key is just 10 minutes away. If you are in the military and stationed at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Emerald Shores is literally around the corner from the back gate entrance to the naval base.
Below you can find summary information on Emerald Shores.
Escambia County School Districts for Emerald Shores Subdivision:
Elementary: Helen Caro
Middle: Bailey
High: Escambia
Homes in Emerald Shores generally fall into the following ranges:
Age of Homes: Built between 1997 and 2004
Number of Homes in Subdivision: 316 (approximate)
Construction: Contemporary style
Average Square Footage: 1763
Bedrooms: 3 to 4
Bathrooms: 2 to 3
Garages: Mostly 2 Car
Lot Sizes: .12-.25 acres
Waterfront? None
Approximate travel times to popular Pensacola destinations:
Downtown Pensacola: 20-25 Minutes
Cordova Mall / Pensacola Airport / Pensacola Junior College: 35-40 minutes
Interstate 10: 25-30 Minutes
Pensacola Beach : 30-35 minutes
Perdido Key Florida: 10 minutes or less from beautiful Perdido Key beaches
University Of West Florida: 45 minutes
Pensacola Naval Air Station (NAS) (Home of the Blue Angels): 5 minutes to back gate
Saufley Field Naval Base: 15 minutes
Corry Field Naval Base: 15 minutes
The table shows Pensacola Real Estate data for Emerald Shores subdivision for the past 5 years. The numbers in the table are created using data from the Pensacola MLS and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed. These numbers do not include sales by Pensacola FSBOs.
Notice that although prices dropped from the 2005-2007 levels, there was no drop in Average price from 2008 to 2009. In addition, days on market in 2009 was almost half of what it was in 2008. This shows that Emerald Shores is now holding it’s value, and homes in this neighborhood are in demand. The close proximity to Pensacola NAS is a key feature that makes Emerald Shores such a popular Pensacola neighborhood.
Related Pensacola Real Estate Articles on other SouthWest Pensacola Subdivisions:
Coral Creek
Herons Forest
Southbay
Previous Report On Emerald Shores
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Gulf Breeze Burning?
February 20th, 2010 Categories: Local Stories, Pensacola Pictures
The picture shows the smoke from a prescribed burn at the Naval Live Oaks in Gulf Breeze Florida. This picture was taken from the 3-Mile bridge over Pensacola Bay. The buildings that you see to the right of the smoke are the Portofino Condos on Pensacola Beach.
Naval Live Oaks is bordered on the east side by Bayshore Road. Homes on this road and in the neighboring area near the bayfront run from the $200K range up into the million dollar range, according to real estate data from the Pensacola MLS. It just depends where the home is, and of course if it is a Gulf Breeze waterfront home. I would consider that fire too close for comfort if I were a resident of that area.
While the news said that it was a controlled burn, I did see a fire chief with lights flashing flying over the bridge from Pensacola to Gulf Breeze, followed about 2 minutes later by a fire engine. My perception of a controlled burn would be that everyone was in place prior to the burn and prepared for any flare ups. Having fire engines called in after the burn was in full blaze makes me wonder. I guess tomorrow’s news will tell if anything went wrong. More prescribed burns are scheduled in March. [SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST].
According to Gulf Islands National Seashore Acting Superintendent Nina Kelson “The purpose of the upcoming prescribed burns is to restore habitat and reduce hazardous fuel levels which will serve to better protect the Park and local community in case of a wild fire”. I’m sure the nice little creatures affected by this fire are very grateful for having their habitats restored.
One thing I love about blogging on Pensacola real estate (and Gulf Breeze real estate for that matter) is that I end up writing about the totally unexpected. I just happened to be driving across the bridge when I saw this. I snapped some pictures and a story emerged. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Breaking update: Apparently, just before 3:00 PM, a home in Paradise Bay subdivision in Gulf Breeze caught on fire. Crews from Escambia County were called in. Apparently these were the trucks I saw heading for Gulf Breeze from Pensacola. My love goes out to the family of the burned home. Thankfully, they were not harmed.
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Pensacola Real Estate Market Report: January 2010
February 19th, 2010 Categories: Pensacola Market Data
Here is your Pensacola Real Estate market report for January of 2010. The tables for the previous 2 months of Pensacola real estate sales are provided for comparison purposes.
January was a slow month for sales of Pensacola homes. January is historically slow for real estate sales, but this year was even slower, coming in with the lowest Pensacola Real Estate sales of the last 5 years.
You can also compare January’s home sales to those of November and December of 2009 and see what a sharp drop there has been in sales. I have no doubt that it is going to pick up, and will likely become a very strong real estate market as we go into the next couple of months. I think the driving force is going to be the Homebuyer tax credit, which was extended through April/June of 2010. Note that you must have a home under contract by April 2010, and have closed the sale by June 30, 2010 to qualify for the tax credit.
Once the homebuyer tax credit expires, it’s not clear where the real estate market is headed.
In comparison to previous years, you can also see that average and median home sale prices are down in January 2010. Both average and median sales prices are at a 5-year low compared to January for the previous years. That is good news for Pensacola home buyers. The good news for Pensacola home sellers is that the inventory of Pensacola Homes For Sale has also dropped significantly (14% since 2009 and 36% since 2008) .
Keep checking back to Pensacola Real Estate News for more news on Pensacola market data and other topics relevant to the local real estate market.
Click to view the February 2010 Pensacola Real Estate Market Report
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How the Pensacola Real Estate Mortgage Market Has Changed
February 17th, 2010 Categories: Credit And Financing, Pensacola Real Estate News
In this article, I will take a look at the changes in mortgages used to purchase Pensacola real estate over the past several years.
In looking at the table above, it is pretty clear that the use of conventional mortgages for real estate purchases is declining in favor of FHA and Veteran’s Administration (VA) mortgages. It is no surprise that conventional mortgages are not as popular as they were only 2 years ago. The standard for a conventional mortgage is a 20% down payment. In previous years, many conventional mortgages were being issued with 10% down or no money down at all. Often the mortgage would require 20% down, and the borrower would borrow the 20% down payment in the form of a 2nd mortgage.
Notice in the table that the use of FHA mortgages have more than doubled in the past 2 years. VA loans have tripled! I believe that the increase in VA loans is unique to markets where there is a strong military presence, such as the Pensacola real estate market. Without our local military bases, the Pensacola area would be an economic disaster area. Thank goodness for our local veterans and active duty military who are buying Pensacola homes for sale and staying in Pensacola.
Most of the Pensacola military personnel who work out of the Pensacola Naval Air station choose to live in Southwest Pensacola, in subdivisions such as South Bay, Coral Creek, and Emerald Shores. These beautiful neighborhoods provide fast easy access to Pensacola NAS and Corry Field.
Data for the table was provided by the Pensacola Association of Realtors, and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.
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Pensacola Real Estate News Report On Toxic Chinese Drywall
February 15th, 2010 Categories: Home Inspections, Pensacola Real Estate News
News about potentially toxic Chinese drywall started being reported in early 2009. What effect the defective drywall will have on the Pensacola real estate market is still unknown, as we don’t know how many Pensacola homes for sale may be affected by Chinese drywall. It was initially reported that the problem was isolated to a few homes in Miami, Florida. However, as the story developed, it appeared to be a much larger problem that could affect homeowners all across Florida and the Gulf Coast.
According to America’s Watchdog Homeowner Consumer Center, “the potentially toxic Chinese dry wall was used all over the entire state of Florida, in Georgia, in the Carolinas and in all Gulf Coast states. We are particularly worried about New Orleans, because we lost so many houses there during and after Katrina. At the time I lived in New Orleans and I know how hard it was to get sheet rock, so we are 100% certain it’s in New Orleans on a large scale.”
Note to all consumers throughout the nation: “The Homeowners Consumer Center is convinced the potentially toxic Chinese dry wall is not limited to the US Southeast, or the Gulf states. If you have a home that was built or remodeled in 2005 to 2008 that has a strong sulphur smell, or a rotten egg type smell please contact the Homeowners Consumer Center at 866-714-6466.”
What are the signs your house might have the potentially toxic imported Chinese dry wall?
First the house was built or remodeled between 2005 and 2008
The house has a strong or noticeable smell of sulphur or rotten eggs.
The home has experienced repeated air conditioning coil issues or corrosion
The home’s occupants have experienced upper respiratory issues, nose bleeds, or other medical issues.
Young children or senior citizens may be the first to show signs of exposure to a home with the imported Chinese dry wall.
Lawsuits are currently in process in South Florida over the drywall issue. I will report on developments in these lawsuits here on Pensacola Real Estate News.
The good news is that we have home inspectors in the Pensacola area that have been trained on how to look for evidence of Chinese drywall. A home inspector I spoke to told me that there are many signs that will give away the presence of the drywall. He had been to Chinese drywall detection seminars and felt confident he could determine if a home had the bad drywall installed.
For more information on Chinese drywall and updated news reports, visit http://helpchinesedrywall.com/
Even if there is no concern about Chinese drywall, every buyer should have a home inspection, no exceptions. You never know what the inspector might find. ( See Redneck Ingenuity Makes Home Inspections a Must )
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The Gulf Coast Snow Storm Of 2010
February 14th, 2010 Categories: Local Stories, Pensacola Pictures
Friday February 12th was an exciting day on the Gulf Coast, or at least for the more northern parts. The Pensacola weather forecast called for snow, with accumulations of 1-3 inches predicted. This meant no one was out looking for Pensacola Real Estate, so it was a great day to play. There were some reports of snow in Ensley, but nothing stuck to the ground that I am aware of. Escambia County schools were closed, as were some government facilities. Expectations were high for snow in Pensacola, but alas, all we really saw in was cold rain, with a few ice pellets that melted upon ground contact. It was a stark contrast to the beautiful weather that ended the year for Pensacola.
I’m always up for an adventure, and Friday was no exception. I have not seen snow in the Pensacola area since I was a child so many years ago. I was not going to miss this opportunity. After seeing news reports of snow in lower Alabama, I packed up the family and headed north.
We traveled up U.S. 29 towards Century Florida and experienced nothing but rain for most of the drive. Then as we neared Century, the rain suddenly turned to snow. I started to get excited, but still no accumulations could be seen. I saw automobiles headed south on U.S. 29 that were covered in snow. One even had a partial snow man built on the hood. My hopes rose.
I continued on my northward track as quickly as I could, all the time hearing that loving voice coming from the back of the van reminding me that I was going too fast for the icy roads. I reported back that the dashboard thermometer was reading 34 degrees, so there was no chance of ice on the road. Apparently I was not convincing enough, as this exchange continued for much of the trip.
Once we got into Century and crossed the border into Flomaton, Alabama, the snow was accumulating mostly on rooftops, but not much, if any, on the ground. I was starting to worry that I should have gotten an earlier start, and would get nothing but slush for all my troubles. But I had seen a news report that showed Brewton, Alabama with lots of snow on the ground. So I pushed on. The further north we got, the more snow accumlation we saw.
At last we arrived in the small town of Brewton Alabama. I had no idea where I would go to find a place for playing in the snow. Luckily, over to the left of the main road I saw a large beautiful city park, covered in snow and filled with people enjoying a Alabama winter wonderland. We actually ended up at another park up the road because of traffic, but that worked out well. After playing there for a while, we circled back to the big park. Here are some pictures.
Above, some clever Brewtonians built a snow man held hostage in front of a cannon. Note the arms held high and the cannon snow ball ready to fire. But it wasn’t the cannon that spelled this fellow’s doom. The Alabama temperatures were just getting too high to keep him alive through the night.
I made friends with this guy after jabbing an organic carrot into his face. No, I did not build him, only added some decoration. Whatever creature ended up eating my carrot did not ingest any pesticides.
Above is a picture of this beautiful Alabama river which runs along the park in Brewton Alabama. What a rarity to see a river with snow-covered banks in this part of the country.
All in all, a great day!
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Pensacola Real Estate Market Report: October-December 2009
February 13th, 2010 Categories: Pensacola Market Data
This report provides a snapshot of the Pensacola real estate market at the end of 2009. It shows Pensacola homes for sale and Pensacola homes sold, along with other useful statistical data.
In addition, data is provided for previous years back to 2004. This gives a good perspective of where the Pensacola real estate market is and where it was in the past few years.
What can we read into these tables? Notice how the active listings (Pensacola homes for sale) have declined since 2008. This is a good sign that the Pensacola real estate market is heading back towards a more stable state. Active listings have declined by an average of 20% since the same time period in 2008, and an average of 35% since 2007.
Pensacola homes sold for 2009 have also increased since the previous year, and are similar to the 2007 sales level. We are, however, nowhere near the level of sales for the 2004-2006 period.
But what matters most to the person looking to buy or sell Pensacola real estate is the home prices. Prices of Pensacola homes sold has dropped a little since 2008 (see average and median sold prices). Median Sold Prices of homes declined by around 10% on average since 2007. This is not great news for current home owners, but people looking to purchase a home in Pensacola can expect to find great bargains in this market.
Keep checking back at Pensacola real estate news for more market data. The January 2010 market report will follow soon.
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2009 In Pensacola Real Estate
February 7th, 2010 Categories: Pensacola Real Estate News
What happened in Pensacola real estate in 2009? Here are summaries of some of the bigger stories in real estate for 2009, especially those that had an effect on the local market.The obvious big story is the economic slow down, which is affecting real estate all over the country, not just in Pensacola. That story is covered extensively in the media, so I’ll skip writing about that. It’s not much fun to write about anyway and we all know it is bad.
The Strengthening Real Estate Market
According to the Florida Realtors sales reports, residential home sales have increased statewide in 2009. We have also seen an increase in Pensacola homes for sale, especially in the latter part of 2009. That is good news.I will continue to publish updates throughout the coming year on the Pensacola real estate market because the future performance of our market is not clear right now. With the extension of the home buyer tax credit, the Pensacola real estate market should remain strong at least through April of 2010. However, we are also looking at the possibility of many new foreclosures as more adjustable-rate mortgages readjust in 2010. We might also be looking at mortgage rate increases in the near future.
Credit Issues
Real estate agents I’ve spoken to the past year are all lamenting the same problem. They have clients who want to buy homes, and there are plenty of well-priced homes on the market, but the banks are being real tight about lending out the money. The supply of mortgage money and the strict underwriting rules have prevented many seemingly qualified home buyers from obtaining a mortgage. I believe the stricter lending rules were the biggest factor holding back the growth of the local real estate market.Don’t even waste your time trying for a conventional loan unless you have 20% cash for a downpayment. These stricter guidelines resulted in a resurgence in applications for FHA loans, which require only a 3.5% downpayment. Additionally, Pensacola is blessed with many military and ex-military citizens who are eligible for VA loans. That at least kept the market afloat, along with a few other factors as discussed in a previous Pensacola Real Estate News article. According to the Florida Association of Realtors, banks are beginning to loosen up some loan restrictions and money is starting to flow, but only for residential loans, and not to the extent needed to really infuse life into the real estate market.
State Farm Decides To Stay In Florida
Insurance has been another intriguing story of 2009, especially as it applies to State Farm. I personally have insurance with State Farm, and they have been very good to me. I was very happy with the way they handled damage after hurricane Ivan back in 2004, although I heard from others who were not so happy in their dealings with State Farm. I did feel a bit betrayed when I found out they were leaving the Florida market because Florida insurance regulators refused to allow State Farm a ridiculous rate hike of 47%. State Farm already cancelled policies of all home owners who lived within a mile of the water, which means they effectively left Gulf Breeze.
However, State Farm also needed the approval of regulators to leave the state, and this caused conflict on how best to handle the exit. Finally, on Dec. 16, 2009, the Florida Department of Insurance announced an agreement: State Farm would stay. It could drop no more than 125,000 policies and raise rates only 14.8 percent. Wow, only 14.8%. Sounds like State Farm customer came out real winners on this deal. I guess it is better than getting dumped and having no choice but to pay for insurance through Citizens Insurance. I’ll monitor the insurance situation and report on anything of interest that develops.
I previously reported on my dislike of the tactics of Allstate. I still cringe when I see their commercials. Check out my article Allstate to Pay Fine
Chinese Drywall Disaster
Yet another disaster caused by the Chinese manufacturing process has hit Florida hard. They’ve threatened the health of our children with lead paint based toys, killed our pets with tainted dog food, and now they are ruining our homes and our health with bad drywall. We are paying a big price for getting cheap products from overseas. I’d like to see America start producing quality products again, but with our Walmart mentality, look for more defective products coming your way (end of rant).
From 2005-2007, the U.S. imported defective drywall from China. It smelled bad, corroded metal, and caused health
problems. It has not yet been determined how many homes had this defective drywall installed, but the numbers will likely be in the tens of thousands. Lawsuits are also in process right now over this disaster. I feel for the poor families who thought they were purchasing a quality-built new home only to find out they had purchased a home that had to be gutted just to be habitable.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of good news for real estate in 2009. Let’s hope 2010 is brighter. Check back at Pensacola Real Estate News for continuing updates.
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