Cape Coral Florida's Real Estate Guide

WASHINGTON - Feb. 8, 2010 - Using $555 million in Recovery Act funds, the Department of Defense has expanded a program that can reimburse employees up to 90 percent of the price they paid for a primary residence to avoid a loss when they go to sell. The Department identified Florida as having the most home sellers who qualify for the program.

The Pentagon's Housing Assistance Program now applies to:

• wounded service members relocating for treatment or medical retirement and survivors of those who have died while deployed

• military personnel and Defense Department civilians affected by the 2005 round of base closings, as a result of the Base Realignment and Closing initiative

• military personnel moving to a new base

Previously, applicants had to demonstrate that the closing of their base contributed to the decline of the area's real estate market and a resulting loss in sales. That requirement has been waived under the expanded program.

As of Jan. 18, 2010, almost 4,000 eligible applicants for the expanded program have been identified and 429 claims have already been paid for a total $32.8 million, according to the Pentagon.

After Florida, the Defense Department says it also expects applications from California, Virginia and Georgia.

For more details about the program, including eligibility and limitations, download this PDF. 

© 2010 Florida Realtors®

Fla. property taxes down 7.5 percent over 3 years

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Feb. 5, 2010 - Florida property taxes dropped by $2.28 billion, or 7.5 percent, over the past three years because of tax-cutting measures approved by the Legislature and voters as well as falling real estate values, according to figures presented to a legislative panel Thursday.

"I would classify that as dropping like a rock," said Senate Finance and Taxation Committee Chairman Thad Altman, R-Viera.

Gov. Charlie Crist famously said he wanted taxes to "drop like a rock" as lawmakers began considering tax relief in 2007. They passed the law to roll back and cap property taxes later that year and then put a constitutional amendment on the January 2008 ballot that voters adopted for additional tax savings.

While taxes have come down significantly, the savings have been much less than the $24 billion over the first five years expected from the two measures before Florida's housing bubble burst. That sent property values on a downward skid and knocked the tax savings forecast for a loop.

Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey said the governor is not disappointed.

"Any reduction in property tax is good news," Ivey said. "There's more money in people's pockets. That's the bottom line."

Officials cannot be sure exactly how much of the tax reduction is due to the new law and amendment and how much has resulted from the real estate collapse, said James McAdams, the Department of Revenues property tax oversight program director.

Taxable values for school purposes, though, declined less than 1 percent from 2006 through 2009, which would indicate the law and amendment are mostly responsible.

Overall property tax collections nearly doubled from 2000 through 2006, triggering an outcry from taxpayers that resulted in the tax-cutting measures.

Collections increased again in 2007 to a peak of $31 billion but the growth that year slowed to just 2 percent as the tax-limiting law began to go into effect. All of the increase was due to school taxes, which were spared from many of the tax-limiting provisions.

School taxes increased by 7.6 percent in 2007, but they dropped by 1.2 percent in 2008 and 6.8 percent in 2009 for a three-year decline of just under 1 percent and $100 million.

Non-school taxes, including levies by cities, counties and special districts, declined by 12 percent over the same period for a three-year savings of $2.18 billion.

"One of the biggest problems we have on this is we have not gotten the word out to the constituents," said Sen. Bennett, R-Bradenton. "Every time you go to a protest, every time you go to a speech, 'When are you going to do something about property tax?'"

One reason property taxes haven't dropped even more is what's known as the "recapture rule" the state has applied to the Save Our Homes Amendment voters adopted during the 1990s. The amendment limits annual assessment increases to no more than 3 percent when values are going up. The rule, though, increases assessments by up to 3 percent if values go down.

What's known as the portability provision of the 2008 amendment has not produced as much saving as predicted due to falling values. It lets primary homeowners take at least part of their accumulated Save Our Homes benefits with them when they move to another house.

That can offset all or most of the difference between the market and taxable value of the new home, but that gap has narrowed by more than half over the past three years because of falling home prices, said Bob McKee, the committee's staff director.

The depressed market also has meant fewer people are moving and, thus, less savings from portability, McKee said.

The value decline also has meant few if any savings from a 10 percent cap on annual assessments for businesses and other non-homestead property in the 2008 amendment.

The 2007 law allowed local government bodies to exceed the rollbacks and caps by votes of more than a simple majority but relatively few did so. The only way they can raise taxing rates is with voter approval, but no such referendums have been held.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press, Bill Kaczor, Associated Press writer.

Survey: Cape 7th most affordable housing in the world

CAPE CORAL:

In a list of mainly industrialized cities up north, Cape Coral landed is seventh in the world for having the most affordable homes.

An international housing affordability survey found median home prices in the Cape right now are about $94,000.

David Diaz, of local investment group Carney Properties, says during the boom, housing prices skyrocketed as incomes stayed the same. But now the Cape is overcorrecting itself.

"If you make $100,000 in the family, you're now buying a house worth $175,000 in Cape Coral. Whereas the rest of the country to live in the same type of house, you're looking towards more of a 300,000 number," he said. "[It's] kind of this diamond in a patch of very troubled areas."

And this is good news for local businesses. The city was having a hard time attracting new companies when home prices were high.

Now though, it's prime time for new businesses to move in.

"It's a good time for a company to be thinking about relocating. They can find affordable housing for their employees and employees can find a good, high quality house," said Audie Lewis, a Cape Coral business recruitment specialist.

But Diaz said one problem with affordable homes is that investors are looking to snatch homes and resell them quickly - which may lead back us back to where we were three years ago.

He says homebuyers should do their homework and get a good deal now because eventually, prices will go back up.

"If you're counting on that home to appreciate 200-percent in four years, you shouldn't be buying a home. But if you want to lock into a long term value, it's perfect," Diaz said.

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FHA relaxes anti-flipping rule

WASHINGTON - Feb. 2, 2010 - Effective yesterday, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) started providing mortgage insurance for some home purchases in which the seller bought the property and held it for less than 90 days.

The agency changed what is known as the "anti-flipping rule" to speed up sales of renovated homes in communities with too many bank-owned and foreclosed homes, says FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens. Waiving the 90-day rule encourages private investors to buy vacant properties, fix them up, and quickly sell them to buyers who are eligible to buy them using FHA financing.

FHA's change "is going to be absolutely terrific" for first-time homebuyers hoping to take advantage of the tax credit, says Bobby Taylor, an associate with Coldwell Banker Mountain West Real Estate in Salem, Ore.

The waiver is limited to sales that meet the following general conditions:

• All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.

• In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller's acquisition cost, the waiver will only apply if the lender meets specific conditions.

• The waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.

• Specific conditions and other details of this new temporary policy are in the text of the waiver, available on HUD's website: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/waivpropflip2010.pdf.

Source: Washington Post (01/30/2010)

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Fannie to offer closing cost aid on foreclosures

WASHINGTON - Feb. 1, 2010 - Fannie Mae, the largest provider of residential home funding in the United States, announced on Friday that it would start to pay closing costs for buyers of foreclosed homes in its inventory. Buyers of qualified properties will get up to 3.5 percent in closing costs or an equivalent amount for the purchase of new appliances.

Fannie wants to clear out the nearly 50,000 properties it has in inventory - listed on HomePath.com, the Web site created by Fannie Mae last year to sell the growing number of foreclosed homes. The offer is available to any owner-occupant who closes on the purchase of a property listed on HomePath.com before May 1, 2010. Applicable properties can be found on HomePath.com, along with property descriptions, photographs, community and school information, and more.

In addition, some Fannie Mae-owned properties are eligible for special HomePath Mortgage and HomePath Renovation Mortgage financing, which offers qualified homebuyers the ability to purchase with as little as 3 percent down.

"Attracting qualified buyers to the market and reducing inventory of vacant homes is critical to stabilizing neighborhoods and helping the market recover," Terry Edwards, executive vice president for credit portfolio management, said in a statement.

© 2010 Florida Realtors®