Is There A Housing Shortage and Is It A Concern?

Some economists believe so.  The rapid pace of the housing recovery has surprised everyone, home prices have increased more than 20% in a few markets with the average being about 12%.

There's no question about the sustainability of the real estate recovery.  It's happened... period. It hit bottom and has rebounded with tremendous speed.  If a buyer is looking for the rock bottom deal in Orlando (or most markets), that's long gone.  Take some time to read market reports on line to support this evidence.

Many buyers are using larger cash down payments than required... which is attractive to lenders.  There are more creditworthy buyers than before, giving the investors/full cash buyers some additional competition.  A cash purchase is terrific for sellers with far less contingencies and a quick close.  However, sellers realize the market has rebounded and in part due to the increase in the number of well qualified buyers with financing.

With this continual lack of inventory which is predicted... expect continual price growth. New builds are up and this is key to helping maintain some balance on the resell demand and prices. 

Corporations Vs. Limited Liability Company

This is a great webpage for those foreign nationals torn between setting up a Corporation or LLC for their Florida investment properties. http://www.amerilawyer.com/foreigner_fl.htm. 

 

Understanding A Florida Property Closing Statement or HUD

The settlement statement or HUD can be a confusing document if you don’t understand the layout and flow.  A HUD is generally divided into two sections.

1.       Page one is the complete settlement statement. Page 1 is divided into two half’s, the left side is the buyers credits and debits and the right side the sellers credits and debits.

2.       Page two (and sometimes page three), is a breakdown of the individual charges that appear as a total on page one.

In some instances, you’ll see where the numbers are the same on both the sellers side and the buyers side. These equate to an amount that is transferred between the parties. Usually a pro-rated amount that one side owes the other for future or past payments. An example of this would be HOA fees the seller has paid up until the end of the year. Those monies would be reimbursed to the seller by the buyer on the HUD.  So a credit to the seller, debit to the buyer.  The reserve would be true for property taxes since they are paid in arrears.  The seller would be “debited” their prorated portion of taxes and the buyer would be “credited” for the time the seller owned the property until the closing date.