Gulf Coast Associates' Blog: All Categories

If you're contemplating going through a divorce, you'll want to look closely at issues involving your credit. Understanding the different kinds of credit accounts and mortgage loan liabilities should help illuminate how to keep yourself from getting into credit difficulties.

Simply trying to rely on the wording of a divorce decree as to who is responsible for existing debts is a surefire way to get yourself into credit trouble. Lenders and other creditors are not parties to such documents and in most states are not bound to abide by them. So if your spouse stops making payments, they are surely to come after you for payment. Knowing how best to proceed ahead of time can save you lots of headaches down the line.

• Individual Account: Your income,…

According to a recent study by bizjournals.com, Florida is a great place for small business. The report listed the top ten markets and Florida held four of those top five spots.

Top Florida metropolitan areas for small business growth:

• Orlando
• Sarasota-Bradenton
• Miami-Fort Lauderdale
• Jacksonville

The study used a 12-part formula for looking at 75 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. The four Florida markets all shared similar qualities; rapid growth in population, employment and the number of small businesses. The lone exception to Florida's dominance was in Las Vegas, which came in ranked at number four.

While the report noted that new construction has been scaled back throughout the state, other new business…

A Florida study conducted by the National and Florida Associations of Realtors showed that home sales to international buyers dropped by 65% from 2005 to 2006. The report indicates there were four major reasons for the decline:

• The excessive increase in property insurance.
• The equally substantial rise in real estate taxes.
• More stringent border security laws that make it tougher for anyone who wishes to spend an entire season in Florida very difficult.
• The increase in mortgage interest rates during the height of the winter season.

In 2006, nealy two thirds of Florida's 12,900 active Realtors® conducted no real estate transactions involving a foreign buyer. Of those who did have a transaction with a foreign buyer, 34% were from…

In the last few weeks, all of the seller funded down payment assistance programs have ceased operations in order to comply with the IRS Revenue Ruling 2006-27 that ruled that providing seller funded down payment assistance was not a chartable activity. The IRS is now making full efforts to revoke the 501c3 status of these non-profit organizations.

In order to fill the void created by this action for low to moderate income buyers needing help, an alternative is the Grant America Program which works the same way but does not give a gift from a non-profit organization but from a Government Entity.

The Grant America Program is available nationwide and defines a low to moderate-income homebuyer as anyone that qualifies for an FHA loan under HUD guidelines or…

Home sales are sluggish, prices are dropping, but buyers still are not making the move! What's up? The number one reason is price - this one is very obvious. Many Southwest Florida sellers still don't accept that the boom of 2005 is over! The days of buyers standing in line to make offers passed with more than a whimper - it was an explosion. So, if your agent and the data say the home is too high - if you truly want to sell you need to lower your price to be more in line with what the market will bear.

Now, that does not mean you must give away your property, but it also doesn't mean that you should expect to double what you paid for it only 3 or 4 years ago either. Most real estate markets are efficient and over time will tell you the real value of your…

With mortgage fraud continuing to rise throughout the country and the state of Florida ranking number one for its occurrence in 2005, Gov. Charlie Crist signed a new law last week intended to combat the problem.

Changes in lending rules will go into effect on October 1st of this year with the goal of making the mortgage lending process more transparent. Any person, including buyers, sellers and real estate licensees will be held accountable if they are caught knowingly lying, misrepresenting or omitting information a Lender would rely on in the mortgage loan process.

The new law requires the following lending practice changes:

• New more detailed disclosures for loans, including variable rate (ARM) loans.
• Mortgage Brokers must disclose to…

Well, the Florida Legislature passed a very contentious property tax cutting amendment yesterday (6/14) - with many tax payers up in arms over its effect. The second portion of the bill - which does not require voter approval - is to require local governments to reduce and cap taxes with allowances for new construction and growth in personal income. In order for a local government to override the caps it would take a super majority council vote or a local citizen referendum.

Essentially, all local governments will need to trim their budgets from 3% to 9%. Many local officials feel they would have no choice but to cut local services to their population including fire and rescue personnel. And, perhaps more importantly, the proposed tax law changes could…

If you're reading anything lately about the rise in foreclosures, changing ARM rates, or the depressed real estate market - then you've most likely heard about short sales. Simply put a short sale is when the lender agrees to sell the property for the new appraised value even if you owe more on your mortgage. It helps the lender out by eliminating the need for the expense of foreclosure (about $4,000), maintaining the upkeep on the property, and paying the bills for on-going taxes and insurance to protect their investment.

Additionally, it helps a borrower leave with his financial credit history relatively intact. The number one issue is not to ignore your lender - once you are in trouble on the mortgage, the first place you need to go is to your lender…