Land O Lakes Real Estate News - JLS Investment Realty

What’s Inside the $25 Billion Mortgage Settlement: An Early Look

By Nick Timiraos

Federal and state officials haven’t made public the $25 billion settlement agreement that they reached with five large banks. As the Journal noted, the exact wording was still being finalized even as officials announced the deal on Thursday morning.

Officials said the final agreement would be made public once it’s filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., but that might not happen for a few weeks. Until then, here are some of the recent drafts of the settlement. The settlement includes several different components, some of which officials could release before the agreement is submitted to court.

The draft documents obtained by the Journal show the many moving pieces that were the product of more than one year of discussions. As indicated, the documents are draft copies that were issued on Jan. 19, just as state attorneys general were briefed on the deal. It’s not clear how much the terms have changed since these drafts were written:

Servicing standards: The 42-page servicing standards “term sheet” lists various requirements for banks’ documents used in foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings; documentation of borrowers’ account balances; and ensuring integrity of the chain of title. It also includes requirements around how borrowers must be treated when they’re being evaluated for a modification or short sale, as well standards around the appropriateness of servicing fees and the use of force-placed insurance.

Borrower relief: A separate 12-page document outlines how banks have to satisfy the $20 billion portion of the deal that requires them to help homeowners. At least half of that portion must go towards writing down loan balances for homeowners that are at risk of foreclosure. Another $3 billion must be used to help homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth but are current on their loans to refinance. The remaining $7 billion can go towards anti-blight provisions, forbearance for unemployed homeowners, and short sale assistance.

Menu of “credits”: Complex formulas spell out exactly how much credit banks will receive for that aid. For example, every $1 of principal write-downs earns $1 of credit on loans that they own. However, they receive less credit for writing down second-lien mortgages that are severely delinquent.

Legal releases: A separate document specifies which claims the state attorneys general and federal officials have agreed to release.

Also included in the final deal: terms spelling out what powers are given to the independent monitor overseeing the deal, and rights of action for states if banks are found to run afoul of the terms.

Banks and government officials didn’t sign off on the deal until after 2 a.m. last Thursday, and the last of 49 attorneys general joined the settlement at 7 a.m., three hours before it was announced to the public.

Officials have posted additional general information, including a set of frequently-asked questions, at the website www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com.

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/02/13/whats-inside-the-25-billion-mortgage-settlement-an-early-look/

Sandy also SOLD Taracco Ct & Broken Bow!!!

And she's just warming up for Spring 2012!!!

Congrats to our star agent for Januarary 2012!  Sandy has really been knocking them down! 

The lakefront home on Wadsworth is under contract, along the with ski-lakefront vacant land!  She also has Shore Acres under contract!

She closed a home in Tampa with some old friends of mine & sold Field Club way in Tampa!

GO Sandy, GO!

12 tips to buy and sell real estate in 2012

By Steve McLinden | Bankrate.com – Wed, Jan 11, 2012 1:02 PM EST

To buy or sell in 2012, what with Armageddon coming and all? Absent any ancient Mayan wisdom on real estate strategies, let's just hope the real cataclysmic event in the real estate market already has passed, even if the rubble from the bubble remains.

A stubborn overstock of households with loans higher than their value will continue to restrain prices and create some major obstacles for sellers in 2012, a year that's shaping up to be another homebuyer's market. In fact, recent studies indicate that more than 20 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage are still underwater, hinting that many foreclosures and workouts are still to come.

However, even the most conservative forecasts call for growth in home sales in 2012, with some select pockets around the country already busting out where there are competitive offers on new listings. More than one-third of home resales were made to first-time buyers in 2011 -- another good sign.

Meanwhile, here are 12 tips for 2012, aimed largely at the group that needs the most help -- home sellers.

The old-school strategy of real estate sellers crossing their arms and holding out for a better offer will be brushed off by most homebuyers. Consider that of the homes that took four months or more to sell in the past year, almost half of their owners accepted less than 90 percent of the asking price, according to the National Association of Realtors. For a gauge, have your agent produce the latest comparable sales including short sales and foreclosures as well as a recent summary of sales prices versus original list prices. But be wary that such information doesn't reflect the homes that failed to sell.

Prep, paint, stage, scrub, improve, repeat. Efforts can include caulking, plastering, planting flowers, adding potted plants, making the windows spotless, pressure washing that oily driveway, edging the walks, trimming the bushes and trees, and mending the fences. None of these is excessively capital-intensive, but when applied en masse, they say "buy me."

I'm not saying bend over backward to accommodate real estate buyers. Bend forward and sideways, too. Be ready to negotiate and offer extras such as closing costs, paid property taxes, remodeling work (or a cash credit), appliances, paid condo association/homeowner association dues, a few months of mortgage payments or even seller financing. Home sellers who've been on the sidelines and who advised their agents to ignore offers by lowballers don't have that luxury now. Instruct your agent to listen intently to prospective homebuyers' misgivings about the home and adjust accordingly and immediately.

Hire a listing agent steeped in mobile platforms. Sellers and buyers are routinely using Facebook and other social media to sell and seek, not to mention dozens of online selling sites. Some owners are even making YouTube videos to showcase their homes, making it easier to quickly link to potential buyers via email. There's also an abundance of smartphone apps cropping up to reviewreal estate listings and refine searches.

Fraudsters are targeting distressed homeowners with "deals" that can sound perfectly legit. Some offer loan modifications for upfront fees while others offer fee-based "help" in navigating government housing assistance programs, sometimes claiming they're attorneys.

There are also con-artist "investors" compelling desperate owners to sign over their homes with quitclaim deeds in return for a typically empty promise to remain there indefinitely. Others are telling former owners they can get their homes back for a lump sum. Be forewarned: Never sign blank documents or documents with blank lines.

If you're unsure of an offer, have an attorney or other trusted adviser look it over. Keep in mind that a law barring firms -- except attorneys -- from charging upfront fees for mortgage relief ormortgage modification took effect in 2011. It's called the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule.

Realize it's harder to qualify for loans these days. Credit records are under greater scrutiny, and lenders are often demanding a 20 percent down payment and some pricing flexibility from the sellers, especially if the lender's appraisal doesn't reach the asking price.

Consider cash offers, even if they're not the highest. Reject too-low offers from homebuyers gently and with encouragement, telling them they're oh-so-close. You don't want to give away the farm, but you don't want to give it back to the bank either. These days, meeting halfway usually means meeting buyers on their half.

Agents once advised home sellers to retreat from view during showings, lest they disclose something unsavory or otherwise botch the deal. That's changed. If you can control your ego and emotions and come off as an earnest, flexible seller, you can serve as your best spokesperson. Be ready to answer would-be buyers' questions about the neighborhood and area schools. Be careful about making verbal promises!

Worried about durability? Buyers who place a heavier focus on brick or concrete-and-steel housing may find they're more enduring, safer and quieter.

Are you worried about sustaining value? Buy near a prestigious hospital, university, large government employer or newly vibrant central business district. These entities typically aren't going away, and the demand for good housing around them won't either.

There's still an overabundance of well-priced inventory out there, which means you needn't immediately narrow your search to the first house you fancy. That's especially the case with short sale homes, which can be a nightmare to close in a timely manner. There are some for-sale gems that need only a little polishing.

Shop around. Don't dismiss foreclosures and other bank properties, pre-foreclosures, auction homes, for-sale-by-owner or lease-to-own homes. Pick at least three favorites and work from there.

Are you perplexed by the home valuation you did on your place on the website of a large, seemingly reputable real estate organization? Puzzled how that valuation can be 25 percent or more above or below a firsthand appraisal you've had done? Well, value estimates on these sites can vary widely, sometimes by hundreds of thousands of dollars, even by the admission of the companies themselves. There are way too many variables in the valuation game to give too much credence to blind, algorithm-based estimates that are impersonally calculated. Nothing beats a nuanced firsthand professional appraisal.

Aside from the financial details, contracts, disclosures and protections you typically tend to as you prep to buy a home, add these to the list:

• Hire a title company to check the house for liens and tax arrearages.
• Hire you own inspector. Don't use the seller's!
• Have the inspector check for unpermitted work such as illegal room additions and garage conversions.
• Consider the overall energy efficiency of the home with an energy audit.
• Be sure property lines are accurate. If there's any question, hire a land surveyor to research the original deed and to stake out the property's lines and your neighbors' property lines to avoid future disputes.

• Go to the National Sex Offender Public Website at Nsopw.gov to search for neighborhood predators.
• Spend some time around the neighborhood and briefly interview neighbors. Determine if there are noisy neighbors, signs of gang activity, nocturnal barking dogs, indigent lingerers, frequent loud parties and/or suspicious nighttime visits. Are there lots of rental homes? Is the block a cut-through point during rush hour? Does the school bus go past the block? Is there a restrictive homeowners association?
• Determine what types of buildings can be constructed on vacant lots adjacent to the neighborhood. This helps avoid unpleasant future surprises. Is there constant noise from a nearby highway or busy street? Are there odors from nearby industrial plants?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/12-tips-buy-sell-real-080100614.html

Wesley Chapel man gets presidential pardon

By Lee Logan, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Dennis Bulin arrived in Zephyrhills as a skydiving bum in the late '70s. He quickly moved to a new hobby, scuba diving.

The inventor and entrepreneur combined those two passions into Zeagle Systems Inc., one of the leading scuba gear manufacturing companies and a pillar in the east Pasco business community. The company turned 32 this year.

An owner of several patents, Bulin turned his company into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. It's nothing short of a small business success story.

This week Bulin, 61, celebrated another milestone in a lesser-known chapter of his life. Against the worst of odds, he received a full pardon from President Barack Obama.

The rare decision from the president stemmed from a crime that happened more than two decades ago. Bulin was sentenced in March 1987 by a federal court in Alabama on a felony conviction of conspiracy to distribute more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana.

He received five years of probation and had to pay a $20,000 fine. No further details of the arrest and conviction were available Tuesday.

Fast forward nearly 25 years. On Monday afternoon, the White House quietly issued a news release announcing that Bulin and four others received a presidential pardon. Bulin is one of only 22 people to receive a pardon during Obama's time in office, out of 4,625 applications.

Bulin did not respond to an email and messages left at his office and Wesley Chapel home.

The incident has rarely surfaced, and it appears few people even knew about the conviction. In a brief conversation Tuesday afternoon, longtime business associate Jim Wittstruck of St. Petersburg seemed genuinely perplexed about the news.

"I've known him since 1983," he said. "I don't know what to tell you."

After the conviction, it appears Bulin quickly moved on with his life.

Only a year after the sentence, he was back in Pasco, lobbying county commissioners for a zoning permit to construct a warehouse on Chancey Road in Zephyrhills. The business had been in operation for nine years at that point and had outgrown its leased quarters.

Then, in October 1992, Gov. Lawton Chiles and the Florida Cabinet restored Bulin's civil rights. That gave him the right to vote, serve on a grand jury, hold public office and obtain several business licenses. He is registered to vote as a Republican.

The only campaign contribution linked to Bulin is a $250 donation to the 1996 campaign of Hillsborough Circuit Judge Gregory Holder. He has since avoided trouble with the law, as a check of Florida and federal courts shows no other arrests or convictions.

But the 1992 restoration of his civil rights didn't remove the stain of his earlier conviction. Only the president could do that.

The federal conviction prevented him from owning a gun. And while he regained his rights in Florida, the felony restrictions would follow him if he moved to other states.

The Florida Parole Commission does not release applications for clemency and the U.S. Department of Justice also does not release pardon applications.

Bulin started his career by working at a small parachute equipment manufacturer, Eagle Systems. He later bought the company and tacked a "Z" onto the name for Zephyrhills. For a few years the company continued to sell parachute equipment, but quickly began selling only diving equipment.

By 1994, the Times wrote a profile on the business that detailed its innovative products, such as scuba gear outfitted with a rip cord that released weights to allow a diver to surface quickly in case of an emergency.

Zeagle also pioneered putting weights into a so-called buoyancy compensation vest, instead of divers having to wear a separate weight belt. The story described a $3 million company with a problem that every business owner would envy — growing too quickly.

"We are trying to slow it down," he said at the time. "We don't want it to get out of hand."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/wesley-chapel-man-gets-presidential-pardon/1203034

Car crash kills owner of Paradise Lakes nudist resort

By Lisa Buie, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The owner of Paradise Lakes, one of Pasco County's largest nudist resorts, died Sunday night in a Texas vehicle crash that also critically injured his girlfriend.

John Forier, 61, of Land O'Lakes, was killed shortly after 11:30 p.m. after the 1997 Mercury sport utility vehicle he was driving veered off U.S. 385 near Hartley, a small town north of Amarillo, according to authorities. Forier tried to get back on the road but overcorrected, sending the SUV skidding across both lanes and causing it to overturn. Forier, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the SUV, the report said. Authorities pronounced him dead at the scene.

His girlfriend, Pamela Tanner, 51, also of Land O'Lakes, was wearing a seat belt. She was taken to Northwest Texas Hospital with critical head injuries.

Forier, who lived at the resort and in Martinique, bought the 72-acre nudist resort in 2007 with plans to renovate and expand it. His goal was to compete with nearby Caliente Resort and attract young people.

"All of the resorts are trending to get older and older," he told the Times in February. "We need to get new people used to the idea that it is acceptable."

Last year, Forier hired Jay and Amy Roberts to liven up the resort's entertainment and night life. The couple had been running popular pool parties at a mansion in Lutz, and Forier wanted to duplicate the success at Paradise Lakes.

Business doubled at Club Reveal, thanks to sexy themed parties. However, the increased emphasis on raciness drew criticism from some longtime residents. The resort also joined Caliente in leaving the American Association of Nude Recreation, an organization that emphasizes a family atmosphere in nudism.

"He was always very good to me," said Carolyn Hawkins, the association's public relations director, who had met Forier a few times. She said she was surprised when it severed ties with the organization.

Forier also planned a $4 million clubhouse expansion, which will triple the size of the nightclub, upgrade the gym and spa, and the addition of 14 luxury condos and a Japanese steak house. The resort is converting 48 of the 56 hotel rooms into timeshares.

"We hope to be booming," Forier said earlier this year. "The more people who come in and try it, the more people will like it."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/car-crash-kills-owner-of-paradise-lakes-nudist-resort/1203004

How to keep your Wi-Fi location out of Google

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols | November 15, 2011, 9:18am PST

Summary: Little did we know that those cute Google Street View cars were also mapping our Wi-Fi access points. Now, you can opt out of Google’s Wi-Fi maps.

Busted! A Wi-Fi snooping Google Street View car.

This summer it was revealed that Google Street View cars, besides taking photos of your neighborhood, were also collecting the street addresses, Wi-Fi service set identifier (SSID), and the unique Media Access Control (MAC) identification information for computers, Wi-Fi access points (AP)s, and routers. Worse still, Google was, apparently by accident, also grabbing unencrypted passwords and e-mails. Yack!

While Google quickly backed off grabbing people’s personal data, the company’s Google Street View cars are continuing to pick up Wi-Fi access points and routers’ unique MACs, SSIDs, and physical addresses.

Google uses this information to improve its Google Map and other location-based services, but what if you don’t want to contribute to this effort? Until recently, you were stuck.

Now, Google will let you opt-out. Frankly, I think it would be a lot better if they only recorded your Wi-Fi equipment’s location if you opted in, but it is what it is.

Here’s how you do it. The key is you have to change the SSID of your Wi-Fi access point so that it ends with “_nomap”. For example, if your SSID is “catdog” you would need to change it to “catdog_nomap”.

Here are instructions on some of the most common Wi-Fi AP brands.

• Apple
• Belkin
• Linksys (Cisco)
• Netgear
• US Robotics

On many access points, you can access its controls by which you can change its SSID using the following steps:

Use an Ethernet cable to make a physical connection between your access point and your computer.

Find the IP address for your the default gateway/AP. To do this:

On Windows, type ‘ipconfig’ into the command prompt (accessed from the start menu).

On Mac OS, type ‘ifconfig’ into the command prompt.

On Linux, type ‘ifconfig’ into the shell prompt.

Once you have the default gateway (it will look like 192.168.0.1), type it into the address bar of your Web browser, this will take you to the Web-based control panel for your access point.

You will then need to sign in to your AP’s control panel.

Here, for example, is what it looks like to change the SSID on my Netgear N750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router (WNDR4000).

First, I need to go to my AP address from a Web browser. In my case, that was 192.168.0.130. More common AP addresses are 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.1.1. Once there, I needed to login to my system. If you’re still using your AP’s company provide default login and password, once you’re in, take this opportunity to change it. Until you do, anyone who knows the device defaults can take over your AP.

How to set the SSID on a Netgear Router.

Once in my Netgear device, I needed to Wireless Settings. Then, to set it up so that any wandering Google Street View car won’t collect its location, I changed its SSID from Gith-5 to Gith-5_nomap. Google hopes that since “this method of opt out can also be seen by other location service providers, and we hope the industry will respect the “_nomap” tag.” Then, the next time a device with a “reliable channel” tries to use your AP’s information to fix its location, Google will take note that you no longer want to be in their databases and remove your devices’ data.

And, what’s a “reliable channel?” According to Google, it’s a Wi-Fi device, like an Android phone that tries to use your AP to fix its location. So, for example, to get your home or office Wi-Fi off Google’s location service in a hurry, just use Google Maps’ My Location feature on a Wi-Fi enabled tablet or smartphone, and Google will note the change in your SSID and take your equipment off its maps.

That sounds good, but besides putting the burden on you to opt out of their system, Google’s solution introduces another minor security/privacy problem. You see some people don’t want to broadcast that they’re providing any Wi-Fi services at all, so they don’t broadcast any SSID.

Now, yes, finding an “invisible” SSID is trivial. Most Wi-Fi network utilities like inSSIDer, Kismet, and NetStumbler can do in seconds. But, many people still don’t broadcast SSID so they can avoid would-be casual Wi-Fi users. With the Google “fix” though you have to use a SSID.

Don’t think, by the by, that you’ve escaped Google’s Argus gaze if you haven’t been using an SSID. It’s the MAC, which all networked devices have, that Google uses to uniquely identify and locate your AP or router.

Personally, I’m not going to bother to change my Wi-Fi APs’ SSIDs. It’s too much trouble for too little value. But, if you want to hide from Google, well, now you know how. Good luck.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/networking/how-to-keep-your-wi-fi-location-out-of-google/1652

Mortgage Help and Repayment Options

U.S. Bank is dedicated to educating customers on all mortgage assistance options available to them. If you believe foreclosure on your home is imminent, please contact us immediately.

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA)

http://www.usbank.com/mortgage/learning/payment-help.html

New law will let Cubans buy and sell real estate

HAVANA – Nov. 4, 2011 – For the first time in a half-century, Cubans will be allowed to buy and sell real estate openly, bequeath property to relatives without restriction and avoid forfeiting their homes if they abandon the country.

The highly anticipated new rules instantly transform islanders’ cramped, dilapidated homes into potential liquid assets in the most significant reform yet adopted by President Raul Castro since he took over the communist country from his brother in 2008.

But plenty of restrictions remain.

Cuban exiles continue to be barred from owning property on the island, though they can presumably help relatives make purchases by sending money. And foreigners can also hold off on dreams of acquiring a pied-a-terre under the Caribbean sun, since only citizens and permanent residents are eligible.

The law, which takes effect Nov. 10, limits Cubans to owning one home in the city and another in the country, an effort to prevent speculative buying and the accumulation of large real estate holdings. While few Cubans have the money to start a real estate empire, many city dwellers have struggled over the years to maintain title to family homes in the countryside, and the new law legalizes the practice.

The change follows October’s legalization of buying and selling cars, though with restrictions that still make it hard for ordinary Cubans to buy new vehicles. The government has also allowed citizens to go into business for themselves in a number of approved jobs - everything from party clowns to food vendors and accountants - and permitted them to rent out rooms and cars.

While Castro has stressed that there will be no departure from Cuba’s socialist model, he has also pledged to streamline the state-dominated economy by eliminating hundreds of thousands of state jobs and ending generous subsidies the state can no longer afford.

Cuba’s government employs about 80 percent of the workforce, paying wages of just $20 a month in return for free education and health care, and nearly free housing, transportation and basic foods.

Economists and Cuba experts say the new property law will have a profound impact on people’s lives, though probably will not be enough by itself to transform the island’s limping economy.

“This is a very positive step in the right direction toward greater economic freedom and individual and family rights of private property,” said Ted Henken, a professor at Baruch College in New York who has extensively studied Cuba’s economy. “It will immediately increase the personal wealth of millions of Cubans.”

Omar Everleny Perez, lead economist at Havana University’s Center for Cuban Economic Studies, said legalization of the sale of cars and property could help Cubans who want to go into business for themselves acquire seed money.

“These are small things, but they point us toward an economy that is more normal compared to the rest of the world,” he said.

According to the Official Gazette, a government publication that disseminates new laws, the new system will eliminate the need for approval from a state housing agency, meaning that from now on, sales and exchanges will only need the seal of a notary.

Cubans will also be allowed to inherit property from relatives, even if they don’t live together, and they will be able to take title of property of relatives or others who emigrate.

Previously, such properties could be seized by the state. One caveat contained in the new law is that the government retains the right to nullify any sale if it finds that it resulted in someone being left homeless.

Cuban exiles in South Florida - many of whom lost family homes when they left the island - were ho-hum about the changes.

“How in the world are they going to establish the title for these homes?” asked Jorge Amaro, a retired Realtor in Miami.

Amaro said he came to the U.S. from Cuba in 1961 at age 13 on the so-called Peter Pan flights. His parents later joined him, leaving behind the family’s six-bedroom home on one of Havana’s main boulevards.

“For instance, the property that my family had, who owns it? They’re going to have to pick an arbitrary date to decide ownership,” he said.

The ban on property sales was probably the most resented among the many restrictions in Cuba’s state-dominated economy.

The old regulations took effect in stages over the first years after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, and they have remained in force even as Cuba opened its economy - albeit slightly - following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

For decades, Cubans could only exchange property through complicated barter arrangements or through even murkier black-market deals where thousands of dollars change hands under the table, with no legal recourse if transactions go bad.

Some Cubans entered into sham marriages to make deed transfers easier. Others made deals to move into homes ostensibly to care for an elderly person living there, only to inherit the property when the person died.

Even divorce hasn’t necessarily meant separation in Cuba, where estranged couples have often been forced to live together for years while they worked out alternative housing.

The new law requires that all real estate transactions be made through Cuban bank accounts so that they can be better regulated, and it sets a tax rate of 8 percent of the assessed value - split equally by buyer and seller. There is no mention of any capital gains tax, a boon to property owners.

At an intersection in central Havana that for decades has served as the city’s underground real estate bazaar, people said the tax rate seemed reasonable in the abstract, but it will depend greatly on how authorities end up valuing the properties.

“This was necessary, and it will bring results,” said Maria Fernandez, who has been arranging home swaps for seven years as an unofficial real estate broker. “It’ll help us move forward and change many lives.

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=2&id=267054

Remodeling cents

by Michael Freeze, published Oct. 23, 2011

A bathroom should fit the owner’s personal needs with regard to maintenance and function.

Improving on your small bathroom can create big headaches if you don’t start your plan with the basics.

Joe Ferrantegennaro, owner of The Bed and Kitchen Gallery, 6406 E. Fowler Ave., advises the first thing to look at when remodeling the bathroom is your checkbook.

“You need to know what type of budget you are working with,” he said. “Think about where you are starting all the designs. You can go off on many parts. So, you have to decide where you are heading with it.”

Once you know how much you are going to spend, the next question, Ferrantegennaro said, should be on what.

Ferrantegennaro advises to keep an eye on the specifications. It’s not only important to have the right and exact materials, but you must consider the maintenance and usage of your bathroom.

“One might favor porcelain material because it requires much less maintenance,” he said. “Others might be geared toward an old design or a universal that includes grab bars or curves on the showers so it is easy to walk in and out.

“Also, you would want to design for who is going to be in there. What type of products go with the needs of the family? Is it for multiple people or just one? Is it guests? Ages of the people?”

Ferrantegennaro, who has been in the construction business for more than 20 years, has had his share of special requests when asked to remodel bathrooms.

His most common requests?

“Sometimes it’s, ‘I don’t need a big seat in the shower, but a good enough seat to shave my legs.’ Now, that’s a personal thing.”

In addition to running his business, Ferrantegennaro — along with his brother John, who runs Red Cap Plumbing in Tampa — hosts “The Home Improvement Show.” The duo answers calls and emails from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturdays on WFLA-AM 970.

http://listingnews.tbo.com/stories/279320-Remodeling_cents

Home building rises in Tampa Bay to best level since 2008

By Mark Puente, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, October 20, 2011

Tampa Bay area home builders pounded more nails in the past three months than during any other quarter in the past three years.

Local builders started 1,158 homes in the third quarter. That's the most since the third quarter of 2008, when builders started 1,201 homes, according to Tampa's Metrostudy, a national company that tracks the construction industry.

Tony Polito, a housing consultant with Metrostudy, said the quarterly results are encouraging and continue to point to the 727 new starts in early 2009 as the bottom for the region. Starts should continue to rise because national builders aren't carrying a high inventory of new homes in the area, he said.

"If we stay out of recession and continue to add jobs, the housing market will continue to improve," Polito said. "If the builders feel confident, they will start more unsold units."

Compared with those in earlier periods, new starts are up 4 percent from the third quarter of 2010, up 15 percent from the second quarter of this year and up 41 percent from the first quarter.

The increase also occurred nationally. Housing starts jumped 15 percent in September, the most since April 2010, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Locally, builders closed deals on 1,255 units in the third quarter. That figure is down 12.5 percent from the third quarter of 2010, when a government tax credit artificially boosted closings. This year's third-quarter closings bested the second quarter's by 60 percent.

While housing starts have increased, employment in Florida's overall construction industry continues to decline, according to state figures.

Since the housing market crashed, builders have designed lower-priced houses to attract a bigger pool of buyers. For the 12 months ending in August, builders started 2,178 homes priced at less than $200,000 in the bay area, Polito said.

In the wake of the housing bust, lenders tightened standards and now require larger down payments for conventional loans. The alternatives are government-backed loans that require only a 3.5 percent down payment and a credit score of about 620 or better.

Financing still remains a problem, even with record low interest rates, said Jeff Thorson, Tampa division president for William Ryan Homes. First-time buyers and those looking for entry-level prices are having the most trouble getting loans, he added.

The company's starts rose from 15 in the second quarter to 21 in the third quarter.

"We have seen an increase in traffic," he said. "We're cautiously optimistic."

Mark Puente can be reached at mpuente@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8459. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/markpuente.

[Last modified: Oct 19, 2011 09:23 PM]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/article1197548.ece