On the verge of an economic collapse, Cape Coral controls damages (Tallahassee: foreclosure, loan)

[yoko]

" Five brave Cape Coral men avoid a swim scam"

"Remember, this city is $875 million in debt."

Sullivan joined councilmen Chris Chulakes-Leetz, Bill Deile, Erick Kuehn and Pete Brandt in wisely voting no.

Deile says National Swim Center Corp. was going to take the city’s 171 acres and use it as collateral to get a loan.

The company boasted jobs for 1,200 workers, yet when Deile did the math, it totaled 35 workers.



by Sam Cook
http://www.news-press.com/article/20...id-a-swim-scam



Super!

[hiknapster]

Three cheers for Sam Cook and Cape Coral.

My favorite part: I just may stop calling Cape the wrong side of the river.

[yoko]

“Cape Coral faces major budget crisis”

"Councilman Bill Deile acknowledged concerns raised by the city's auditor

The audit finds that Cape Coral may not have the funds to pay for benefits the city owes to its retired employees.
When an audit discovers that a city may be in danger of defaulting on those payments there is a possibility that the State government may step in."


2010/04/29
Cape Coral faces major budget crisis

[lovewholeself]

Interesting to read since I'm a Michigander considering buying a home/condo in CC. I asked around why houses/condos were so cheap compared to other places in SW FL. What I've found via internet research is that there are two main deterrents to buy in this area: 1) many houses built in mid-2000s have damaged drywall which in turn lowers value of other houses in neighborhood since they, too, are probably going to require new drywall construction; 2) the looming water/sewer assessments of $17-20,000 need to be added on to house purchase prices. This 2nd factor also seems to have a potential downward effect on real estate values since there will probably continue to be more foreclosures.

Naturally, since there's been an exodus from the area due to upside down mortgages and foreclosures, the city is in a budget deficit. What other taxes might be added to current residents in order to offset the deficit, especially if the real estate deterrents drive more homeowners away--and thus city experiences lower property tax revenue.

Please correct my findings if inaccurate, preferably with factual information. Thx.

[rikoshaprl]

lovewholeself,
The two points you make are correct. But the solution is simple. Don't buy a home with chinese drywall and don't buy in an area that doesn't have the assessments paid.

[lovewholeself]

Thx for validation of points rikoshaprl. Yes, the obvious is per your suggested solution and this is now on my "musts" list.

If I consider the whole community I might buy and live in, though, and not just my personal investment, these larger community problems written about -- and possibly worse ones looming -- affect everyone there (and potential new arrivals like me).

[rikoshaprl]

I think those two problems are already factored into the real estate prices in the areas affected.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by lovewholeself

1) many houses built in mid-2000s have damaged drywall which in turn lowers value of other houses in neighborhood since they, too, are probably going to require new drywall construction;

Hold up. This isn't quite right.

Here is the situation. There are many homes that are affected by Chinese drywall. They are mostly in Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. That is because there was a lot of building right after the hurricanes.

The bad drywall came from a bad gypsum cave in China. That drywall is no longer produced, so any new drywall construction would not be affected.

Once again, swFlorida is not where all of the bad drywall is, and not all of the new homes there was affected. And no, it would have nothing to do with neighborhood values. Nothing.

Further, it is VERY easy to tell if a home has Chinese drywall. There is a thread on here that will tell you want to know and then some.

You need to educate yourself because even if you don't buy in swFlorida you could still get a house with Chinese drywall.

[121804]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Hold up. This isn't quite right.

Here is the situation. There are many homes that are affected by Chinese drywall. They are mostly in Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. That is because there was a lot of building right after the hurricanes.

The bad drywall came from a bad gypsum cave in China. That drywall is no longer produced, so any new drywall construction would not be affected.

Once again, swFlorida is not where all of the bad drywall is, and not all of the new homes there was affected. And no, it would have nothing to do with neighborhood values. Nothing.

Further, it is VERY easy to tell if a home has Chinese drywall. There is a thread on here that will tell you want to know and then some.

You need to educate yourself because even if you don't buy in swFlorida you could still get a house with Chinese drywall.

We lived in a condo development in PGI that had/has CDW. I am sure our very kind & very accomodating landlord has lost all her investment. A shame.

But I think I just saw somewhere about the CC assessments. I remember exactly the cost when we were actively pursuing a home there....$20k paid in monthly installments or a lien on the home. Obviously, one of the many reasons we looked elsewhere (this was 06/07).

Not sure the current situation on the assessments, but that cannot be overlooked if still on the table there. We had a CC realtor blantantly lie to us about them. A developer (we considered building) was blantantly honest. Appreciated that from him.

[yoko]

Originally Posted by yoko

“Cape Coral faces major budget crisis”

"Councilman Bill Deile acknowledged concerns raised by the city's auditor
The audit finds that Cape Coral may not have the funds to pay for benefits the city owes to its retired employees.
When an audit discovers that a city may be in danger of defaulting on those payments there is a possibility that the State government may step in."

2010/04/29
Cape Coral faces major budget crisis

" There are some 9,000 homes in foreclosure in Cape Coral and banks have registered to maintain 5,000 of them, leaving the remaining 4,000 to be mowed by the city if responsible parties can’t be found, Cassidy said.

A total of 1,500 lots are being mowed under city contracts and more than 200 lots have been mowed since January by other volunteers with Code Compliance’s Take Pride In The Cape program.

And the volunteers will also be working in the Code Compliance Office in City Hall, answering phones and fielding complaints, Cassidy said.

The program is similar to the police volunteer program, where residents assist with directing traffic and other tasks in order to free up officers for patrols and investigations. "

2010/04/30
http://www.news-press.com/article/20...-clean-up-city



Expensive facelifts and heavy reliance on residents!