Blog - Deborah Bethune

Insurance

Home insurance mistakes to avoid as we enter into hurricane season

Photo: Douglas R Clifford/AP | Hurricane Ian was a nightmare for thousands of homeowners in 2022 and forecasts are calling for another active hurricane season in 2024. (Douglas R. Clifford/AP) Nobody likes paying for homeowner insurance. That’s been especially true in Florida, where over the past few years, as more frequent storms and high litigation […]
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Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance

You’ve Got Options When It Comes to Home Financing Helping borrowers overcome down payment and closing cost barriers Low down payment mortgages are a great solution for helping borrowers achieve homeownership, but for some borrowers, finding even a 3% down payment can be a challenge. Fortunately, in many cases, Fannie Mae allows funds for part […]
Buyer, Buyers Sellers Investors, Cash Buyers, SunBelt Title

Say No to Wire Fraud: Call Before You Send

According to the FBI, real estate wire fraud is one of the nation’s fastest-growing and financially damaging internet-enabled crimes, with claimed losses in 2022 exceeding $2.7 billion. The average wire fraud for consumer recovery cases last year was $106,557, reports the American Land Title Association (ALTA) and the totals may be even higher as […]
Buyers Sellers Investors, Market Conditions, Sellers

8 Reasons Sellers Aren’t Selling

Current owners fear the dearth of for-sale homes and high-interest rates, but many still desire a move. These are the top issues holding them back. NEW YORK – Homeowners aren’t listing their homes, which is keeping prices up along with buyer frustration. A fear of many current homeowners who want to upsize or downsize is […]

Insurance Home insurance mistakes to avoid as we enter into hurricane season Photo: Douglas R Clifford/AP | Hurricane Ian was a nightmare for thousands of homeowners in 2022 and forecasts are calling for another active hurricane season in 2024. (Douglas R. Clifford/AP) Nobody likes paying for homeowner insurance. That’s been especially true in Florida, where over the past few years, as more frequent storms and high litigation […]

Uncategorized Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance You’ve Got Options When It Comes to Home Financing Helping borrowers overcome down payment and closing cost barriers Low down payment mortgages are a great solution for helping borrowers achieve homeownership, but for some borrowers, finding even a 3% down payment can be a challenge. Fortunately, in many cases, Fannie Mae allows funds for part […]

Buyer Say No to Wire Fraud: Call Before You Send According to the FBI, real estate wire fraud is one of the nation’s fastest-growing and financially damaging internet-enabled crimes, with claimed losses in 2022 exceeding $2.7 billion. The average wire fraud for consumer recovery cases last year was $106,557, reports the American Land Title Association (ALTA) and the totals may be even higher as […]

Buyers Sellers Investors 8 Reasons Sellers Aren’t Selling Current owners fear the dearth of for-sale homes and high-interest rates, but many still desire a move. These are the top issues holding them back. NEW YORK – Homeowners aren’t listing their homes, which is keeping prices up along with buyer frustration. A fear of many current homeowners who want to upsize or downsize is […]

Uncategorized Elevated Home Prices and Mortgage Rates, Limited Inventory are Home Buying Barriers, According to Realtors® and Prospective Home Buyers Across Races and Ethnicities Key Highlights Asian (27%), Hispanic (24%), Black (20%), and White (15%) prospective home buyers say they have not yet bought a home mainly because they are waiting for prices to decline. White respondents (15%) are just as likely to say the primary reason is because they are waiting for mortgage rates to drop. Additional reasons […]

Reports Monthly Data | August 2023 | Coral Springs Parkland

HUD HUD Updates Fair Market Rents; Makes $113 Million Available in Affordable Housing Vouchers HUD No. 23-186 HUD Public Affairs (202) 708-0685 FOR RELEASE Thursday August 31, 2023 HUD Updates Fair Market Rents; Makes $113 Million Available in Affordable Housing Vouchers Department increases Fair Market Rents by 12 percent on average across the U.S., releases vouchers to 36 states to help more families afford housing WASHINGTON – Today, the […]

Articles How much income & down payment is needed for a $400k home? Have you been looking at homes, but are concerned with affording a home priced at $400,000 or more? Just because home prices are elevated doesn’t mean you can’t achieve your goal of home ownership. Believe it or not, but the median home price in the U.S. in Q1 2023 was $429,000. That means that most folks […]

Buyer Encroachments and Easements: What You Need to Know Whenever a home is about to change ownership, a thorough title search will include a property survey to determine the property lines, including the presence of any encroachments or easements. While both terms refer to the use of the property by someone other than the owner, they are different in meaning and scope. Encroachments are unpermitted […]

Uncategorized Questions About Your 2023 Property Assessment or Exemptions? The Broward County Property Appraiser mailed over 776,000 TRIM (proposed tax) Notices to Broward County property owners last month. The 2023 Just/Market Values are based on the market data from 2022 as Florida Statutes require the office to use January 1 as the date of assessment each year. The TRIM Notice shows the 2023 Just/Market […]

Buyer Babcock Ranch | Solar Power, Sustainable, New Construction Schedule a Tour 50% of Babcock Ranch’s footprint is set aside for green spaces, and we’ve intentionally developed our town to include stewardship, sustainability, preservation, and restoration as key design features. More than 90% of Babcock Ranch is built upon already impacted pasture, farm, and rock-mined land, and developments are surrounded by areas that will […]

Articles Information to Help You in the Aftermath of Hurricane Idalia Resources to help you recover and rebuild. A message from the Florida Realtors® president: Click to watch the video. Federal disaster declaration: President Joe Biden approved a federal disaster declaration to help state and local recovery efforts after Category 3 Hurricane Idalia slammed into North Florida’s Big Bend region and caused widespread damage. The disaster declaration […]

Buyer Cash Rules Since October 2022, the share of buyers purchasing their home without a mortgage has been more than one-quarter of the market and includes buyers who purchased primary homes, investors, and vacation buyers. These all-cash home buyers are happily avoiding the higher mortgage interest rates, which touched 7% in the Fall of 2022 before trending […]

Buyer Law Will Impact Some Foreign-Buyer Purchases Image Source: Mediaonela/ Getty Images Two Florida Realtors® lawyers – Vice President of Law and Policy and General Counsel Juana Watkins, and Deputy General Counsel Marcia Tabak – hosted a webinar on July 29 to give members an overview of upcoming changes when a bill passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by Gov. […]

Buyers Sellers Investors Scam Alert: Title Fraud is on the Rise A new scam – the latest embodiment of identity theft – has surfaced recently. Real estate title fraud, also known as title theft, occurs when someone changes the ownership of your property to themselves without your knowledge, forging your signature on a deed and recording it. The scammer is then free to sell the property right out […]

Uncategorized How to Buy a House in 2023 Navigate the real estate market with confidence! Buying a house is an exhilarating journey, regardless of the economic state. Before diving in, equip yourself with the knowledge of home buying. Understanding the intricacies empowers you to make informed decisions for your family and finances. When you are buying a home, here’s how I can help. […]

Buyer Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program Good news! Florida Housing will receive $100 million in additional Hometown Heroes funding beginning July 1st. Please check back for updates to the program as we get closer to the July 1, 2023, effective date. The Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program makes homeownership affordable for eligible frontline community workers such as law enforcement officers, firefighters, […]

Lease Rental U.S. Rents Fall for First Time in 3 Years Study: March asking rents fell 0.4% to $1,937 year-to-year, the lowest level in 13 months. But 4 Fla. cities in the study saw increases ranging from 0.7% to 3.9%. SEATTLE – The median U.S. asking rent fell 0.4% year-over-year to $1,937 in March – the first annual decline since March 2020 and the lowest median […]

Appraisals Flood Insurance to Raise Rates for Some Citizens’ Clients In a change to be phased in over the next few years, homeowners with state-run Citizens Ins. must also have NFIP flood insurance if they’re covered for hurricane winds. MIAMI – A line in the Florida Legislature’s latest attempt to fix the state’s fractured home insurance market promises to have big impacts on more than […]

Appraisals NAR Hosts Policy Forum on the Current Housing Market and Affordability WASHINGTON (March 16, 2023) – The National Association of Realtors® hosted a policy forum Thursday entitled The Current Housing Market: Implications for Home Buyers and the Economy at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. The opening session, Promoting Homeownership, Affordable Rentals, and Investor Involvement All at Once, featured a keynote fireside chat with the Director of […]