Monday, June 11, 2007

FL: Condo freefall Jade at Brickell Bay, one of the success stories of Miami-Dade County’s condo boom era, is leading the pack with a more dubious distinction — the most foreclosures at any condo development in the county this year. 8:51:30 AM

Brownfield Sites As Gated Communities THE gated community first appeared on the world map in 1915 in Los Angeles in the United States. This was Fremont Place, a 50-acre enclave with 72 homes belonging to celebrities such as silent screen star Mary Pickford, legendary boxer Muhammed Ali and the famous shaving blade tycoon, King Camp Gillette. 8:37:30 AM

OH: Condo builder turning to franchising for expansion Rowland "Tre" Giller thinks he's found a way to expand his homebuilding company beyond Central Ohio. 8:35:33 AM

FL: Electrical Problems Blamed In Condominium Fire A raging fire blamed on electrical problems consumed an Orlando condominium and forced residents out of their homes for hours. The flames shot into the sky at the Tymberskan At The Lake condominiums. 8:34:04 AM

FL: Elderly Condo Residents May Be Forced From Homes Residents of a Lauderhill condo complex are concerned they may be out on the street in the next two weeks if mandated repairs are not complete on time by their management company. 8:00:04 AM

FL: Condo's adjuster prevails in storm case The Tiara condominium can't get a break.  A federal jury has found that the Singer Island condo's public adjuster did a proper job on the hurricane-ravaged tower and that the adjuster should be awarded $1.5 million, the rest of its fee. 7:59:05 AM

CA: Palm Desert turns to drips, cutting out grass to save water A homeowner association gave up some grass for a more desert look. They now save about $1,000 a month on water and maintenance costs through drip irrigation and new landscaping. 7:56:25 AM

OH: Condo treasurer charged A Cuyahoga County grand jury has indicted a former state Senate candidate from Parma, charging him with stealing about $180,000 from his condominium association. Howard Shrimpton, 51, was treasurer for the Concord Square Village Owners Association. Prosecutors say he pilfered the money over several years, and the association's board discovered unauthorized transactions this spring and called Parma police. In an interview Friday, Shrimpton acknowledged that he "borrowed" $15,000 from an idle escrow account "in a moment of stupidity" earlier this year to cover the cost of an extended hospitalization for a lung ailment. He denied that he stole for years and took $180,000, but said he "had to be kind of creative" over the years in juggling association money to pay maintenance bills, "and now they're going to hammer me for it." Shrimpton was unopposed for the Republican nomination for the District 23 Senate seat that Democrat Dale Miller won in November. 7:52:21 AM

VA: Lansdowne Considers Compliance Guidelines For Home-Based Businesses As the Lansdowne on the Potomac community continues to work through whether home-based businesses can operate and for how long, the HOA board presented a draft resolution Wednesday night defining future guidelines. 7:50:21 AM

NV: Bill going before governor would limit home owners associations There could be a new law in the books that affects the way homeowners associations run in Nevada. More than 500,000 Las Vegas residents live in an HOA run neighborhood. News 3's Robert Santos has more on a bill before Governor Gibbons that could take away some power from HOA's.  7:49:27 AM

Advice for Move From Suburb to City Condo For years, the choice between an urban or suburban home was easy for many families. They opted for the cleaner, greener, quieter and roomier suburbs, not to mention the generally superior schools found there. 7:47:17 AM

CA: Luxury, With a Price The opening of expensive condominium complexes, the popularity of luxury amenities and the ever-rising costs of utilities and insurance rates have skyrocketed homeowners fees to eye-popping levels - they range from $300 to more than $1,000 a month in Downtown. 7:44:55 AM