Some People Were Spending A Million Dollars Over Asking, People Just Wanted In

A report from the Palm Beach Post in Florida. “Anticipating a refinancing offer that could save him $647 a month, Dave Mayers of Jupiter instead got a jolt of reality: The deal was nixed after lenders saw the level of insurance his condominium association was carrying. Inadequate insurance is the most oft-cited reason that more condominium associations are on federal mortgage guarantor Fannie Mae’s blacklist, a number that’s more than tripled over the past two years. ‘I’ve never been rejected for a loan in my life,’ said the 74-year-old retired Pennsylvania furniture store owner. ‘I was really counting on the savings I was going to receive from a refinance to help with all the added expenses of the increased reserves. If condos in Florida can’t acquire mortgages or refinancing because of Fannie (Mae’s) … new mandates and pile that on top of the (structural integrity reserve study) mandates, what happens to seniors, like myself, and to the property values in Florida? This is just crazy.'”

“Only two or three companies would insure garden-style, low-rise condos and coverage for high-rises were simply unaffordable compared to years past, according to Tyler Spaedt, vice president at Valley Insurance Services, which specializes in condo communities. He says about one of the 10 of associations he’s covering can’t manage to buy the insurance that would pay for the full replacement value of a condo association’s common property. Michael J. Gelfand, a West Palm Beach attorney who specializes in condo association law, said he urges associations to get the full replacement value if they can. ‘Insuring a roof for its actual cash value doesn’t work,’ Gelfand said. ‘When it’s depreciated, it’s pennies on the dollar for the cost of replacement.'”

The Houston Chronicle in Texas. “Linda and Greg Stickline’s Galveston home is a vision of Victorian charm. Before the couple moved into the home in 2012, they spent two years and hundreds of thousands of dollars restoring the 100-year-old property, adding a modern kitchen and breezy backyard living space. But despite the home’s historic touches and its desirable location, the Sticklines haven’t been able to sell their six-bedroom home after more than 120 days on the market. And they’re not alone. ‘We didn’t expect this,’ said Linda Stickline, who has bought and sold multiple homes in the Houston area and Galveston over the years, always managing to sell quickly. Even after successful open houses, the Sticklines still haven’t received an offer. ‘This isn’t how it usually goes for us, so I think it’s a tough one.'”

“Although the $1.05 million asking price puts the home in the luxury range, the Sticklines’ broker, Tom Schwenk, said, ‘I don’t think that the price is what’s really stopping anyone anyway.’ ‘Nobody’s really even looking,’ Linda Stickline added. The number of homes for sale on Galveston Island has surged 42% in the past year – hitting about 1,000 listings in the first quarter, according to HAR. Much of the supply stems from investors who purchased during the height of the pandemic. The glut of homes for sale comes at a time of elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty, which have sidelined many buyers. Galveston now has nearly 17 months of housing supply.”

“‘A house that would have sold pre-COVID for $300,000 was selling for $600,000 or $750,000,’ at the height of the pandemic, said Diane Moore, president of the Galveston Association of Realtors. Back then, broker Louis Salas said, he was fielding up to six calls a week from prospective short-term rental investors. Many were banking on unrealistic revenue projections from vacation rental platforms, said Salas of Re/Max Leading Edge. ‘Some of them were being represented by Realtors who weren’t really familiar with the island,’ said Salas. ‘They didn’t look at comps or the actual numbers. They were just excited.’ And most Galveston owners need to carry three different types of insurance: home, flood and windstorm. Inflation and updated FEMA rules around flood risks are pushing up those costs as well. ‘People (who were) paying $400 for flood insurance are now paying triple,’ said Alex Monteith with Galveston-based Insurance Junction.”

From Realtor.com. “From 2019 to 2024, more than 100,000 California homeowners lost coverage, according to research from the Public Policy Institute of California. For Claire O’Connor, a Los Angeles real estate agent and homeowner, the devastation became deeply personal. ‘I literally said to my husband when we got dropped [in November 2024],’ she recalled in an interview with Realtor.com®. ‘As if our house is going to burn down … so many houses would have to burn to get to our house…’ We were so far from the hills.’ Then, just two months later, the unthinkable happened. O’Connor lost her home in the Palisades fire, one of more than 4,700 homes partly or entirely destroyed.”

“‘The insurance process has been horrible,’ she says. ‘You get a check, and then you have to co-sign it with your bank if you have a mortgage, and it goes into an escrow account.’ Rather than providing immediate relief, many insurance payouts are tangled in red tape. Insurance hurdles remain steep even for those looking to relocate within the region. ‘We have a client … he said he pays $3,000 a year in Arizona, and he got a quote [in Los Feliz] for $40,000 to $50,000.'”

National Public Radio. “More than 70 properties — home to hundreds of renters — are caught up in a massive mortgage fraud battle. But people living at the largest of those properties could get help soon. The properties were owned by Vision & Beyond until the company abandoned them late last year. One of the company’s founders, Stas Grinberg, currently is in Butler County Jail on federal fraud charges. The whereabouts of co-founder Peter Gizuntermann are unknown. Both founders are parties in a series of foreclosure claims, fraud lawsuits, and other legal problems.”

“Meanwhile, the question of who ultimately owns the buildings continues. Legal representatives for lenders allege Vision & Beyond’s founders took out mortgages on the properties, even though the investors Vision & Beyond attracted actually owned them. ‘This case is about who is going to be left holding the bag,’ said J.P. Burleigh, an attorney for one group of investors. ‘Between the investors and the lenders, not everyone is going to win.'”

From CTV News in Canada. “For a while, Jordan Baechler thought he was doing everything right. At 26, he bought his first home; a one-bedroom condo in Toronto’s King West neighbourhood for about $600,000. A high school teacher and coach, he says he was determined to build equity and eventually move into a house before turning 30. But that dream began to unravel only months later. ‘I bought with a variable rate mortgage and my financial life was turned upside down by the year 2022,’ said Baechler. ‘I waited too long to lock in… I was advised the variable rate has long been more competitive than a fixed rate.'”

“Instead, interest rates surged. After the pandemic, the central bank raised interest rates to five per cent for 11 months. Baechler‘s monthly mortgage costs soared as a result going up by approximately $500 a month and prompting him to lock in with a fixed rate due to fear. ‘We are planning on getting married and having kids, but want to buy a house first. The issue we feel is that we would have to take a significant loss on our condo to sell it, but of course can’t buy a new house without selling the condo,’ Baechler said. Baechler is just one of thousands of Ontarians struggling to keep up with mortgage payments as debt levels rise.”

“Justin Herlick, co-founder of Pine, a Canadian mortgage lender and brokerage, says his firm is seeing more borrowers ask for re-amortizations; an effort to stretch mortgages from 20 or 25 to 30 years so they can lower monthly payments. It’s a tactic that buys time but also increases long-term debt, he warned. ‘It kind of puts them on this hamster wheel,’ he said. ‘They don’t have to sell the home at a loss but they’re just paying more interest.'”

“Mya Elango, a newcomer to Canada, moved her family to Mississauga in 2018. After years of saving, they bought a three-bedroom home in Kitchener-Waterloo for about $900,000. But she says they were pressured to bid far above asking and enter the market during a peak and competitive period. ‘Due to misguidance we bought a property for $100,000 more than asking price in a high interest rate. Then the struggle started,’ she said. Their monthly mortgage now tops $4,000, not including insurance or other costs. ‘Most of our income is going to pay the interest,’ she said. ‘We were not lucky enough to buy at lower interest rates.'”

“James Milonas, a Toronto-based real estate agent says, at the time, many buyers were desperate to get into the market at any cost. ‘Some people were spending a million dollars over asking,’ he said. ‘There was no inventory… people just wanted in.’ Milonas adds that homeowners who feel ‘trapped’should try to wait it out if they can. ‘If you can, hold tight until the market corrects itself,’ he said.”