More and more South Florida banks are beginning to ease up on their longstanding reluctance to finance commercial properties, according to Miami Today. As banks become more liquid, their mindset is beginning to change. “There are some banks lending today,” said Gary Fitzgerald, executive vice president at City National Bank, which recently made a $13.5 million loan on the Starcreek apartment complex in North Miami Beach. [more]

Boca Raton-based developer the Altman Companies has acquired construction financing of $18.4 million from City National Bank of Florida to build a 17-story, 258-unit rental community in New Tampa, according to the Florida Real Estate Journal.
The developer has already broken ground at the 60-acre site, to be named Altis at Grand Cyress, located on the west side of Livingston Road and south of Highway 54 in a rapidly growing area referred to as “New Tampa North.”
Twenty acres will be developed in total, with the remaining land set aside for a lake and forested cypress preserve, the Journal said. [more]

Buyers of new condominiums face well-publicized financing problems as
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and private lenders put tougher mortgage
guidelines in place. But buyers of used condominiums also face
financing difficulties. Fannie Mae won’t purchase mortgages in
buildings where more than 15 percent of homeowners are late with their
condo dues, leaving even paid-up owners unable to sell or refinance
units. 3 Comments

• Tweet

After a request from a major lender, the back-out date for the new
stadium for the Florida Marlins has been moved to July 15 from July 1.
Wachovia asked for the extension, which City of Miami commissioners
approved yesterday. They vote today on when the bank fees are to be
paid. Wachovia has a $100 million letter of credit for financing part
of the project. In the Thursday vote, commissioners also gave
Miami-Dade County until July 17 to terminate the deal if the county has not
closed on the bond sale. [more]

Homeowners Miles and Laura Brannan have decided to raffle off their mult-million dollar, six-bedroom Fort Lauderdale home. They hope to sell 300,000 raffle tickets for $10 each and use the proceeds to pay off their mortgage. They will donate any leftover money to their local church, they said. None of the three potential buyers of the house, which has been on the market since August 2008, were able to get financing.