Aussie property obsession extends to foreclosed Florida homes
A move by a major Florida county to auction foreclosed homes online has attracted potential buyers from Australia and New Zealand.
Florida's Miami-Dade County will start using the internet next month in a bid to help auction off tens of thousands of delinquent properties that have put it on the frontlines of the US foreclosure crisis.
The first auction on the website, www.miamidade.realforeclose.com, is scheduled for January 11 and will make Miami-Dade the largest of 12 Florida counties that are in the process of replacing courthouse auctions with online sales.
Lloyd McClendon, chief executive of RealAuction.com LLC, which has contracts to run the computer-based auctions across Florida, said the state is the first in the country to adopt the system allowing bidders to make offers from their home.
Mr McClendon said about 1,450 bidders had registered for Miami-Dade's online foreclosure auctions so far. Some are potential foreign-based buyers.
"We have had an increase in foreign bidders and, for some reason, especially in Australia or New Zealand," he said.
Florida had the highest rate of U.S. homes either in foreclosure or delinquent on mortgage payments throughout most of the last year, putting it at the centre of a crisis that has devastated families and communities across the United States.
The laws of most states require that property auctions take place "on the courthouse steps," Mr McClendon told
Reuters, saying Florida changed its statutes in 2008 and that he hoped California, among others, would follow soon.
Harvey Ruvin, the clerk of courts for Miami-Dade, said he hoped to see the online system increase foreclosed properties sales to about 2,000 a week from a current county-wide total of about 450.
"This is a win-win in every way and it couldn't come at a better time," Mr Ruvin told Reuters, saying Miami-Dade currently had a backlog of about 115,000 open foreclosure files.
"It is my whole approach in this office to use technology wherever I can, to serve more and more of our customers online rather than in line," he added.
"This results in tremendous savings, tremendous efficiencies all the way around.
"It's better for bidders, more convenient, you now can place a bid from anywhere and I think that will broaden the base of bidders actually to a global level rather than just to those that could make it down to a physical or courtroom sale."
I have had personal experience with the US property down turn.
I can honestly say without hesitation, that if you are an Australian looking for a quality Planed Residential Development,PRD,you will find it in Florida, USA.
My personal experience is limited to Fort Lauderdale on the East Coast and Fort Myers on the West Coast of Florida,I lived in a PRD,in Fort Myers for three months in 2008,at Botanica Lakes,it was a first class development (having said that there are even better ones to be had depending upon the thickness of your wallet) even though only partially completed during my residence there.Fort Lauderdale, East Coast,I was there for around 8 weeks in 2007,and it was nice,Its like been on the set of Miami CSI,or whatever its called,however I think it would be more expensive to buy into than Fort Myers, however check it out and compare, I liked the buzz there once I got to the end of East Sunrise Blvd and started heading south to South Beach
Fort Myers reminded me of life in Sydney Australia 20 years ago.Polite,courteous,civil, hard working, friendly people,who take pride in their environment and surroundings.
One of my fondest memories was my 5 hour (return)walk along Tree Line Av. in search of the Florida Panther,I did see some, near the Airport, but I was on the wrong (right side of the road? I forget) to take a picture of them.
Fort Myers is a very beautiful place, nice beaches,not as good as say,the Northern Beaches of Sydney,but very nice none the less.
If Sydney,Australia was blown up today I would hope I could be washed up on the beaches of Fort Myers USA, alive,and into the arms of a certain Fort Myers resident.
Fort Myers is, based upon my experience living there, a very laid back comfortable place to live in.
If any Australians reading this are cashed up enough to swoop up some real estate bargains,my advice would be to go for it, but CHECK IT OUT 100% BEFORE You put pen to paper,you know, just like you would if you were buying a property in Australia.
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