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7/2/2020 Even before the pandemic, poverty was a way of life for many Black children in Tampa Bay—Tampa Bay Times

About 20 percent of Hillsborough County children live in poverty, according to U.S. Census data, roughly the same as the average across Florida.
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6/30/2020 Lost to coronavirus: Sick herself, West Palm Beach woman loses husband of 35 years to virus—Palm Beach Post

Snowbirds just might be the luckiest people in the world. At least that’s how Richard and Mona Beltram felt in January, when the New Jersey couple bought a condo at Century Village outside of West Palm Beach.
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6/30/2020 3 Reasons to Buy a Condo — and 3 Reasons to Beware—WTOP News

If you’re contemplating buying a house, especially in an urban area, you may be asking yourself: Is buying a condo a better deal?
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6/18/2020 StoneTurn Exec Says Force Majeure Clauses Lack Specificity—Law360

Many real estate owners, lenders and tenants — as well as buyers and sellers — are finding their force majeure contract clauses to be too broad as the COVID-19 pandemic brings increased scrutiny to such clauses, StoneTurn partner and law firm expert Jeffrey Matthews told Law360 in a recent interview.
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6/18/2020 Housing Tax Credit Tenants Brace For Evictions Due To Virus—Law360

Thousands of cash-strapped apartment dwellers are bracing for a wave of evictions next month that could worsen the national affordable housing shortage, placing pressure on owners of housing tax credit properties seeking to maintain financial solvency during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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6/16/2020 Hillsborough Mortgage Broker Gets 15 Months in Condo Scam—Tampa Bay Times

A former Hillsborough County mortgage broker has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for his role in a scam through which banks lost more than $5 million.
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6/12/2020 Steps For Commercial Real Estate Lenders As Biz Resumes—Law360

Lenders, just like most of us aren't coming out of quarantine 10 pounds lighter, caught up on Russian classics, or with a cleaned and organized garage, it's clear that borrowers are not going to emerge from any short loan-deferral cocoon looking like a monarch butterfly. Rather than expecting a monarch butterfly, best adjust your expectations and get ready to see a fat caterpillar.
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6/10/2020 Opinion: Fuzzy government rules leave condo boards in coronavirus quandary—Miami Herald

The COVID-19 pandemic has rewritten the operational script for many industries, including the community association industry. As with most of life’s challenges, we are acquiring take-away lessons that will help us adapt even more quickly the next time a curve ball heads our way.
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6/5/2020 Important Advisory—Emergency Powers, Hurricanes and Coronavirus—Law.com

In light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the start of hurricane season, which officially began June 1, many Florida condominium and homeowner associations are facing critical and unique issues regarding the operation and governance of their communities. Both the Condominium Act (Chapter 718, Florida Statutes) and the Homeowners’ Association Act (Chapter 720, Florida Statutes) contain certain emergency powers.
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6/1/2020 Pinellas lifts virus restrictions on beaches, pools and playgrounds—Tampa Bay Times

Pinellas County has lifted the local mandate that beach visitors maintain social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic, and law enforcement officers will no longer patrol the sands as they have since beach access re-opened on May 4.
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5/28/2020 Buyers begin closing on million-dollar condos in Virage Bayshore on the former Colonnade site—Tampa Bay Business Journal

Virage Bayshore was one of the first luxury condo towers in Tampa to break ground this real estate cycle.
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5/28/2020 Condo in The Beach Residences sells for $2.47 million—YourObserver.com

A condominium in The Beach Residences tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. Sheila Jellison, of Sarasota, sold her Unit 605 condominium at 1300 Benjamin Franklin Drive to John Gorman and Susan Schmedes, of Chevy Chase, Md., for $2,475,000. Built in 2005, it has two bedrooms, three baths and 3,302 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.9 million in 2005.
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5/21/2020 Existing-Home Sales Wane 17.8% in April—PR Newswire

Existing-home sales dropped in April, continuing what is now a two-month skid in sales brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Each of the four major regions experienced a decline in month-over-month and year-over-year sales, with the West seeing the greatest dip in both categories.
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5/19/2020 Ethos Specialty launches U.S. real estate liability program—Reinsurance News

Ethos Specialty has announced the launch of a new commercial general liability program for U.S. real estate owners and managers.
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5/13/2020 Daytona Beach Real Estate Agent Blames Coronavirus for Condo Sales Decline—Bay News 9

A Volusia County real estate agent says condo sales around the Daytona Beach area are taking a steep dive and he says coronavirus is to blame.
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5/11/2020 Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. Arranges Fractured Condo Cash-Out Refi in Largo, FL—ConnectCRE

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. (MMCC) arranged a $19.65 million nonrecourse loan to refinance 153 fractured condominium units in Largo, FL, a suburb of Tampa-St. Pete. The units were accumulated since 2013 for a combined purchase price of $12.4 million, representing 87% of the property’s total.
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5/6/2020 Some in Northwest Florida keeping vacation rentals open illegally, condo manager says—WEARTV

Florida's ban on vacation rentals will stay in place through the first phase of reopening the state. The decision is being met with mixed reactions.
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5/6/2020 Tampa Multifamily Wrap-Up – April 2020—Multi-Housing News

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Tampa Bay’s multifamily market remained active in April. Even though investment slowed in comparison to previous months, development carried on, with construction declared an essential service during the statewide safer-at-home policy enacted at the start of the month.
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5/4/2020 Florida ICU nurse says condo won't rent to her, fears virus—Bay News 9

A Florida nurse filed an equal opportunity complaint alleging her condo rental application was denied because her ICU job brings her in contact with novel coronavirus patients.
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4/30/2020 Court ruling clears path for controversial tower in downtown St. Petersburg—Tampa Bay Times

A court order has cleared the way for the construction of the Bezu/Blue Lotus condo tower in downtown St. Petersburg, a project that has been mired in controversy since it was first introduced in 2017.
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