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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: michael97123 who wrote (461126)	3/4/2009 3:31:27 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1577541

Florida has some screaming buys. Dimes on the dollar in some places compared to the peak of the bubble. Check it with Realtor.com. Port St. Lucie, for one.

To: michael97123 who wrote (461126)	3/4/2009 3:40:11 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1577541

not sure---would be somewhere in the East part of the country so kids could visit and use house as well. Vacation homes tend to be the last to recover in price.....discretionary spending and all that rot. Check out NC....milder climate than NJ, really pretty state esp along the coast or in the mts and they've been hurt bad by the recession......much worse than NC is used to.

To: michael97123 who wrote (461126)	3/4/2009 3:47:36 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1577541

Fla. county may declare itself disaster area Politician says that might be solution for area hit hard by foreclosures msnbc.msn.com PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Just five years ago, Port St. Lucie was America's fastest-growing large city. Then the foreclosure crisis slammed it like a hurricane. Today it sits in one of the hardest-hit counties in the nation. Thousands of houses are empty or unfinished. Neighborhoods are littered with for-sale and foreclosure signs and overgrown, neglected yards. Break-ins are on the rise. But one politician believes he has a unique solution: Declare St. Lucie County a disaster area as if it had been hit by, well, a hurricane. "This is a manmade disaster," County Commissioner Doug Coward acknowledged. But he said that is why "we've got to do something. Clearly, the economic crisis of the country far exceeds the ability of local governments to solve it, but we're trying be a part of the solution." The declaration would act like a mini-stimulus plan, giving government officials access to a $17.5 million county fund usually reserved for natural disasters. The county would be able to put some of that money toward shovel-ready construction projects and loosen the bidding requirements so that local contractors got the jobs. That, in turn, could enable residents to pay their mortgages and stave off foreclosure. Other politicians fear a disaster declaration could scare off investors and drive down the county's credit rating, which would make it more expensive to borrow money. But the idea has appeal among many homeowners, particularly those in the construction trades, which are seeing unemployment rates of up to 40 percent. Housing bust Jacqueline Byers, research director for the National Association of Counties, said she knows of no other U.S. county that is contemplating such a move. "Everybody is kind of foundering around. Counties are looking for ways to address their shortfalls. This might be an innovative way to do it," she said. During Port St. Lucie's boom, houses sprang up by the thousands as young and old flocked to the area, lured by affordable prices, open space and a bit of a slower lifestyle. Port St. Lucie — the spring-training home of the New York Mets, situated inland from the more expensive Atlantic Coast along Florida's Turnpike, about 100 miles north of Miami — nearly doubled in population from 88,000 in 2000 to 151,000 in 2007. Three biotechnology institutions opened in the county. But then the foreclosure crisis struck and the economy went south. Many people soon realized they had bought more house than they could afford. The county had more than 10,000 foreclosures last year, up from 4,165 the year before. Unemployment stands at 10.5 percent, more than double three years ago. The newly out-of-work have been showing up in large numbers at St. Lucie Catholic Church, where free dinners are served every Thursday night. The church began serving meals to about 35 people a year ago. Last week, there were 175. "We even give them a little bag to take home to try to help them through the week," said volunteer Karen Cuevas. "But we can't give out too much because we're not getting as much in."