Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer
Drew Harwell is a business reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, covering real estate and the business of place.
Phone: (727) 893-8252
Email: dharwell@tampabay.com
Twitter: @DrewHarwell
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Banks' billions in robo-signing settlement not yet a done deal
05/21/13 Real EstateBanks say they have given Florida homeowners $8.6 billion in relief, more than they agreed to as part of a nationwide "robo-signing" settlement — but they're not off the hook just yet.
That's because data on their payouts over the last year, released Tuesday, have yet to be reviewed by someone independent of the banks.
And much of the relief they've reported to fulfill their end of the settlement has yet to be weighted according to settlement formulas, and will likely net them credit for only pennies on the dollar....
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Commercial real estate lags improving housing market
05/18/13 Real EstateTAMPA — When builders broke ground this month on an office park in the Tampa suburbs, perhaps the first speculative project this area has seen in half a decade, one developer called it a "good sign that we've turned the corner on the recession."
But don't expect office parks to bloom at the same frenzied speed as new homes. Agents and builders said Tampa Bay's commercial construction remains a wasteland, stalled by lack of business, stung by vacancies and strapped for development cash....
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IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon's widow seeking to sell St. Petersburg home
05/17/13 Real EstateST. PETERSBURG — Susie Wheldon, the widow of champion IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon, is selling the family's Snell Isle home for $2.1 million.
The three-story home on Coffee Pot Bayou features an outdoor kitchen, a large pool, boat lifts and a three-car garage, a listing by Re/Max agent Bonnie Strickland shows.
Dan Wheldon, a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, bought the new 4,400-square-foot home in 2005 for $1.9 million....
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Sen. Bill Nelson targeting regulators for short-sale reporting quirk
05/14/13 BlogSen. Bill Nelson wants regulators to fix a "disturbing" credit-reporting quirk that is torching the credit of people who sold their homes in short sales.
The sales, in which people sell their homes for less than they owe in loans, are often coded as foreclosures on credit reports, scarring many seeking to repair their finances with a credit-score "kiss of death."
In a letter last week to federal regulators, the Florida Democrat cited a Tampa Bay Times report on the problem and urged penalties for the mortgage and credit industries if a fix was not in the works within 90 days....
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Sen. Nelson slams regulators, credit bureaus for short-sale confusion
05/14/13 Real EstateSen. Bill Nelson wants regulators to fix a "disturbing" credit-reporting quirk that is torching the credit of people who sold their homes in short sales.
The sales, in which people sell their homes for less than they owe in loans, are often coded as foreclosures on credit reports, scarring many seeking to repair their finances with a credit-score "kiss of death."
In a letter last week to federal regulators, Nelson cited a Times report on the problem and urged penalties for the mortgage and credit industries if a fix was not in the works within 90 days....
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Rich with possibility
05/10/13 Real EstateTAMPA — Luxury Realtor and designer Darren White built the $2.5 million penthouse Aqua Vista with an eye for high society. Swaddled in granite and Portuguese cork, the 29th-floor penthouse boasted a poolside cabana the size of a Tokyo apartment. So last month, White gathered his blueprints and joined a clutch of real estate elites at a private "pitch session" on Harbour Island. The group's affinity to affluence, he hoped, would help seal its lucrative sale. "My target client is a sports guy. Luckily, I had a showing yesterday with a (Tampa Bay) Bucs player, so I guess I hit it," White said, handing out glossy handbills calling the penthouse "unhindered . . . by budgetary constraints." "Bring me the buyer."...
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Developer plans condo project in downtown St. Petersburg
05/02/13 Real EstateST. PETERSBURG — The developer of downtown mega-tower Ovation has a subtler new plan in the works, a six-story condo project called Rowland Place built off the bustle of Beach Drive.
The mid-rise is planned to hold 20 condos sized between 1,700 and 2,200 square feet, said JMC Communities CEO Mike Cheezem.
Far from Ovation's multimillion-dollar price tags, each condo will sell for between $500,000 and $800,000....
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Tampa Bay No. 4 in profits from home flipping
05/02/13 Real EstateWith its cheap homes and growing prices, Tampa Bay is a paradise for flippers, whose profits last year made local neighborhoods a top market for flipping homes, a RealtyTrac report said.
More than 3,000 Tampa Bay homes were bought and resold within six months last year, with average gross profits of about $34,000, the real estate research firm said.
The average flipped home was bought for $80,000 and resold for nearly $114,000, netting flippers a 43 percent gross profit, the report said....
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TIA restores seasonal flights to Holguin, Cuba
05/02/13AirlinesTAMPA — Three months after the flights were suspended, Tampa International Airport announced Thursday it would host new seasonal flights to Holguin, Cuba.
Starting next month, ABC Charters will fly once a week to the east Cuban beach town, about 500 miles from Havana, airport officials said.
The flights will run on Tuesdays between June and August, and between December and January, to cater to summer and Christmas vacationers, airport CEO Joe Lopano said....
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Former Tampa Bay Rays pitcher James Shields wants $1.1 million for Clearwater home
05/01/13 The HeaterCLEARWATER — Former Rays All-Star pitcher James Shields wants to sell his Clearwater home for $1.1 million.
Agents this week offered up the four-bedroom estate in the gated Renaissance Oaks subdivision Tuesday, a Coldwell Banker listing shows.
At 4,500 square feet, the two-story home off McMullen Booth Road features a temperature-controlled shower, a three-car garage and a "man cave" with an 80-inch projection screen....
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U.S. and Tampa Bay home sizes growing again
04/27/13 Real EstateCLEARWATER — When looking for a new home, Jolyn and Mike Schweitzer were open to townhouses or condos of any size.
Instead, they upgraded, buying a 3,500-square-foot home off Clearwater's Lake Chautauqua, with lofty ceilings, an office and an exercise room.
"We felt this was a good investment, so we went to the top of our budget," said Jolyn Schweitzer, 58. Except for when their four adult children stay over, "I will never have to go upstairs."...
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Talk of a South Tampa Trader Joe's heats up again
04/24/13RetailTAMPA — Chatter that the red-hot specialty grocery chain Trader Joe's is coming to Tampa is getting louder and more specific.
Jason Donald, of the Cushman & Wakefield real estate firm, mentioned Trader Joe's at Tuesday's annual meeting of the Westshore Alliance Development Forum. Donald confirmed that he said, ''It's rumored that Trader Joe's has found a site along Dale Mabry.'' He did not offer specifics, saying he is under a confidentiality agreement not to discuss details. ...
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Florida home sales, prices rise, continuing rebound
04/22/13 Real EstateFlorida homes sold quicker, more often and for higher prices last month than in March 2012, as tight supplies and investor zeal helped the market to revive, state Realtors data show.
Florida's median home prices last month bested the year before for the 15th month in a row, climbing 15 percent to $160,000, data show. Sales climbed 9 percent over March 2012, with nearly half of the 20,000 closings paid in cash....
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Top Workplaces: Beck Group cited for fostering innovation
04/19/13BusinessTAMPA Beck Group architect Jeet Singh squeezed through a chain-link fence and unlocked the rusted door of an old waterworks, abandoned and falling apart.
There, Singh said, pointing to dust and wooden boards, would be the kitchen of Ulele, an oyster bar and chophouse. And over there, he said, pointing to crumbling bricks, a wine cellar and waterfall.
"As designers, we tend to be very emotional about what we do," said Singh, 32. "There's a history here we can't ignore."...
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Where sales are sunny
04/19/13BusinessAPOLLO BEACH
Every day, the music at Century 21 Beggins Enterprises blares promptly at 8:30 a.m., and the real estate agents filter into a bright yellow room below the mantra, "HAVE FUN! MAKE MONEY!"
Get Ready For This plays, agents grin and clap, and the brokerage's pep rally begins as it has nearly every morning for 11 years. Leading the pack is Craig Beggins, their broker and boss, a 44-year-old CEO who looks more like a self-help guru with his salt-and-pepper beard and ponytail....
