Real estate, like any other commodity, is bought and sold every day of the week. Many people become real estate agents because they know a small piece of a large pie means big bucks. Agents help facilitate a sale by finding a willing buyer for a willing seller, earning a commission of approximately four to seven percent of the sales price for making the deal happen.

It is relatively simple to get a real estate license, and it is a lucrative field for many people. However, as you may expect, there is strong competition among agents, and the ones that are successful work long, hard hours. In fact, jost agents are on call weekends and nights, with their cell phones glued to their ears. Furthermore, real estate agents are required to take continuing education classes and follow strict guidelines set forth by bureaucratic agencies. There are better ways for an "entrepreneur" to make a living!

The ability to afford housing in good (quiet, suburban, safe, good schools, etc.) neighborhoods in either Broward or Miami-Dade County is becoming an increasingly aggravating problem for Caribbean residents. The problem affects those who are both trying to purchase a home and those renting.

Five years ago the cost of buying a single-family home in Broward County averaged $155,000 in Broward County and $140,000 in Miami Dade. Today the related costs are $361,000 in Broward and $350,000 in Miami-Dade. While a two-bedroom apartment rented for an average of $850 per month in Broward five years ago, the same apartment is now being rented for $1,125

The problem is that as the cost to either rent or purchase a home rises salaries lag far behind. The gap between price and affordability is the foundation of what is now a housing crisis.

Foreclosure is the legal process of the mortgage holder taking the collateral for a promissory note in default. The process is slightly different from state to state, but there are basically two types of foreclosures, judicial and non-judicial. In mortgage states, judicial foreclosure is used, whereas in deed of trust states, non-judicial foreclosure is used. jost states permit both types of proceedings, but it is common practice in jost states to use exclusively one method or the other.

Judicial Foreclosure

Judicial foreclosure is a lawsuit that the lender ("mortgagee") brings against the borrower ("mortgagor") to get the property. About half of the states use judicial foreclosure. Like all lawsuits, it starts with a summons and complaint served upon the borrower and any other parties with inferior rights in the property (remember, all junior liens, including tenancies, are wiped out by the foreclosure).

"And what does your husband do?"

There it was. The question that causes both my wife and I to both look at each other and then the person asking it like deer in headlights. I always dread that question whenever I find myself in a social situation where everyone there does not already know what I do to feed and clothe my family. What do you say anyway?

For a while after I left the "normal" existence that everyone expects you to live, tied to a mind numbing, dream stealing JOB, when asked the dreaded question I mumbled something about being a real estate investor, careful not to actually say it loud enough for anyone to hear and secretly hoping that at that precise moment someone would accidentally spill something on the host of the gathering or someone would yell "FIRE!" so the answer would be forgotten. I knew if nothing profound and unexpected happened at that exact moment, the next comment from the individual inquiring would be "Ohhhhh.........I see" or worse, ‘The Look’.