By Mark Puente, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, March 22, 2012
More than 470 Florida homeowners have avoided foreclosure and taken cash payouts from Bank of America after agreeing to short sales of their homes.
The bank began dangling cash payouts of $5,000 to $20,000 last fall to financially stressed homeowners. So far, 471 homeowners have collected an average payout of $12,000, said bank spokesman Rick Simon.
Another 3,700 homeowners have received offers from sellers and will receive payouts once the deals are finalized. Nearly 11,000 homeowners expressed interest in the program.
Jan Adams, a real estate agent with Remax All Star in Madeira Beach, represented homeowners who collected $14,625 last week when a Madeira Beach condo/hotel sold.
The California-based homeowners received $12,148 for the short sale and $2,500 for relocation assistance after a buyer paid $158,000 for the unit. The ...