The Making Home Affordable program has received extensive coverage in the media.  In fact, you may be one of the people owning Miami Beach homes either in the process of or considering applying to receive some assistance from the program designed to keep homeowners in their homes.  What you may not be aware of is the fine print going on behind the scenes if and when you sign up.

Should you decide to sign up for the mortgage assistance program, you should know that regardless of how responsible you've been in paying your mortgage every month, there is a penalty you may not like: a lower credit score.  Indeed, keeping your Miami Beach homes could mean a drop of nearly 100 points after receiving assistance.  Needless to say, this rather unfair caveat has had its share of criticism, oftentimes by the very people trying to help homeowners.

It's important to know however that receiving assistance from the Making Home Affordable program and seeing your credit score lowered is a much wiser option than if homeowners default on their Miami Beach homes and go into foreclosure.  One option will see your credit score go lower, while the other causes it to nosedive.  Your best option is to simply be aware of what you're signing up for, that way there are no unwanted surprises.

Not too long ago reports surfaced that South Florida homeowners may have finally gotten the hint about setting realistic prices for their Miami Beach homes.  Recent reports however, are saying the complete opposite.  Even though prices have been declining for some time now, some homeowners are apparently stuck in the period during the real estate market boom of the earlier 2000s.

More than fifteen percent of existing homes on the market throughout the country had to cut their prices at some point during 2009, dropping the price by just over ten percent than what was originally being asked.  In fact, South Florida has seen even more drastic price cuts.  Perhaps Miami Beach homes do remain overpriced.

To put it into perspective, consider that more than twenty percent of homes in Miami-Dade County had to slash their prices at some point during the past year, that's quite a significant umber that translates to tens of thousands of dollars in price cuts.  Assuming you're among the many trying to sell Miami Beach homes, listen to your real estate agent and take their advice.  The numbers clearly show that one must price according to existing market values, not the glory days of Miami Beach real estate.

Miami Beach homes are something of a paradox.  The higher end luxury residences are considered the types of properties that are having the most trouble finding buyers yet we regularly hear about new homes being sold to affluent buyers, albeit at a discounted price more often than not.  Take these examples of some properties that have recently been sold for millions.

Over in La Gorce, one of the area's classic Miami Beach homes built in 1939 was sold for a cool $9.5 million to a buyer who paid $978 per square foot, the original asking price being $13.5 million.  The two story residence features a distinctly Mediterranean design and contains seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms and features such as hardwood floors, a four car garage and a boat dock.  The entire home encompasses just over 9,700 square feet.

Also in La Gorce Island, a couple purchased what could be considered one of the more modern Miami Beach homes, this one built in 2003.  Compared to the aforementioned property, this one is much more modest with four bedrooms and five bedrooms.  The couple ended up paying about $2.6 million for the property, that's roughly $384 per square foot.  The original asking price was nearly $3 million so the discount isn't quite as dramatic but it is still impressive.

Many people who own Miami Beach homes are getting room to breathe by successfully having their mortgage loans modified to something more manageable.  Mortgage modification events and marathons generate lots of attention and hundreds of homeowners but despite their good intentions,  having your loan modified does not come without some risks.

We all know that actually securing a new home loan is easier said than done, less than fifteen percent of South Floridians have been able to do so in fact.  However a new problem with these newly secured loans has made some homeowners wish they'd stuck with the original loans for their Miami Beach homes.  Balloon payments, which are one-time lump sum payments that cover any principal that may have been deferred are being included and so are terms suggesting that interest rates can still rise again.

Although they're intended to allow homeowners to actually keep their Miami Beach homes and avoid foreclosure, it's important to realize that a mortgage modification is not intended to be a permanent break but a temporary one.  If you plan on keeping the home, try and make plans for when those low payments come to an end and see whether or not the home is financially viable.

The weather forecast for this weekend doesn't look too promising for the time being but there's no reason to stay inside your Miami Beach homes when you can check out a music event in an indoor entertainment venue.  Several high profile artists will be performing in South Florida in the coming days, make sure you don't miss out on these highlights.

Travel up north to the city of Sunrise in Broward County and enjoy a performance by multiplatinum singer Michael Buble at the BankAtlantic Center tonight at 8 pm.  He'll be performing songs from his latest album, “Crazy Love” and some older hits.

You'll have two opportunities to enjoy the classic tunes by the legendary singer Aretha Franklin.  She's performing at the Seminole Hard Rock on March 16th but if you'd rather something closer to your Miami Beach homes, she'll also be performing the following day at the American Airlines Arena.

Got kids?  No need to find a babysitter and keep them holed up inside Miami Beach homes.  Also taking place at the aforementioned BankAtlantic Center is the Disney Live Rockin’ Road Show on March 14th.  The all ages event kicks off at 1 pm.

Miami Beach homes that are “underwater”--meaning owing more than what the property is worth—are nothing new in the current market.  The problem comes in when homeowners decide to throw in the towel and simply stop making their monthly mortgage payments altogether, a problem that leads to an eventual foreclosure among many other side effects.

The decision to walk away from Miami Beach homes that are underwater is understandable but what happens afterwards may not be worth the burden of not having to pay a mortgage.  For one, a homeowner’s credit score will nosedive significantly which makes it that much harder to get a car, credit card or even sign up for a basic cell phone plan.  Secondly, with the increased number of homeowners choosing to walk out banks are increasingly exercising their legal right to file lawsuits against homeowners and get the money owed to them.

If you find yourself struggling with mortgage payments or are entertaining the idea of walking away from your Miami Beach homes, keep in mind that there are many resources available designed to potentially lower your monthly payment via a modified loan agreement, including the government’s Making Home Affordable program.  Walking away may seem like a good solution but the long term effects are far worse.