If you were in a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.frommers.com/destinations/miami/Miami/a and Miami Beach in 2004 through early 2006, you saw a forest of construction cranes lining the horizon. Financed in part by capital from South Americans rushing to move their savings into safety, financed in part by unsophisticated U.S. speculators (like a distant relative of mine) seeking a killing, dozens of high-rise condos were built not simply along the beach but in nondescript inner areas of the south Florida city miles away from the water.br /br /In one of those winters, Roberta and I rented a condo for two weeks from a Latin American woman of modest means who had bought the apartment, sight unseen, from an ad in one of her local newspapers. Frantic to get her money out of South America, she was told she could cover maintenance costs with rental income. No one told her that Miami Beach's season ran for less than four months a year and that no market existed for condo rentals in the eight other spring, summer and fall months. (She subsequently lost the apartment to bankruptcy). br /br /Well, the real estate bubble burst, especially in Florida, Arizona, and other sun belt locations. And people awoke to find that Miami and Miami Beach, in particular, had far more condos -- glamorous, high-rise condos with balconies and splashy lobbies -- than the market warranted. Numerous condos went through bankruptcy, others were halted mid-construction, still others are renting their apartments at fire-sale prices. br /br /I spoke yesterday by phone with a Floridian real estate agent who told me the condo bargains were extraordinary for the coming winter months. Surprisingly, he was especially keen on the use of Homeaway.com and VRBO.com for the short-term rental of bargain-priced condos at cut-rates -- without using an agent! He said the situation was almost as bad (for the owners) in vacation homes of a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.frommers.com/destinations/orlando/Orlando, Florida/a, where too many special communities of rental properties were developed and homes are desperately looking for short-term rentals. One such two-bedroom home in an Orlando neighborhood is presently being offered for $65 a night. br /br /bWrite and read comments a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.frommers.com/cgi-bin/WebX?128@@.ef4d3bcabout this post/a./b