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Big banks are finding a way to benefit from what was supposed to be their punishment in the robo-signing scandal. In Florida, they have spent 75 percent of $7.7 billion in settlement outlays approving short sales and forgiving home-equity loans, earning credit for debts they were unlikely to collect or sales that would have happenedRead more

By Kenneth R. Harney, Special to the Times |   “WASHINGTON — Jeanette Ogle, a 92-year-old widow with a reverse mortgage on her house, got a birthday surprise last week: She did not lose her home at a scheduled foreclosure auction that had drawn scrutiny from federal and state agencies and consumer advocates. Because ofRead more

by Robin Sussingham | A decade ago, speculators in Florida were pumping up a huge housing bubble. “You couldn’t go wrong,” Tampa real estate attorney Charlie Hounchell says. In that overheated period from 2001 to 2006, “you could buy a house and make $100,000 a year later by selling it,” he says. But the party ended in 2007Read more

By Kenneth R. Harney, Special to the Times |   WASHINGTON — In the contentious debate over whether to reduce or eliminate the home-mortgage interest tax deduction — or leave it alone — one fact has been virtually unchallenged: The popular write-off used by millions of American owners costs the government massive amounts of revenue,Read more

 Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer | “Florida posted the country’s highest foreclosure rate in January for the fifth month in a row, as years of bad loans continued to blast through the pipeline, data released Thursday by research firm RealtyTrac show. One of every 300 Florida homes received a foreclosure filing, double the national average. Those noticesRead more

By Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer | TAMPA — When Charles Dowman, a hydrogeologist moving from San Francisco, began house-hunting with his wife and two children, he sought a charming, craftsman-style home in South Tampa and didn’t mind a fixer-upper. But after looking, and missing out on, about 35 houses, Dowman found “it was hard toRead more

 From Suze Orman (VIDEO)       If your home is in foreclosure, there is no reason to claim bankruptcy. When personal finance expertSuze Orman met with me on Mondays With Marlo, she explained that the government extended a law which states that even if you owe the bank any money, you won’t owe income taxRead more

Look, I know what you are thinking. Every day, it seems, comes news of another mortgage lawsuit or settlement, including a foreclosure abuse deal between HSBC and federal regulators announced Friday. It’s hard to keep them all straight. Frankly, if you didn’t lose your home to foreclosure, or come close to doing so, you might notRead more

By Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer TAMPA — A Harbour Island mansion sold Tuesday for $5.45 million in cash, becoming the 10th-priciest Tampa Bay home to sell in the last five years, Multiple Listing Service records show. The 7,400-square-foot Renaissance Way mansion is one of eight homes custom-built at the gated tip of Harbour Island. Dr.Read more

Ben Hallman,  huffingston Post | Look, I know what you are thinking. Every day, it seems, comes news of another mortgage lawsuit or settlement, including a foreclosure abuse deal between HSBC and federal regulators announced Friday. It’s hard to keep them all straight. Frankly, if you didn’t lose your home to foreclosure, or come close toRead more