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Wake up and good morning. Florida’s home price index rose 7.9 percent in the past year (November 2011 to November 2012), ranking the Sunshine State 10th among states in rising home prices in that period. So says new CoreLogic data out this week. Note in the map above that Florida appreciation topped that of nearby Georgia, Alabama,Read more

                                This week in celebrity real estate, Anna Nicole Smith’s home has sold, six years after her death, and actor Jeremy Renner listed a mammoth mansion for sale. Anna Nicole Smith’s home sells; proceeds go to daughter Six years after theRead more

By William R. Levesque, Times Staff Writer |   TAMPA — Jill and Scott Kelley’s foreclosure defense reads like a breezy history of the nation’s housing woes more than a staid legal filing. “The real estate bubble formed because lenders grossly deviated from historically sound lending standards. … The lenders with their teams of financial analystsRead more

By Kimberly Miller | Palm Beach Post Staff Writer | State lawmakers this week divvied up how $60 million of Florida’s mortgage settlement money will be used to aid struggling homeowners, with more than half flowing to first-time homebuyers for down payment assistance and millions directed at borrowers through legal aid and housing counseling. Also, Florida’s circuitRead more

huffingtonpost.com | “Last January, dozens of independent contractors showed up for their first day of work at a large, single-story Bank of America building in Tampa to right the wrongs of a foreclosure crisis that many had witnessed firsthand. Or so they thought. They were lawyers, paralegals and other mortgage industry veterans. Along with thousandsRead more

By Toluse Olorunnipa, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau | “A “faster foreclosures” proposal that sparked consumer outcry and protest last year has resurfaced in a more moderate form, with a new bill filed this week by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples. The bill, HB 87, offers a slew of changes to the civil procedures governing foreclosures in Florida, whereRead more

huffingtonpost.com | “Bank of America says it will spend more than $10 billion to settle mortgage claims resulting from the housing meltdown. Under the deal announced Monday, the bank will pay $3.6 billion to Fannie Mae and buy back $6.75 billion in loans that the North Carolina-based bank and its Countrywide banking unit sold toRead more

By Drew Harwell, Times | “Two years after he died of cancer, Dorothy Jackson’s late husband received a letter from the bank. “Dear David A. Jackson Deceased,” the letter said. It was from a Wells Fargo “home preservation specialist,” offering advice if Mr. Jackson had a “change in circumstances.” The bank said it was open toRead more

tampabay.com | Posted by toluolo:   A “faster foreclosures” proposal that faced sharp consumer outcry and protest last year has resurfaced in a more moderate form this year, with a new bill filed by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, Thursday. The bill, HB 87, offers a slew of changes to the civil procedures governing foreclosures in Florida—the state with theRead more

  By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune “As foreclosures hit unheard-of levels in recent years, a handful of Florida law firms that operated as foreclosure factories reaped millions in fees. One Tampa-based giant, Florida Default Law Group, had more than 1,000 lawyers, non-lawyer paralegals and support staff processing legal papers as cheaply and efficiently as possible. However, someRead more