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 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

                                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 Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer | Florida is still suffering beneath a deluge of home foreclosures, leading the nation with the highest state foreclosure rate of 2012, research firm RealtyTrac reported today. One in 32 homes in the Sunshine State faced foreclosure last year, more than double the national average. That equates to nearly 280,000 homesRead more

WASHINGTON (AP) — British bank HSBC will pay $249 million to settle federal complaints that its U.S. division wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners who should have been allowed to stay in their homes. The agreement with the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is similar to deals with 12 other banksRead 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 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