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BBC | “The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed parallel suits in North Carolina. Attorney General Eric Holder said the government wanted “justice for those who have been victimized.” Bank of America denied the charges, arguing “these were prime mortgages sold to sophisticated investors.” The bank already hinted it expected the suitsRead more

Kevin Bouffard | THE LEDGER | “Controversial Lakeland developer Jeff Holden may lose a significant chunk of his commercial real estate holdings to foreclosure unless he can come up with almost $18 million to pay off the mortgages. Two Holden properties have already been placed into receivership under foreclosure actions that began in February 2012 while aRead more

wftv.com | “Facing one of the largest backlogs of foreclosures in the state, central Florida’s Ninth Circuit Court has cleared 41 percent of its backlog since June 2012. However, new numbers obtained by Eyewitness News show the court entered May 2013 with 28,000 cases still pending and another 1,000 new cases filed every month. AddRead more

Robert Trigaux | Times Business Columnist | “Consumer ripoffs, scams and disputes are alive, well and changing as the nation emerges from recession, consumer protection experts said Tuesday. “There is a boundless creativity of scammers to find new ways to fleece consumers,” warns Susan Grant, the Consumer Federation of America’s director of consumer protection. Unlicensed contractingRead more

Lisa Mahapatra | International Business Times | “A total of 55,000 foreclosures were completed in June, a 20 percent decline from a year earlier, according to a just-released report from CoreLogic , a financial services and analytics firm. The number of distressed homes have fallen for 19 consecutive months, as have the number of homes that are seriouslyRead more

CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER | AP | BayNews9 | In this Tuesday, June 11, 2013, photo, a single house is offered for sale in Santa Monica, Calif. Sandard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller reports on home prices in May on Tuesday, July 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) “U.S. home prices jumped 12.2 percent in May compared with a yearRead more

“HARP Mortgage Lenders, a national network of mortgage professionals who are approved for the Home Affordable Refinance Program , reported that recent Florida foreclosure rates are improving, but some counties are still swimming in waves of foreclosures and HARP 2.0 may just be the solution to their problem. According to RealtyTrac (the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties and real estateRead more

MortgageOrb.com | “After five consecutive months of steady decline, the delinquency rate for U.S. home mortgages spiked nearly 10% in June, month over month, according to Lender Processing Services’ (LPS) “First Look” Mortgage Report. The total U.S. loan delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due but not in foreclosure) reached 6.68%, an increase ofRead more

Fox23.com | “Ally Financial and its related companies are paying about $198 million to settle federal complaints that the companies wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners. The Federal Reserve announced the agreement Friday with Ally Financial, the former lending arm of General Motors known as GMAC Mortgage. Ally’s settlement is similar to accords between federal regulators and 13 otherRead more

Paul Brinkmann | South Florida Business Journal | “An apparent oversight by JPMorgan Chase Bank recently led to the dismissal of a foreclosure on Valerie Kaan’s $8 million waterfront home in Boca Raton. The bank requested dismissal of the 2008 case when Kaan’s attorney, Roy Oppenheim, objected to the sudden appearance of the original note on the loan. The bankRead more