Blog

Christina Sturgis | Tampa Bay Times Blog | “Florida is first in an undesirable competition – the number of foreclosures, which can take terrible toll on Tampa families and communities. One of every 409 Florida homes is in foreclosure, as of the end of 2013. According to the report by RealtyTrac, the other top states forRead more

Tom Priester | Examiner.com | “RealtyTrac says they are, but are they really? Late last week RealtyTrac released their latest Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report. That report showed a significant pull back by institutional investors in the nationwide market. Figures they compiled as of February 1st show that month over month purchases by these groupsRead more

Associated Press | “The House approved legislation Tuesday night to roll back a recently enacted overhaul of the federal flood insurance program, after homeowners in flood-prone areas complained about sharp premium increases. The bill would allow sellers to pass along their subsidized, below-market insurance rates to new buyers and lower the limit on how muchRead more

The Staff | National Mortgage Professional Magazine | “RealtyTrac released its January 2014 Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report, which shows that institutional investors — defined as entities purchasing at least 10 properties in a calendar year — accounted for 5.2 percent of all U.S. residential property sales in January, down from 7.9 percent in December andRead more

John Hielscher | Herald Tribune | “Florida held the nation’s top spot again in January for both the most completed foreclosures and the highest percentage of distressed properties. A total of 116,000 foreclosures were completed in Florida during the 12-month period ended last month, more than twice as many as any other state, data provider CoreLogicRead more

Paul Owers | Sun Sentinel | “Just 10 days before Christmas 2009, Ganel Appolon found an envelope taped to his front door. He and his family were being evicted from their Tamarac home. Appolon had fallen behind on his mortgage payments, and the lender repossessed the property under terms of his bankruptcy filing. Despite the financial setback, Appolon vowedRead more

Jane Meinhardt | Tampa Bay Business Journal | “The Tony Cheval Golf & Country Club in Lutz is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The popular 18-hole golf course golf course property was in foreclosure proceedings when the bankruptcy petition was filed Feb. 6, court records show. The property includes the golf course, practice facility, clubhouse,Read more

Alexander E.M. Hess, Michael B. Sauter and Thomas C. Frohlich | 24/7 Wall St. | USA Today “Last December, 16.2% of all home sales involved distressed properties, according to a recent report. These homes were sold at an average discount of nearly 40% when compared to conventional, non-distressed homes. Housing data site RealtyTrac recently releasedRead more

Rich Shopes | Tampa Bay Times | “The county’s community development office on Tuesday rolled out a new interest-free loan program aimed at helping low-income seniors burdened by big tax bills. The program, which is intended to curb foreclosures from delinquent taxes, is funded by a $300,000 state housing grant. It’s aimed at low-income folksRead more

 Michael Sasso | Tampa Tribune | “It’s getting harder to find homes to flip for a profit in the Tampa Bay area as big rental home companies crowd out traditional flippers, according to new data from real estate and foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac. Irvine, Calif.-based Realty­Trac researches millions of real estate sales across the country and estimates how manyRead more