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Article:  housingwire.com “Foreclosure processes take longer and even slow the market down in its recovery process in states that require judicial foreclosures, according to Pro Teck. Pro Teck’s monthly Home Value Forecast ranks the single-family home markets in the top 200 core based statistical areas demonstrates the road blocks faced by those in judicial states.Read more

Little-known program gives up to $2,000 a year to people buying their first homes. By Donna Gehrke-White | Sun Sentinel “little-known state program that pays first-time homebuyers up to $2,000 a year has more than tripled its number of participants in a year.Administrators expect an even higher surge of homebuyers applying this year as theRead more

SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN | Tampa Bay Times | “In February, a new company in Tampa called RE-710 got a terrific deal. It paid $5,700 for a five-bedroom home valued at $311,000. The same month, RE-710 acquired control of dozens of other houses and condos throughout the Tampa Bay area for just cents on the dollar.Read more

Mamta Badkar | Business Insider | “112,498 U.S. properties received foreclosure filings in February, according to RealtyTrac. This was down 27% from a year ago and was the lowest monthly total since December 2006. In fact, one in every 1,170 U.S. homes received a foreclosure filing in February. But the headline number can be misleading. “Cold weather andRead more

MICHELLE A. SAMAAD | Credit Union Times | “Without Walls International Church has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an ongoing foreclosure dispute with the $1 billion Evangelical Christian Credit Union. The Tampa, Fla.-based mega church filed on March 5 owing $29 million to Evangelical Christian, according to local media reports. The church had defaulted onRead more

Greg Allen | NPR | “It’s taken several years, but in many parts of the country, home prices are nearly back to where they were at the peak. In places like Florida, where the housing recession hit hard, home prices rose last year by one-fifth or more. A major factor in the price rise is hedgeRead more

Pam Bondi | The Tampa Tribune | Opinion Page | “The U.S. House’s vote Tuesday night was a move in the right direction to stop the short-sighted implementation of the Biggert-Waters Act, which has dire consequences for Floridians, who would bear the brunt of the financial burden, and our housing market. Traveling throughout Florida asRead more

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

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