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By Jeff Ostrowski – Palm Beach Post Staff Writer “Amid growing concerns about a housing affordability squeeze in Palm Beach County, a glimmer of hope emerged from this year’s legislative session. State lawmakers approved $200 million for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership, or SHIP, a program that offers mortgages and down payment assistance to middle-incomeRead more

  “The Florida Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott didn’t see eye to eye on much during the 2016 session, but they both acknowledged education spending should go up. Even then, however, they couldn’t agree on how to do it. Scott wanted to pay for it almost entirely by increasing a share of property taxes knownRead more

Real Estate News : As investors scoop up older housing properties South Beach workers feeling the squeeze by: Nicholas Nehamas, Joey Flechas “Last week’s purchase of 15 older Art Deco-era apartment buildings in South Beach has workers fearing they won’t be able to remain in the area much longer, the Miami Herald is reporting. DevelopmentRead more

By Marcie Geffner of Bankrate.com “Buying a home is a challenging goal for most hopeful homeowners. But for those who have experienced a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale, the hurdles are even higher. Still, it’s not impossible to buy a home after financial difficulties, says Dan Keller, a mortgage banker with Hometown Lending in Everett, Wash. In fact,Read 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

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

Drew Harwell | Tampa Bay Times | “Tampa Bay saw 20 percent fewer foreclosure filings last month than in January 2013, a sign that lingering distress from the housing crash continues to slowly fade from view, RealtyTrac data released today show. But the good news ends there. Tampa Bay posted the seventh-highest foreclosure rate inRead more

By: Ken Amaro  | firstcoastnews.com “JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Letitia Early, 51, lost her job in January 2008 and her ability to pay the mortgage on her home. But Early said she never lost her hope. “I limped along and used my savings,” she said, “Everything I had to make my payments.” She was doing everythingRead more

By Elliot Njus | oregonlive.com “An expanded state foreclosure mediation program is showing far more promise for homeowners than its 2012 launch, a virtual nonstarter. In the first six weeks since the expansion took effect in August, the program has received 456 requests for face-to-face meetings between mortgage borrowers and lenders, the Department of JusticeRead 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