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By Nicholas Nehamas “Federal authorities on Wednesday announced a temporary anti-money-laundering crackdown on pricey homes bought secretly with cash in Miami-Dade County and New York City. The new policy will require title insurance companies to identify the true owners of shell companies that pay $1 million or more in cash for homes in Miami-Dade andRead 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

MortgageOrb.com | “The end of 2013 showed broad improvements in delinquency and foreclosure rates, dropping to their lowest levels in six years, reports the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) in its Q4 2013 National Delinquency Survey. The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties decreased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.39% of all loans outstandingRead more

By John Hielscher | Herald-Tribune | “A popular tax break that has saved struggling Southwest Florida homeowners millions of dollars is slated to expire at the end of this year. The tax deduction on forgiven mortgage debt has been available for the past seven years, one of a number of measures intended to ease financial pressure broughtRead more

Alyssa Gerace | Reverse Mortgage | “On Tuesday, Florida will reportedly announce a new program aimed reverse mortgage borrowers in the state who have defaulted on their loans after struggling to remain current on their taxes and insurance. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation is introducing the Elderly Mortgage Assistance Program as part of its $1 billion Hardest Hit Fund. It’sRead more

Staff | Tampa Bay Business Journal | “Home flipping dropped in the third quarter of 2013 in Tampa Bay, a sign that there are fewer bargain basement properties on the market. Between July and September, 575 homes were flipped in the area, about 50 percent lower than the rate during the same time in 2012, the TampaRead more

Michael Sasso | Tribune Staff | “An encouraging jump in home prices in the Sunshine State belies a more troubling fact below the surface: the number of foreclosed homes in banks’ possession keeps rising. RealtyTrac, a national firm that lists foreclosed homes for sale, estimates that 83,238 homes in Florida currently are classified as “real estateRead more

Celia Watson Seupel, Special to CNBC | “When real estate agent John Lebron opened EZ Investments in Tampa, Fla., he may have already been planning fraud. His very first EZ Investments transaction involved selling a distressed property to his sister, then to his brother-in-law, the kind of “non-arms-length” flopping that tips authorities to collusion. LebronRead more

Solomon Poretsky, Demand Media | “Florida’s legislature passed the “Florida Fair Foreclosure Act” on July 1, 2013. It’s designed to help clear up Florida’s large backlog of foreclosures. As written, it contains protections for both lenders and borrowers and spans both owner-occupied and investment properties. Even with the homeowner protections, the law is unpopular withRead more

ILYCE GLINK | Moneywatch | CBS News | “Throughout the housing crisis, short sales have generally been praised as a good deal for everyone: distressed homeowners get a chance to avoid foreclosure, banks recoup more money from the sale and buyers get a great deal. But it’s not all roses. In fact, in some areasRead more