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Michael Sasso | Tribune Staff | “Fewer people are losing homes in the Tampa Bay area, but the region still has the nation’s sixth-highest foreclosure rate, a new ranking shows. In fact, metropolitan areas in Florida take up five of the six top spots in the nationwide ranking by RealtyTrac, a foreclosure research firm. That’s likelyRead more

Watch List News | “HARP Mortgage Lender, a national Internet network of pre-approved loan specialists qualified to deal in the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), reports that recent government figures see Florida borrowers using more HARP loans for deeply underwater borrowers than any state in the nation—a clear signal that updates made to the program,Read more

Steven Perlberg |   “Real estate investors are getting back in the flipping game, netting an average gross profit of nearly $20,000 on single family home flips in the first half of 2013. Home flips are up 19% from a year ago and 74% from the first half of 2011,according to a new report from Realtytrac .Read more

Shanthi Bharatwaj | NuWire | “A total of 127,790 properties had foreclosure filings in June, down 14% from the previous month and down 35% from a year ago, reaching their lowest level since December 2006, according to a report released by RealtyTrac. In the first half of 2013, a total of 801,359 properties had a foreclosureRead more

Josh Salman | Herald Tribune | “Courts across Florida are chipping away at massive foreclosure backlogs, and while that pace may accelerate thanks to a new law aimed at further expediting the process, choked court systems remain a reality throughout the state. In the 12th Judicial Circuit, which includes Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties, more thanRead more

  Article By: Cory W. Eichhorn Michele L. Stocker “According to the Florida House of Representatives, the State of Florida has been negatively impacted by the national foreclosure crisis, and, as a result, Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature want to minimize the impact upon the judicial branch both in terms of funding andRead more

ecreditdaily.com | “Recipients in California and Florida have received nearly one-third of the checks distributed under the Independent Foreclosure Review, according to new data released by bank regulators. That’s out of $2.326 billion cashed or deposited as of May 31, 2013, according to a state-by-state table released by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the regulatorRead more

Jonathan Stempel | Reuters | “Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) rejected allegations that greed and bad faith drove the bank and its workers to push distressed homeowners into foreclosure, rather than help them obtain loan modifications to which they were entitled. The second-largest U.S. bank made its argument in court filings on Friday, in an effortRead more

ILYCE GLINK / MONEYWATCH / “Starting this month, some lenders are offering certain homeowners loan modifications — without even being asked. Under a new plan created by the Federal Housing and Finance Administration, mortgage servicers must offer homeowners who are three to 24 months behind on their payments a plan to help them avoid foreclosure. The StreamlinedRead more

Orlando Sentinel | “Rarely does U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown feud with the White House — the veteran Florida lawmaker is a loyal Democrat, after all. But plans by the administration to shutter a pair of housing offices in Orlando and Tampa as soon as this fall has stirred Brown into mounting an intense, and occasionally bitter, campaign to keepRead more