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MARTHA BRANNIGAN | Miami Herald | “Even as Florida’s housing market is showing solid recovery with impressive gains in prices and sales volume, the state led the nation in foreclosures completed in the year ended in August; no other state was even close, according to CoreLogic. Of the 658,463 foreclosures completed nationwide during the 12-monthRead 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

By Michael Braga, Herald-Tribune | “Florida had the highest foreclosure rate in the U.S. in July, according to the Florida Legislature Office of Economic and Demographic Research. One in every 326 housing units was in foreclosure. Nine of the top 10 cities in the country – in terms of foreclosure rates – were in Florida – Jacksonville,Read 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

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

Linda Hersey | SaintPetersBlog | “More homes sold in St. Petersburg than any other Pinellas County city in July. But Florida overall tops the nation in the percentage of underwater homes and short sales, according to new statistics. RealtyTrac, which monitors homes in foreclosure, reports that in August the Sunshine State was No. 2 in theRead more

Rebecca Freeman | U.S. Finance Post | “The number of foreclosures in July were down 25 percent from a year earlier according to CoreLogic. During the month of July 49,000 foreclosures were completed compared to 53,000 the previous month.That was a decrease of 8.6 percent. In July 2012 there were 65,000 foreclosures. For context, CoreLogic pointed toRead more

By Francys Vallecillo | World Property Channel | “The U.S. foreclosure inventory decreased 32 percent in July compared to last year, according to the latest numbers from CoreLogic. The inventory included approximately 949,000 homes in some stage of foreclosure. As of July, the foreclosure inventory represented 2.4 percent of all homes with a mortgage, compared toRead more

Mary Shanklin | Orlando Sentinel | “Florida led the nation last month with what one expert called an “astounding” rate of all-cash home sales: 66 percent, a new report shows. Investor groups, international buyers, landlords and those in the market for vacation homes are fueling a cash-only market that has virtually shut out entry-level homebuyers, who can’tRead more

Timothy Gibbons | Managing Editor- Jacksonville Business Journal | “Florida had nine of the top 10 cities with the highest foreclosure rates in the nation, a list led by Jacksonville, according to the Florida Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research. That’s the third month in a row, the Jacksonville News & Daily Record say, that the stateRead more