WASHINGTON, DC – May 23, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — The House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance announced its newest addition today: Rep. Dennis Ross (FL-15). Ross replaces outgoing member Rep. Jim Renacci, who moved to the Committee on Ways and Means. more »

TALLAHASSEE, FL – May 21, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Floridians have received nearly $9 billion in relief under the national mortgage settlement, as reported by the five largest mortgage servicing banks that are parties to the settlement. According to the latest Settlement Monitor’s report released today, more than 111,000 Floridians have received more than $8.6 billion in relief, with an additional $315 million in principal reduction, in the form of loan modifications, underway. The report that Joseph A. Smith, Jr., Monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, released today outlines the consumer relief activities the five banks have reportedly conducted since March 1, 2012. The numbers reported by the banks must be confirmed by the Monitor in an independent audit. more »

TALLAHASSEE – May 21, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater’s Department of Financial Services is hosting a series of free disaster preparedness webinars for small business owners as a part of Small Business Week, which began on May 19, and ahead of the start of the 2013 Hurricane Season. The webinars are part of CFO Atwater’s “Protect Your Home Base” initiative and are aimed at helping small businesses plan and prepare for a natural disaster. more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 21, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — The Broward County 2013 Point-in-Time Count, conducted in a 24-hour time period on January 24-25, identified that 2,810 individuals and families were homeless according to the federal definition of homelessness: they were living in places not meant for human habitation, emergency shelters or transitional housing programs. The count is required by U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Florida’s Office on Homelessness. more »

Jacksonville, FL – May 17, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — CBRE today announced that William (Tripp) Gulliford will join the firm as Managing Director of its Jacksonville office. He assumes his new role on June 3rd, following the retirement of Jim Citrano, who managed this office for more than 15 years. more »

Fort Lauderdale, FL – May 14, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — May 14, 2013 – CBRE arranged the sale of a two-acre waterfront development site on Biscayne Bay. The property known as Midtown Bay, at 475 NE 32nd Street and 3117 NE 7th Avenue in Miami, FL, was acquired by AXA Strategic Management for an undisclosed amount that included initial cash consideration of $20 million. more »

Ft. Lauderdale, FL – May 14, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — CBRE is pleased to announce that Abu Mansoor has joined CBRE as Senior Research Analyst based in our Ft. Lauderdale office. In this role, Mansoor will be leading our research team’s market analysis efforts in South Florida. more »

EUGENE, OR – May 14, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Lee Graham and IDX, Inc. have teamed up to revolutionize the online real estate search for Yulee, Florida area home seekers. By adopting the innovative IDX Broker software for his website, Graham has created a dynamic and comprehensive search page, which extracts raw listing data directly from the Amelia Island Nassau County MLS (AINCMLS). These listings are seamlessly integrated and made available for potential buyers to search through at their convenience. Graham, and his IDX solution, has forever changed the way Florida buyers scan the AINCMLS database for homes. more »

More than 76,000 items including jewelry, watches, and rare coins will be auctioned

TALLAHASSEE – May 13, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today asked Floridians to check for unclaimed property prior to his Bureau of Unclaimed Property’s Statewide Auction, an annual sale of unclaimed safe deposit box contents turned over to the state. The auction, which is open to the public, will be held June 8, in Tampa, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. more »

Miami, FL – May 13, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Stiles Realty Director Michael Taylor today announced that Banco do Brasil America’s, a State Chartered Florida Bank owned by Banco do Brasil S.A., Latin America’s largest bank, has opened its first branch in Miami at 800 Brickell. 800 Brickell is a 208,325-square-foot premier office building in downtown Miami. The bank signed a new ten-year 6,953-square-foot lease for premium ground floor office space fronting Brickell Ave in the city’s financial district, the second largest in the United States. more »

Miami, FL – May 13, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — CBRE is pleased to announce that Melinda Sherwood has been retained as Manager of Communications and Media for the Florida region. In this role, she will have overall statewide responsibility for communications, public relations and media management. She will serve as the regional liaison for Florida’s public relations efforts. more »

Former Senator Mel Martinez shares thoughts, support

ORLANDO, FL – May 13, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — On Tuesday evening, April 30, 2013, more than 135 Winter Park residents and their guests gathered at Interlachen Country Club to enjoy camaraderie, cocktails and canapés, and to focus on a very serious message – the realities of homelessness in Central Florida. The event was hosted by a committee of 11 community leaders,* chaired by Rick Wack of Mediation Services of Central Florida, Inc., in partnership with Coalition for the Homeless. It was underwritten by an anonymous donor, a generous expression of endorsement for the cause. more »

TALLAHASSEE, FL – May 13, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced today the arrests of Derek Shawn Kellog, 31, Crawfordville; Corey Jermaine Brownlee, 30, Jacksonville; and Sean McCaslin, 49, Tallahassee; employees of Roofmasters, Inc., for acting as unlicensed public adjusters while soliciting homeowners for roof repairs in the Tallahassee area. more »

EUGENE, OR – May 10, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — IDX Broker software has been enabled on yet another real estate website. This time IDX, Inc. and Bonita Springs, Florida real estate agent Bunny Caravello have joined forces to create an innovative property search page. As a member of the Sunshine MLS (SSMLS), Caravello has long had access to thousands of detailed home listings. Now, her clients can experience the same levels of accessibility and freedom to search the database, a privilege once reserved only for Bonita Springs agents and brokers. The convenience and timesaving capabilities of the website of Caravello have forever revolutionized the real estate website she hosts. more »

Orlando, FL – May 9, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — CBRE arranged the sale of North Lake Plaza, an 85,325 square foot community shopping center in Leesburg, Florida, for $3,400,000. more »