Monthly Archives: April 2016

Tech Helpline, a service owned by the Florida Realtors® and the real estate industry’s number one tech support service for a wide range of software and hardware, hit another growth spurt this month. More than 15,000 real estate professionals in Maine and Pennsylvania now have access to Tech Helpline for the first time, which assists real estate agents and brokers with their smartphones, tablets, desktops, laptops, email problems, virus issues and more

Coral Gables Realtor Christina Pappas is one of 13 district vice presidents serving in the leadership of Florida Realtors®, the state’s largest professional association. The 31-year-old Pappas, who chaired the MIAMI Association of REALTORS® Young Professionals leadership council last year, was elected District Four vice president and is one of the youngest to ever hold the position

South Florida’s outdoor lifestyle, multilingual workforce, and world-class amenities had an impactful presence at the world’s largest commercial real estate exhibition, according to the MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI). In partnership with the National Association of Realtors (NAR), MIAMI leaders and members promoted South Florida at the 27th annual MIPIM International Real Estate Show in Cannes, France

Miami-Dade County residential properties registered nearly $1 billion in sales in March as existing single-family homes posted robust price gains, according to a new report by the MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI) and Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system.

The Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF) today announced the recent arrest of two former funeral home owners from the Tampa area, Julio Gonzalez-Roel and Lucia Gonzalez-Roel. This year-long investigation which included the combined efforts of DFS’s Division of Agents and Agency Services and the Division of Funeral, Cemetery and Consumer Services revealed the couple allegedly concocted a scheme by which they sold pre-need funeral contracts to consumers and then stole the money they collected on those contracts rather than placing the funds into a pre-need trust account as Florida law mandates

Lake County’s Water Safety Advisory Committee, government agencies and private partners are hosting Water Safety Month in May. The events will offer free swimming and CPR demonstrations, life vest education, mock drowning exercises, swimming lesson registration, open swimming, exhibits and more

It has been a long journey for Gulf War veteran Mario Figueroa. After three years battling for his benefits with the VA alongside CLSMF Veterans Advocacy Project attorney Chirsite Bhageloe

Lake County Solid Waste is encouraging Lake County residents to dispose of toxic materials in a safe and environmentally sensitive way at an upcoming Household Hazardous Waste Collection event. The county’s Household Hazardous Waste Mobile Unit will be on site from 9 a.m. – noon on Thursday, April 28 at the Eustis Square Shopping Center parking lot located at 218 Ardice Ave., Eustis

U.S. Representative Patrick E. Murphy (FL-18) made the following statement on yesterday's report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finding "no significant impact" in transferring authority of the Ten Mile Creek water preserve area from the federal government to the state. Since his first days in office,Murphy has been working with state and federal officials to allow for this transfer so that the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) can turn it into a functional water storage and treatment facility. With this report, the deauthorization moves one step closer to completion, as the SFWMD must now approve the transfer agreement before June 15, 2016.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, made the following statement after the Venezuelan Supreme Court, controlled by Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, declared that the Amnesty Law was unconstitutional. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen

President Barack Obama has signed into law the Senate companion of Congressman Alan Grayson’s (D-FL09) “Servicemember Foreclosure protections Extension Act of 2015,” which protects veterans from having their homes foreclosed on for one year after their return from active duty. This protection had elapsed at the end of 2015. The “Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act of 2015” (S. 2393) extends the protection for two years.

In support of goals and objectives in the County's "A Way Home" Plan to End Homelessness, the Broward County Homeless Initiative Partnership (HIP) has been awarded a grant of more than $6.8 million by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the 2015 HUD Homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition. The award funds 17 renewal projects and a new Continuum of Care (CoC) planning grant. This brings the County's 2015 HUD CoC grant awards total to $8.5 million which is distributed through the CoC and directly managed by the County and community providers

The Board of Directors of the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) announces the appointment of Todd A. Lee to the position of Acting Executive Director. Lee joins the Agency with more than 20 years of extensive experience in the field of multifamily and commercial real estate finance, including a diverse background in multiple areas of investment and lending across a range of property types.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today announced the arrest of Maira Chirinos, owner of Pompano Beach construction company Tocoa Builders, Inc. Chirinos is alleged to have misrepresented information regarding Tocoa Builder’s operations, employees and payroll when applying for a workers’ compensation policy. By doing so, Chirinos avoided at least $1.8 million in workers’ compensation premium payments. Workers’ compensation policies protect employees in the event of an on-the-job injury and if proper policies are not in place, injured employees could be faced with lost wages and costly medical expenses to cover

Lake County Solid Waste, in partnership with the Leesburg Police Department, is encouraging Lake County residents to dispose of unwanted household hazardous materials and medications in a safe and environmentally conscious way at an upcoming collection event.

Attorney General Pam Bondi's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit today announced more than $170,000 in fraudulent taxpayer dollars reclaimed from multiple bank accounts owned by Christina Benson, owner of Tranquility Health Care Solutions in Orlando. Benson used Tranquility to recruit homeless men and women to pose as patients and billed Medicaid for services not provided and not warranted. Additionally, Benson allegedly used untrained personnel, some with criminal arrest records, in her scheme.

The Florida Supreme Court decision today is a blow to the future of rooftop solar power in Florida. “This dirty political trick perpetrated by the giant utility corporations will now be on the ballot in November,” said Earthjustice attorney David Guest. “This amendment hoodwinks voters by giving the impression that it will encourage the use of rooftop solar when, in fact, it would do the opposite. If the Constitutional amendment passes, people who install rooftop solar could end up with higher utility bills than if they did not have solar.