Florida RealEstateRama

TALLAHASSEE - July 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jeff Atwater today announced the arrest of Donald Gilles on arson charges after he allegedly set fire to a tractor trailer parked on the property of a Clermont convenient store.

TAVARES - July 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lake County’s residential curbside garbage collection is changing on Monday, Oct. 6 for all unincorporated areas of the county. As part of the new program, households who currently receive collection services from the county will be given free county-issued trash and recycling carts between August and October. Below are the delivery dates by service area and hauler

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - July 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Pam Bondi and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, obtained an emergency temporary restraining order and appointment of a receiver in a joint lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida against Florida-based Hoffman Law Group (“HLG”) and related entities. The order prohibits HLG defendants from doing business with consumers and freezes HLG’s bank accounts.

Tallahassee, FL - July 3, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel) today reappointed Chris Gardner to the Board of Governors for Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Gardner’s reappointment is effective today for a three-year term.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - June 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Pam Bondi today announced a $550 million joint state-federal settlement with mortgage lender and servicer SunTrust Mortgage Inc. to address mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 26, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Representative John L. Mica (FL-7)disclosed to the public at a press conference in Sanford, Florida, the decision of the Department of Justice not to pursue a criminal referral on the misappropriation, fraud and abuse of taxpayer funds and resources by the former Executive Director of the Sanford Housing Authority. Mica said, “This is an outrage to public trust. Iam disappointed that Attorney General Holder would not pursue criminal charges or bring to justice those responsible for ripping off taxpayers while in a position of public trust.”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - May 21, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- National Mortgage Settlement Monitor Joseph A. Smith, Jr. is charged with monitoring the servicers’ compliance with borrower relief requirements and servicing standard reforms under the National Mortgage Settlement. In a court filing earlier this month, he reported that nearly 92,000 distressed Florida borrowers have received $9.12 billion in credited relief as the result of a guarantee that Florida separately negotiated from the National Mortgage Settlement with three of the settling banks. Florida was one of only three states to negotiate such a guarantee with the three largest settling servicers

TAVARES - May 20, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Unincorporated Lake County’s residential curbside garbage collection is changing on Monday, Oct. 6 to a “1-1-1” service consisting of once-per-week trash, one-per-week recycling and once-per-week yard waste pick-up. Homeowners in unincorporated areas will be receiving postcards in the mail with detailed information about the county-issued trash and recycling carts, which will be delivered between August and September

GROVELAND - May 16, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Lake County Solid Waste Division 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 available from 9 a.m. - noon on Thursday, May 22 in the Ace Hardware parking lot located at 1007 State Road 50, Groveland.

TAVARES - May 16, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Beginning Wednesday, May 21, Alfred Street from Caroline Street to Joanna Avenue will be closed to through traffic. Drivers will only be able to access the Lake County Government Complex parking garage entrance on Sinclair Avenue via Main Street, as Sinclair Avenue at the intersection of Alfred Street will be closed for several weeks

LEESBURG - May 12, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Lake County Board of County Commissioners is joining LifeStream Behavioral Center at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 19 for a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house celebrating the newly renovated Hope Springs Villas, located at 1171 Bentley Road in Leesburg

EUSTIS - April 15, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Lake County Solid Waste Division is encouraging Lake County residents to dispose of unwanted household hazardous materials in a safe and environmentally conscious way at an upcoming collection event. The county’s Household Hazardous Waste Mobile Unit will be collecting items from 9 a.m. - noon on Thursday, April 24 at the Eustis Square Shopping Center, located at 218 W. Ardice Ave., Eustis.

TALLAHASSEE - April 14, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater issued a statement following the passing of HB 743 by the House Regulatory Affairs Committee, moving the bill closer to a vote before the full Florida House.

CLERMONT - March 20, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Lake County Solid Waste Division, in partnership with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, 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. The county’s Household Hazardous Waste Mobile Unit will be collecting items from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday, March 27 at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office South Substation, located at 15855 State Road 50, Clermont

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - March 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Joseph A. Smith, Jr., Monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia final credit reports on Bank of America, Chase, Citi, Rescap, and Wells Fargo announcing over $20 Billion in creditable relief to distressed homeowners. These reports confirm that the banks have satisfied their consumer relief and refinancing obligations under the Settlement. A summary report can be downloaded here, and a fact sheet is available here

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 17, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Tonight, the Senate passed the House version of the flood bill, the Homeowner’s Flood Insurance Affordability Act, by an overwhelming majority in a 72-22 vote

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - March 13, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Pam Bondi today announced that the deadline for eligible Florida homeowners to receive the mineral rights under their properties which were originally reserved by home builder D. R. Horton, Inc. at the time of sale has been extended. In January, D. R. Horton notified approximately 18,000 homeowners that they had the option to request their mineral rights by submitting forms by Feb. 28. However, only about 25-percent of eligible homeowners have responded, so the deadline has been extended to no later than March 31, 2014

Miami, Florida - March 12, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen voted for the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act. The bill, which Ros-Lehtinen co-sponsored, will work to make flood insurance more affordable for South Floridians and nationwide. Some of the bill’s notable provisions are

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 6, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) released the following statement after the passage of H.R. 3370, The Homeowner Flood Insurance Act of 2014:

TALLAHASSEE - March 5, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today announced that the Florida Department of Financial Services helped recover more than $253 million for Floridians during 2013. The recoveries were made possible by investigative and consumer-driven efforts led by the divisions of Agent and Agency Services and Consumer Services, along with the Bureau of Unclaimed Property.