Yearly Archives: 2009

ORLANDO, FL - September 14, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida Realtor, the Business Magazine of Florida Real Estate and monthly trade publication of Florida...

TALLAHASSEE, FL - September 10, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that his office has obtained a settlement for a Central Florida couple resolving allegations of civil rights violations related to their condominium. Under the settlement, Brevard County developer Tricon Development Corporation paid $15,000 in civil damages to Josephine and Dominic DeRusso, which included the cost of retrofitting the couple’s home.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - September 10, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida Housing's upcoming Board of Directors' Meeting will be held on Friday, September 18 in Tallahassee. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. For Board Package information, please

TALLAHASSEE, FL - September 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a Jensen Beach Pastor and his wife have been sentenced to prison terms for a mortgage fraud scheme. Rodney McGill will serve 20 years in prison and his mortgage broker wife Shalonda will serve a 10-year prison sentence for running a mortgage fraud scheme that enticed victims to participate in a real estate investment “opportunity” but instead was an effort to rid the McGills of their mortgages. In addition to their sentences, each will serve 10 years of probation upon their release. The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution in partnership with the State Attorney Bruce Colton of the 19th Judicial Circuit.

ORLANDO, FL - September 8, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- For three recent Florida high school graduates now starting college classes, their freshmen year may be a little easier thanks to the $5,000 state scholarship awards each received from Florida Realtors®. The students’ winning essays were written on the topic “How Does a Realtor Professional Benefit the Community?”

September 8, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael J. Folmar, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, Daniel W. Auer, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, Miami Field Office, and J. Thomas Cardwell, Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, announced that defendant Michael A. Meisner, 52, of Boca Raton, Florida, pled guilty today before the Honorable U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Hopkins to a three-count Information filed on September 2, 2009, which charged mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C.§ 1341, loan application fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014, and tax evasion, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201. Bond was set at a $500,000 corporate surety bond, and a $500,000 personal surety bond. Sentencing was set for November 20, 2009, at 9:30 a.m., before the Honorable U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra. Meisner faces a maximum of 55 years imprisonment.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - September 3, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida Housing's Predevelopment Loan Program (PLP) will hold a rule hearing on September 17, 2009 in Tallahassee. This hearing concerns the 2009 PLP Rule.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - September 3, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill McCollum and the Florida Bar Foundation today awarded approximately $700,000 in grants to several South Florida non-profit organizations to fund free foreclosure legal defense work. A total of $4 million will be available statewide over two years to fund attorneys and paralegals who will provide free legal assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure. The grants were funded by the Attorney General’s settlement with Countrywide Financial last October.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - September 3, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida Housing will hold a Telephonic Board Meeting on September 4, 2009 beginning at 10:00 a.m. The meeting will address the consideration of necessary actions related to approval of credit underwriting reports, market studies and approval to begin rule development to implement provisions of 2009-96, Laws of Florida, concerning Section 420.5087(6)(c) and (l), Florida Statutes. A copy of the agenda is posted

TALLAHASSEE, FL - August 31, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill McCollum and The Florida Bar Foundation today awarded $84,000 to the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, Inc. to be used for a new foreclosure defense assistance program. The program is funded by money obtained by the Attorney General through a settlement with Countrywide Financial. A total of $4 million will be available over two years to fund additional lawyer and paralegal positions devoted to providing free assistance to homeowners facing foreclosures who cannot afford legal defense.

ORLANDO, FL - August 28, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida Realtors® applaud Gov. Charlie Crist’s decision to appoint George LeMieux to serve out the remainder of U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez’s term

Monroe County, FL - August 27, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a senior member of the Florida Congressional Delegation, and Peter J. Horton, Director of Airports at Key West International Airport, were both very pleased that the Federal Aviation Administration has authorized a $2.5 million grant to sound proof homes in Key West, Florida.

Congressman Grayson wants to do all he can to boost the housing market in Central Florida.

ORLANDO, FL - August 25, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida’s existing home sales rose in July – the 11th month in a row that sales activity increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). Statewide existing home sales in July also rose over the previous month’s sales level.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - August 24, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill McCollum sued a Kissimmee-based company over allegations it targeted Hispanics in a foreclosure rescue fraud scheme. JPB Consulting Inc. and its president, Juan P. Bordali, allegedly charged up front fees of more than $1,000 per customer to homeowners about to lose their homes, but never performed any services. Charging fees up front before completing foreclosure rescue services is a direct violation of Florida’s Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act.

New York, N.Y. - August 19, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Turner Construction Company, the nation’s leading general builder, has been selected by the City of Jacksonville to serve as the design/builder of the $224 million Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, FL. Construction is currently underway and the project is scheduled for completion in May of 2012.

TAMPA, FL - August 17, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill McCollum today hosted a Tampa town hall meeting with Florida’s Interagency Mortgage Fraud Task Force to discuss the housing crisis. The event, designed to present a comprehensive approach for dealing with housing-related issues, provided community education and assistance to over 150 attendees. Participating agencies included state agencies, law enforcement, regulatory authorities, housing counselors and volunteer lawyers.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - August 17, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida CFO Alex Sink today launched a Spanish language version of her ‘Florida Housing Help’ web site, which offers extensive resources for Florida homeowners, including help to prevent foreclosure and mortgage fraud and details about Housing Help workshops across Florida. The site also offers Floridians information on how to access CFO Sink’s volunteer lawyer program, Florida Attorneys Saving Homes.

TAVARES, FL - August 17, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lake County and its partners in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) are meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 1, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Lake County Agricultural Center, located at 1951 Woodlea Road in Tavares, with realtors and lending institutions in Lake County to discuss up-to-date information on NSP and how Lake County is using its funding.

ORLANDO, FL - August 12, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida rose 23 percent in second quarter 2009 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest housing statistics from the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). A total of 43,125 existing homes sold statewide in 2Q 2009; during the same period the year before, a total of 35,008 existing homes sold. It marks the fourth consecutive quarter that Florida has seen higher existing year-to-year home sales, according to FAR