Archives

Tampa, FL - August 9, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- As new and existing home sales remain sluggish, one way sellers can increase appeal of their homes is by adding disaster-resistant retrofits, according to the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)

TALLAHASSEE, FL - August 6, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a Pinellas County woman pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $8 million in a real estate fraud scheme. Cheryl Wehlau, owner of Gulf Coast Title Offices, entered her plea yesterday in a case prosecuted by the Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Washington, DC - July 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, during a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24) called for action to stabilize the commercial real estate market in order to help small businesses grow and create jobs. At the hearing, entitled ‘Alternatives for Promoting Liquidity in the Commercial Real Estate Markets, Supporting Small Businesses and Increasing Job Growth,’ Kosmas addressed the need to help small businesses who are facing a lack of available credit and are being denied the ability to renew the commercial real estate loans that are critical to their operations.

Tampa, Fla. (July 27, 2010) – The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) offers residents and small business owners the following guidance on returning to flood-damaged properties.

Tampa, FL - July 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- As Tropical Storm Bonnie approaches South Florida, the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) urges residents to take steps to minimize wind and water damage from the storm.

ORLANDO, FL - July 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of existing homes in Florida rose 15 percent in June, marking 22 consecutive months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.A total of 18,038 single-family existing homes sold statewide last month compared to 15,732 homes sold in June 2009, according to Florida Realtors. June’s statewide existing home sales increased 7.7 percent over statewide sales activity in May. Meanwhile, last month’s statewide existing-home median price of $143,400 was 2.1 percent higher than May’s statewide existing-home median price of $140,400. It marks the fourth month in a row that the statewide existing-home median price has increased over the previous month’s median.

Tampa, Fla. (July 22, 2010) – The summer edition of Disaster Safety Review, a publication of the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), sheds new light on coastal property risks as the Gulf and Atlantic coasts prepare to enter the height of what is forecast to be an active hurricane season.

Tampa, FL - July 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) today released its latest research study, “Surviving Nature’s Fury: Performance of Asphalt Shingle Roofs in the Real World,” which investigated damage from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008.

July 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Yesterday, Rep. Wasserman Schultz secured funding for important transportation and housing projects in her district. These funds have been passed out of the Appropriations committee as part of the Fiscal Year 2011 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill.

Fort Lauderdale, FL - July 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Bank of America Home Loans has opened a new customer outreach center in Fort Lauderdale to serve customers in the South Florida area. Bank of America homeownership retention specialists will be meeting face to face with financially troubled mortgage customers who are having difficulty making their monthly payments. Dedicated associates are also available to help customers facing hardship with their auto loans, credit cards and personal loans

WASHINGTON, DC - July 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Families with children are now able to live without restrictions at a Pompano Beach, Florida housing development under a voluntary agreement between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Cornerstone Residential Management, Inc., and the Oaks at Pompano, Ltd. The agreement will improve and increase the affordability of multifamily housing in their area and provide $30,000 in rental assistance to families with children. The firms will also make family-friendly improvements to their properties and donate $20,000 to a fair housing organization

TALLAHASSEE, FL - July 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida CFO Alex Sink today announced the arrests of six criminals involved in a mortgage fraud scam that resulted in more than $2 million in fraudulent mortgages. The arrests are the result of a joint investigation by the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF), the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations’ Miami Field Off

ORLANDO, FL - July 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Teachers. Firefighters. Military personnel. Nurses. Police officers. The list goes on and on: Many people who provide vital services that strengthen our communities can’t afford to own a home or live where they work

TALLAHASSEE, FL - July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill McCollum and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Commissioner Gerald Bailey today announce the arrest of 10 members of a criminal mortgage fraud and identity theft operation. The group is charged with defrauding numerous financial institutions out of more than $8 million, and using the identities of unsuspecting individuals as part of the conspiracy to obtain the mortgages and properties. The arrests are the result of a four-year investigation conducted by FDLE’s Miami Regional Operations Center and the Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution. The individuals arrested face charges including racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, grand theft, and title insurance fraud

TAVARES, FL - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- When Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law Senate Bill 1752 “Jobs for Florida” last month, not only did it provide tax incentives and tax breaks for qualified businesses, but it allowed developers and property owners to extend Lake County development orders that have an expiration date between Sept. 1, 2008, and Jan. 1, 2012, for two years. The extension applies to building permits, preliminary plat approvals, construction plan approvals and site plans.

TAVARES, FL - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new trailer equipped with a 280-gallon tank is allowing the Lake County Department of Environmental Utilities, Water Quality Services Division, to pump out old home-heating oil tanks more cost effectively.

ORLANDO, FL - June 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- “To us, home is where we prop our feet up after a rough day” says 2010 Florida Realtors® President Wendell Davis, a broker with Watson Realty Corp. in Jacksonville. “If ‘home’ to our service sons and daughters is a short phone call, then we, as Florida Realtors, should help them find ‘home,’ just as we help Florida buyers find a home.”

Washington, DC - June 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) --Congressmen Jeff Miller (R-FL) and Adam Putnam (R-FL) today introduced legislation to provide mortgage forbearance to homeowners in the areas affected by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

Washington, DC - June 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced today that $418 million is now available to help Floridians with bridge loans for mortgages through the Obama Administration’s “Hardest Hit Fund,” which will be directed to the state Housing Finance Agency and will immediately assist homeowners

ORLANDO, FL - June 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of existing homes in Florida rose 18 percent in May, marking 21 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors