House Gives Final Approval to $5.5 Million for Wares Creek, $500,000 for Sarasota Renewable Energy Center, $305,000 for Lido Beach, $100,000 for Anna Maria Island Beach Re-nourishment, $100,000 for Port Manatee and up to $5 million for Sarasota Bay Restoration. Washington, DC - October 2, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Vern Buchanan (FL-13) has won final approval in the House of $8.3 million in federal funding for environmental projects in Florida’s 13th District. The House voted 308-114 for the fiscal year 2010 energy and water appropriations bill (H.R. 3183) today.

TAMPA, FL - October 1, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) today praised the work Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is doing to ensure that Americans are prepared for disasters. As National Preparedness Month (NPM) comes to a close, Secretary Napolitano is delivering a major speech today challenging all Americans to view disaster preparedness as a shared responsibility, and urging communities to build a year-round culture of readiness and resilience.

TAVARES, FL - September 30, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- As part of the Annual Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 4-10), the Lake County Department of Public Safety, Fire Rescue Division, is stepping up its public-education efforts to remind residents how to keep homes fire safe and prevent painful burns.

Lenders, Federal and Local Agencies to Provide Free Assistance October 10. Washington, DC - September 28, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Vern Buchanan (FL-13) announced today that he will hold a foreclosure assistance workshop on Saturday, October 10, 2009. In attendance will be several lenders, federal agencies, and local housing and counseling agencies, which will be available to assist residents of Florida’s 13th District from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the student union at State College of Florida, 5840 26th St. West, Bradenton, Florida.

September 24, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael J. Folmar, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that defendant Adriana Cruz, 27, of Miami, was sentenced by United States District Judge Alan S. Gold on September 18, 2009, for her role in a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in the granting of two fraudulent home equity loans totaling approximately $1 million

ORLANDO, FL - September 24, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida’s existing home sales rose in August – marking a full calendar year (12 months) that sales activity increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.Existing home sales rose 28 percent last month with a total of 13,850 homes sold statewide compared to 10,813 homes sold in August 2008, according to Florida Realtors. The state association also reported a 45 percent increase in last month’s statewide sales of existing condos compared to the previous year’s sales figure

Washington, DC - September 23, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) introduced the Support for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act of 2009. This bill will establish a grant program to provide permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals and families that have needs not addressed by traditional affordable housing. The companion bill has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC). (Please find attached a copy of the bill.)

Loan to Florida Community Loan Fund is one of the largest of its type among community foundations. ORLANDO, FL - September 22, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- In response to the growing need for affordable rental housing, the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties http://www.yourcommunityfoundation.org announced today an unprecedented $4 million low-interest loan to the Florida Community Loan Fund (FCLF) http://www.fclf.org/ , a nonprofit statewide lending institution. This investment in affordable housing is one of the largest ever made nationwide by a community foundation to a Community Development Finance Institution[i]. The announcement took place at the Florida Housing Coalition's statewide affordable housing conference in Orlando.

TAVARES, FL - September 15, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Lake County Property Appraiser’s Office will close its downtown Tavares office in the Lake County Historic Courthouse, located on the third floor of 317 W. Main St., on Friday, Sept. 18, as it moves its offices to its new quarters across the street at 320 W. Main St.

TAMPA, FL - September 14, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Government minimum flood elevation requirements for properties vulnerable to storm surge throughout the Gulf Coast region are woefully inadequate, according to a new study of property damage caused by Hurricane Ike, which struck the Bolivar Peninsula near Galveston, Texas one year ago yesterday, Sept. 13, 2008.

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.