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Reported by: Amanda Warford | JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — “Look around, there’s probably a foreclosure in your neighborhood, and those homes can sit empty for years due to a huge backlog in Florida courts. Since 2008, when the average foreclosure took five months, the process has been known to last as long as 814 days. This week, Gov.Read more

By Dan Levy & Heather Perlberg | “Home repossessions in the U.S. jumped 11 percent in May after declining for the previous five months as rising prices and limited inventory for sale across the country spurred banks to complete foreclosures . Lenders took back 38,946 homes, up from 34,997 in April, according to Irvine, California-based data firmRead more

HispanicBusiness.com | “A foreclosure bill emerged from Florida‘s legislature and found its way to the governor’s desk. The new law expedites foreclosures on abandoned properties and reduces the window of time for lender to obtain a deficiency judgment. Florida Gov. Rick Scott was busy on Friday, signing 34 state bills into law — including a bill knownRead more

By Kerri Ann Panchuk | “Florida’s governor signed a much-discussed foreclosure bill Friday, enacting a series of provisions aimed at speeding up the default process in the state. While the legislation is considered a response to Florida’s untimely foreclosure timelines, it’s a big shift that has attracted a great deal of attention. Attorneys working withinRead more

BY JAMES L. ROSICA | Tribune staff | TALLAHASSEE – “In the week before Gov. Rick Scott’s deadline to sign a bill that would speed up the state’s residential mortgage foreclosure process, bank employees flooded his inbox with a form letter urging his approval. The bill “will help Florida’s real estate market, and ultimately the economy,Read more

By JACKIE CALMES | WASHINGTON — “Despite signs of revival in housing, the Obama administration announced on Thursday an extension of its principal program for helping distressed homeowners to get mortgage modifications and avoid foreclosure. Jacob J. Lew, the Treasury secretary, and Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said the Making Home Affordable program, whichRead more

by JAMES L. ROSICA | Tribune Staff | TALLAHASSEE – “Gov. Rick Scott signed into law Tuesday a plan from a national foreclosure settlement between lenders and states that shuttles money into programs helping Florida homeowners. “Banks will be held accountable,” Scott said during a bill-signing press conference. “Florida families will be protected.” The planRead more

Drew Harwell | Times Staff Writer | “Suffer a foreclosure abuse while losing your home? How does $1,480 sound? That’s how much 72,000 Floridians will receive from a big bank settlement, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday. The $106 million in checks will be split among homeowners who filed claims of wrongdoing after their foreclosure betweenRead more

By Marianela Toledo | Florida Watchdog | “MIAMI —It’s a great law for the economy, banks and bargain hunters. But it may be a raw deal for homeowners struggling to hang on to their homes. A NEED FOR SPEED: New law accelerates the foreclosure process in Florida. The proposal sponsored by Florida State Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, and Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, looksRead more

by Ruth Mantell | “States where lenders must go through the court system to move a borrower into foreclosure have the highest rates of troubled properties, according to data released Wednesday. In April the three states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes in April were Florida, New Jersey andRead more