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By Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer | TAMPA — When Charles Dowman, a hydrogeologist moving from San Francisco, began house-hunting with his wife and two children, he sought a charming, craftsman-style home in South Tampa and didn’t mind a fixer-upper. But after looking, and missing out on, about 35 houses, Dowman found “it was hard toRead more

 From Suze Orman (VIDEO)       If your home is in foreclosure, there is no reason to claim bankruptcy. When personal finance expertSuze Orman met with me on Mondays With Marlo, she explained that the government extended a law which states that even if you owe the bank any money, you won’t owe income taxRead more

Wake up and good morning. Florida’s home price index rose 7.9 percent in the past year (November 2011 to November 2012), ranking the Sunshine State 10th among states in rising home prices in that period. So says new CoreLogic data out this week. Note in the map above that Florida appreciation topped that of nearby Georgia, Alabama,Read more

By Kimberly Miller | Palm Beach Post Staff Writer | State lawmakers this week divvied up how $60 million of Florida’s mortgage settlement money will be used to aid struggling homeowners, with more than half flowing to first-time homebuyers for down payment assistance and millions directed at borrowers through legal aid and housing counseling. Also, Florida’s circuitRead more

huffingtonpost.com | “Last January, dozens of independent contractors showed up for their first day of work at a large, single-story Bank of America building in Tampa to right the wrongs of a foreclosure crisis that many had witnessed firsthand. Or so they thought. They were lawyers, paralegals and other mortgage industry veterans. Along with thousandsRead more

By Toluse Olorunnipa, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau | “A “faster foreclosures” proposal that sparked consumer outcry and protest last year has resurfaced in a more moderate form, with a new bill filed this week by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples. The bill, HB 87, offers a slew of changes to the civil procedures governing foreclosures in Florida, whereRead more

huffingtonpost.com | “Bank of America says it will spend more than $10 billion to settle mortgage claims resulting from the housing meltdown. Under the deal announced Monday, the bank will pay $3.6 billion to Fannie Mae and buy back $6.75 billion in loans that the North Carolina-based bank and its Countrywide banking unit sold toRead more

  By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune “As foreclosures hit unheard-of levels in recent years, a handful of Florida law firms that operated as foreclosure factories reaped millions in fees. One Tampa-based giant, Florida Default Law Group, had more than 1,000 lawyers, non-lawyer paralegals and support staff processing legal papers as cheaply and efficiently as possible. However, someRead more

  “Britain’s revenue and customs service is examining allegations that criminals may have used offshore accounts with HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, to launder money, it confirmed Friday. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs said in a statement that it had been contacted about a leaked list of the bank’s customers, and accusations in a British newspaperRead more