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By Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer | “In a landmark robo-signing case, a former executive of a Jacksonville mortgage-processing giant faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to orchestrating years of fraudulent foreclosure documents, according to a plea deal filed Tuesday in Jacksonville federal court. Lorraine Brown, who headed a Georgia processing firm,Read more

By Toluse Olorunnipa, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau | “The forms used by property insurers across the state to calculate insurance discounts for homeowners are seriously flawed and must be completely thrown out, an administrative judge has found in a potentially groundbreaking ruling. The decision could have far-reaching implications for homeowners who receive wind-mitigation discounts for hurricane-resistant measuresRead more

By The Associated Press |   “Home prices stayed flat in Tampa but increased in most major U.S. cities in September, more evidence of a housing recovery that is providing a lift to the fragile economy. Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller reported Tuesday that its 20-city index of home prices rose 3 percent in September compared with theRead more

By Jeff Harrington, Times Staff Writer “Eli Munoz-Soto and Marcial Solorzano held ownership stakes in more than 40 homes that got tangled up in Florida’s epic housing meltdown. For nearly three years, their cases crawled through bankruptcy court, as they sought modified mortgages with lower payments to avoid foreclosure. Finally, in a hearing this month, theirRead more

http://online.wsj.com |  By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN “The end of the presidential election brings greater certainty to many small-business owners in critical areas from health-care policy to taxes. Here’s a look at what President Barack Obama’s re-election might mean for them: Health Care One campaign issue that business owners likely no longer need to question is theRead more

By Les Christie @CNNMoney “The clock is ticking on a tax break that saves struggling homeowners from paying thousands of dollars to the IRS. If the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 does not get extended by Congress by the end of the year, homeowners will have to start paying income taxes on the portion ofRead more

By Jeff Kearns | Bloomberg.com   “Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke said pending bank regulations may “seriously” impair mortgage lending by community banks, which play a “significant” role in the market for home loans. Duke, a former community bank executive, said she and other Fed governors, including Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, are concerned about the potential harm from several rules mandatedRead more

Florida’s attorney general and top legislators reached a deal Friday over how to spend $300 million in foreclosure settlement cash, ending a months-long stalemate. BY TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA HERALD/TIMES TALLAHASSEE BUREAU “Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday she has reached a deal with the state lawmakers over how to use $300 million in foreclosure settlementRead more

By Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer | “Although the $25 billion national mortgage settlement’s goal is to keep people in their homes, big banks are doing much better at ushering Florida homeowners out, as a new report shows short sales dwarfing other forms of relief as lenders’ atonement of choice. Under the settlement, five of theRead more

By Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer “In a landmark robo-signing case, a former executive of a Jacksonville mortgage-processing giant faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to orchestrating years of fraudulent foreclosure documents, according to a plea deal filed Tuesday in Jacksonville federal court. Lorraine Brown, who headed a Georgia processing firm, DocX,Read more