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Paul Owers | Sun Sentinel | “Just 10 days before Christmas 2009, Ganel Appolon found an envelope taped to his front door. He and his family were being evicted from their Tamarac home. Appolon had fallen behind on his mortgage payments, and the lender repossessed the property under terms of his bankruptcy filing. Despite the financial setback, Appolon vowedRead more

News Release: Florida Senate | WCTV | “Today SB 542 by Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) passed the Senate Committee on Appropriations with strong unanimous support. The bill lays the framework for a private flood insurance marketplace in Florida in response to rate increases from the National Flood Insurance Program. “Florida families are facing foreclosureRead more

Tara Steele | AgentGenius | “According to RealtyTrac data out today, although bank repossessions are at their lowest level since July 2007, foreclosure starts rose over 50 percent annually in several states like California, Connecticut, Maryland, and New Jersey. Foreclosure activity fell 18 percent annually, but rose 8.0 percent in January from December, which RealtyTrac says isRead more

Jane Meinhardt | Tampa Bay Business Journal | “The Tony Cheval Golf & Country Club in Lutz is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The popular 18-hole golf course golf course property was in foreclosure proceedings when the bankruptcy petition was filed Feb. 6, court records show. The property includes the golf course, practice facility, clubhouse,Read more

Drew Harwell | Tampa Bay Times | “Tampa Bay saw 20 percent fewer foreclosure filings last month than in January 2013, a sign that lingering distress from the housing crash continues to slowly fade from view, RealtyTrac data released today show. But the good news ends there. Tampa Bay posted the seventh-highest foreclosure rate inRead more

Rich Shopes | Tampa Bay Times | “The county’s community development office on Tuesday rolled out a new interest-free loan program aimed at helping low-income seniors burdened by big tax bills. The program, which is intended to curb foreclosures from delinquent taxes, is funded by a $300,000 state housing grant. It’s aimed at low-income folksRead more

Michael Sasso | The Tampa Tribune | “The median sale price of an existing home in the Tampa Bay area rose by 16.2 percent in December when compared with a year earlier, new figures from Florida Realtors show. Last month, the median sale price of a single-family home in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area was $158,000.Read more

Jennifer Titus | WTSP | “The Bay area has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the county and as a result squatters are popping up all around. With thousands of foreclosed homes in the Bay area, it’s attracting some unwanted visitors in many parts of the city; something Tampa police officers have caught on to.Read more

Franco Fernandez | CBS 12 News | “Banks pay FL homeowners as part of settlement.” Watch Video Here

Josh Salman | Herald-Tribune | “Foreclosure rates in Southwest Florida fell in November from the same time last year, continuing a trend of home loan delinquencies that have slowly waned throughout the past year. The rate of foreclosures among all outstanding mortgage loans in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton area was 6.04 percent in November, the latest dataRead more