Blog

Mary Shanklin | Orlando Sentinel | “More than 5,200 Orlando-area houses in foreclosure sat vacant during the second quarter, making the region one of the leading “zombie” foreclosure markets in the country, a new report shows. In Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties, 22,700 houses and condos were in some stage of foreclosure during theRead more

SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN | Tampa Bay Times | “In February, a new company in Tampa called RE-710 got a terrific deal. It paid $5,700 for a five-bedroom home valued at $311,000. The same month, RE-710 acquired control of dozens of other houses and condos throughout the Tampa Bay area for just cents on the dollar.Read more

By Marcie Geffner of Bankrate.com “Buying a home is a challenging goal for most hopeful homeowners. But for those who have experienced a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale, the hurdles are even higher. Still, it’s not impossible to buy a home after financial difficulties, says Dan Keller, a mortgage banker with Hometown Lending in Everett, Wash. In fact,Read more

Mamta Badkar | Business Insider | “112,498 U.S. properties received foreclosure filings in February, according to RealtyTrac. This was down 27% from a year ago and was the lowest monthly total since December 2006. In fact, one in every 1,170 U.S. homes received a foreclosure filing in February. But the headline number can be misleading. “Cold weather andRead more

Jann Swanson | Mortgage News Daily | “After spiking 8 percent in January, foreclosures filings have resumed their downward spiral RealtyTrac said today.  Its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for February notes that filings, including default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions or completed foreclosures, decreased by 10 percent from January and were 27 percent below levels one yearRead more

Greg Allen | NPR | “It’s taken several years, but in many parts of the country, home prices are nearly back to where they were at the peak. In places like Florida, where the housing recession hit hard, home prices rose last year by one-fifth or more. A major factor in the price rise is hedgeRead more

WCTV | “Bob Wallerius walks with a noticeable limp. He’s had 40 surgeries after a bad traffic accident. On the day he spoke to Eyewitness News, a foreclosure sale was scheduled for his northwest Tallahassee home. “Had to go to bed one more night not be able to sleep and wake up trying to haveRead more

Pam Bondi | The Tampa Tribune | Opinion Page | “The U.S. House’s vote Tuesday night was a move in the right direction to stop the short-sighted implementation of the Biggert-Waters Act, which has dire consequences for Floridians, who would bear the brunt of the financial burden, and our housing market. Traveling throughout Florida asRead more

Christina Sturgis | Tampa Bay Times Blog | “Florida is first in an undesirable competition – the number of foreclosures, which can take terrible toll on Tampa families and communities. One of every 409 Florida homes is in foreclosure, as of the end of 2013. According to the report by RealtyTrac, the other top states forRead more

Tom Priester | Examiner.com | “RealtyTrac says they are, but are they really? Late last week RealtyTrac released their latest Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report. That report showed a significant pull back by institutional investors in the nationwide market. Figures they compiled as of February 1st show that month over month purchases by these groupsRead more