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Eric Snider | Tampa Bay Business Journal | “If you ever get the creepy feeling that your neighborhood resembles a set from “The Walking Dead,” maybe it’s because greater Tampa Bay ranks way up on the list of zombie foreclosures. These are properties that have started the foreclosure process but never foreclosed and the homeowner has vacated.Read more

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

National Mortgage Professional Magazine | “RealtyTrac released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for May 2014, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 109,824 U.S. properties in May, a five percent decrease from the previous month and a 26 percent decrease from May 2013 to the lowest monthlyRead more

MICHELLE A. SAMAAD | Credit Union Times | “Without Walls International Church has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an ongoing foreclosure dispute with the $1 billion Evangelical Christian Credit Union. The Tampa, Fla.-based mega church filed on March 5 owing $29 million to Evangelical Christian, according to local media reports. The church had defaulted onRead 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

STUART KORFHAGE | St. Augustine Record | “While Florida continues to put up alarming foreclosure numbers, Circuit Court Judge Howard Maltz of St. Johns County is starting to see stats he likes. According to data compiled by the state, Maltz and other county staff — including some senior judges — have managed to reduce theRead 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

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