Florida RealEstateRama

ORLANDO, FL - February 10, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Meet the neighbors and find your Florida dream home at the same time by taking part in Florida Open House Weekend, set for April 10-11, 2010. Realtors will host open houses on behalf of home sellers in neighborhoods and communities across the Sunshine State, giving buyers a rare opportunity to visit many homes for sale in just one weekend. This first-ever statewide open house weekend is sponsored by the 115,000-member Florida Realtor

TAMPA FL - February 10, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- As the Mid-Atlantic region begins to dig out from under one blizzard, and faces another serious snowstorm this week, the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is offering guidance on how business and home owners can protect their property from winter weather-related perils, such as roof collapse due to heavy snow loads.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - February 4, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against a California company providing loan modification services to homeowners facing foreclosure. According to the lawsuit filed today in Orange County, 21st Century Legal Services, Inc. allegedly charges consumers up-front fees in violation of Florida’s Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - February 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill McCollum and Office of Financial Regulation Commissioner J. Thomas Cardwell today announced that a Seminole County man was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to a criminal racketeering scheme that involved mortgage fraud in home purchasing. Upon his release from prison, Stanford Morgan, president and owner of Homes for Sale by Owner, Inc., must also pay full restitution, including $200,000 to an investing couple in one transaction and compensation to the lending institutions he defrauded in other transactions. Morgan was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - January 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida CFO Alex Sink is urging Florida taxpayers to find out if they may be one of the estimated 10,000 Floridians who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a federal tax credit for low-income working individuals and families, on Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day 2010. Eligible Floridians are due back an estimated $15 billion, on top of what they already may be claiming on their taxes, if they all claimed the EITC.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) – a bicameral Congressional Committee composed of ten members from the Senate and House of Representatives – today released a new economic snapshot report on Florida. The report provides a comprehensive overview of how the nation inherited the current Recession from the previous Administration and Republican Party and shows where growth and recovery have begun to take hold in areas such as home prices and personal income.

ORLANDO, FL - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida’s existing home sales rose in December, marking 16 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors

WASHINGTON, DC - January 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1,661,173 grant to assist about 600 workers affected by layoffs at the Taylor, Bean and Whitaker Mortgage Corp. and its subsidiary companies in north/central Florida.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced the award of a $53 million contract to a Florida firm to construct a new clinic in Cape Coral. The new building will replace a Fort Myers facility and expand diagnostic and treatment capacity for southwest Florida’s Veterans

Washington, DC - January 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- In one of the most significant investments for the Tampa Bay region under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Tampa Housing Authority is receiving $38 million to revitalize the Central Park Village area and transform it into a new community that will uplift this historic neighborhood and create hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs. Since last year, Congresswoman Kathy Castor has pressed officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to award this money to the residents in the heart of Tampa through Tampa Housing Authority. Just last week, Castor urged HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to invest in redeveloping Central Park Village and bolster our economic recovery.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - January 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) recently launched a new Web site aimed at encouraging green building practices in affordable housing across the state of Florida. The site, www.floridahousing.org/GreenBuilding, is another example of Florida Housing’s recent push to “Go Green.”

ORLANDO, FL - January 11, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attention Florida high school seniors: Time is running out for you to win up to $6,000 to help pay for college tuition next year. Better start writing – there’s only a month to go until the Feb. 8, 2010, deadline to enter Florida Realtors® 2009-2010 Scholarship/Essay Contest for High School Seniors, which offers a total of $28,000 in scholarship funding

TALLAHASSEE, FL - December 29, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida CFO Alex Sink today commended the Florida Supreme Court order recommending a statewide managed mediation program for Florida’s homeowners. Given her previous work to aid Floridians struggling with foreclosure, CFO Sink was tapped by Chief Justice Peggy Quince to provide a delegate on the Task Force that developed these recommendations.

UMATILLA, FL - December 24, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Lake County Extension is partnering with Florida’s Forest Stewardship Program to host a property tour of the 1,500-acre Promise Ranch in Umatilla on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 9 a.m.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - December 23, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced he has filed a lawsuit against three businesses operating in Miami-Dade County, their principles and affiliated attorneys on allegations of deceptive and unfair trade practices regarding their involvement in a foreclosure rescue scam affecting homeowners nationwide. The Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Division began investigating Kirkland Young LLC, in July after receiving numerous consumer complaints against the company. During the course of the investigation it was discovered that Attorney Aid LLC and ABK Consultants were affiliated with Kirkland Young LLC.

ORLANDO, FL - December 22, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida’s existing home sales rose in November, marking 15 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.Existing home sales rose 61 percent last month with a total of 14,026 homes sold statewide compared to 8,694 homes sold in November 2008, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide sales of existing condos increased 111 percent last month compared to November 2008’s sales figure.

EUSTIS, FL - December 21, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Lake County Department of Community Services is pleased to announce, with its partner Habitat for Humanity of Lake-Sumter, the first Lake County family to receive funding through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) is moved into their new home on Starbird Street in Eustis

TALLAHASSEE, FL - December 21, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida CFO Alex Sink today highlighted two initiatives she started to bring real, tangible help to Florida homeowners facing foreclosure, and heard from local leaders and community groups who are on the frontlines of tackling the state’s housing crisis.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 15, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Allen Boyd (D-North Florida) today introduced bipartisan legislation that would help protect private property owners from becoming victims of eminent domain seizures by state and local governments. The Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property (STOPP) Act would significantly discourage governments from taking property from one private party and giving it to another private party through a series of aggressive financial disincentives. Congressman Boyd has been a long-time proponent of protecting the rights of property owners, having introduced similar legislation in past years

Washington, DC - December 14, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a senior member of the Florida Congressional Delegation, voted against the tax increases in the Tax Extenders Act of 2009, as these increases would harm the already-stressed commercial real estate market. The legislation includes a $24.6 billion permanent tax increase on investments in the midst of a recession

Washington, D.C. - December 14, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Ron Klein (FL-22) today joined a majority of his House colleagues to pass a landmark piece of legislation to reform our financial system and protect consumers across the country. This bill, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R.4173), will prevent the irresponsible actions that contributed to the financial crisis last fall. This legislation restores real oversight to Wall Street through smart regulation and protects consumers by ensuring that the terms of bank loans, mortgages, and credit cards are fair, clearly written and easy to understand. Also, it helps make sure that American taxpayers will never again have to bail out Wall Street banks by putting an end to “too big to fail” financial firms.

Washington, D.C. - December 8, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Ron Klein (FL-22) today participated in a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee seeking solutions to the current mortgage crisis. Klein described the serious problems in the South Florida housing market for the Committee and witnesses, and said that it “is essential for banks and the federal government to implement effective programs to increase loan modifications and prevent foreclosures. It is simply not acceptable to watch responsible families in our community lose the homes they have worked so hard for.”

TAMPA, FL - December 7, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) today announced a change of leadership as the organization looks toward 2010. Kevin Kelso, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of the Farmers Group, will become IBHS chairman at the end of this year. In addition, Carl Hedde, vice president of Munich Re America, will become IBHS vice chairman. Both appointments were lauded during the Dec. 4 IBHS board of directors meeting.

Washington, DC - December 3, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Vern Buchanan (FL-13) voted for legislation today to help Florida homeowners suffering from toxic Chinese drywall avoid foreclosure. Buchanan is an original cosponsor of H. Con. Res. 197, which l passed the House 419 to 1. The bill would encourage banks and mortgage servicers to provide impacted homeowners with temporary forbearance on their mortgage payments.

Washington, DC - December 3, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The House of Representatives today passed a resolution cosponsored by Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) to encourage banks and mortgage service providers to work with families affected by contaminated drywall and to allow temporary forbearance without penalty on payments on their home mortgages. The resolution is nonbinding but serves to raise awareness to the unfortunate situation that has affected some homeowners in recent years.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - December 2, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) recently received a report stating the funds from the NeighborWorks® America’s National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program (NFMC) is a success with helping Floridians facing foreclosure in the state

ORLANDO, FL - December 1, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida high school seniors: Are you filling out college applications and poring over potential scholarship programs? Then make plans to enter the Florida Realtors®’ 2009-2010 Scholarship/Essay Contest for High School Seniors for a chance to win up to $6,000 in scholarship funding

Washington, DC - December 1, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Representative Kathy Castor released the following statement today. "Tampa Bay area families will benefit under the improved mortgage modification campaign announced by the Obama Administration today. Qualified families must be proactive and loan servicers must be held accountable for results.

Washington, DC - December 1, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Representative Kathy Castor released the following statement today. "Tampa Bay area families will benefit under the improved mortgage modification campaign announced by the Obama Administration today. Qualified families must be proactive and loan servicers must be held accountable for results.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - December 1, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The 2010 U.S. Census is right around the corner. Florida Housing encourages all Floridians to do your part by completing and returning your mandatory Census forms.