Legislators propose raiding state trust funds to balance budget TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – March 31, 2010 – Facing a budget shortfall, Florida’s legislators are proposing raiding a controversial source of cash: trust funds, the accounts used to pay for everything from road building to health care to patching leaky gas pipelines. The funds typically earmark money [...]
ORLANDO, Fla. – March 23, 2010 – Florida’s existing home sales rose in February, which means that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison for the past year and a half (18 months), according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 21 percent last month with a total [...]
WASHINGTON – March 22, 2010 – Self-employed and seasonal workers historically have struggled to meet eligibility criteria for loans. Their plight has worsened of late, however, now that changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules governing “no doc” and “no ratio” loans have kicked in. Under the revised guidelines, self-employed individuals, 1099 filers, and [...]
Lawmakers: No sprinklers for new houses TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – March 5, 2010 – A House committee moved Wednesday to block the Florida Building Commission from adopting a provision that would require all newly constructed homes to install fire sprinklers. The proposal (PCB GAP 10-22) was unanimously adopted by the House Governmental Affairs Policy committee, but [...]
Florida expected to start adding residents again after population decline GAINESVILLE, Fla. – March 3, 2010 – It’s a small bounce, but Florida’s population should rebound this year from its first loss in more than half a century in a hopeful sign for the struggling state economy, new estimates from the University of Florida (UF) [...]
Buffett predicts downturn will end in 2011 NEW YORK – March 2, 2010 – Billionaire investor Warren Buffett predicted that the real estate market downturn would end by 2011 as the housing inventory declines. “Within a year or so, residential housing problems should largely be behind us,” Buffett wrote in his annual letter to the [...]
HUD coalition launches online scam reporting tool WASHINGTON – March 1, 2010 – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network, today announced the launch of PreventLoanScams.org. ” Homeowners at risk of foreclosure can be easy prey for home loan modification scammers,” said John Trasviña, HUD [...]
FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY NEWS RELEASE FHFA Extends Refinance Program By One Year Washington, DC — Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Ed DeMarco today announced the extension of the Home Affordable Refinance Program, (HARP), a refinancing program administered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to June 30, 2011. The program is [...]