florida real estate

Florida can't seem to catch a break these days, especially when it comes to its housing market. First, the news (or not-so-news, if you actually live there) broke that Florida had the highest rate of foreclosures of any state in the union during the last quarter of 2010. And now, in a striking...

As if we needed more proof of the outlaw actions of banks and their agents, The Baltimore Sun reports that 1,000 or more Maryland deeds are likely forgeries created by a foreclosure mill. If the accusation is true, the false deeds will create a nightmare for the innocent people who bought the homes.

HSBC announced late last month that it had put all of its U.S. foreclosures on hold to review their documents -- back in December. So why are its lawyers still pushing cases ahead? HSBC also says it doesn't robo-sign. So why does its annual report mention foreclosure document problems that sound so much like those caused by robo-signing?

If the state of Florida were a brand, its symbols would be orange juice, Art Deco architecture and, unfortunately, delinquent mortgages. In the last quarter of 2010, more than 24% of home loans in Florida were in some stage of delinquency or foreclosure, according to the Mortgage Bankers'...

Foreclosures nationwide have exposed a swamp of fraudulent documents, but in many parts of Florida, courts have been letting banks ignore the law with impunity. Now, moves by Florida's Supreme Court and its state bar association may finally start cleaning up the fraud there by holding banks -- and lawyers -- accountable.

Lee County, Fla., has become infamous for the "rocket docket" -- its system of speeding foreclosure cases through the courts. DailyFinance spoke with the Lee County Clerk who says the super-charged system was his idea.

No longer such a high-flyer, the David J. Stern law firm is now being investigated and sued in a class action. The impact on pending Florida foreclosures and what the firm's underlying conduct means for the future of the state's real estate market will be felt for years.

The Florida attorney general's office has subpoenaed Lender Processing Services, which handles many foreclosure documents, as part of its investigation into potentially flawed foreclosure paperwork.

The decline in property values could total $3 billion over five years, Bloomberg reported, citing real estate data company CoreLogic. The BP oil spill could wipe out the premium that buyers normally pay to be near the ocean.

Being the sunshine state is not enough to keep Florida "hot" when it comes to home sales prices. A new study by ZipRealty shows seven Florida zip codes scraping the bottom of the statistical barrel when accepted offers are compared to original asking prices. By contrast, Florida's sunbelt peer on...