The rapid rate of foreclosures in Florida is starting to change the way county property appraisers do business, and the result could mean a change in home values and property tax bills next year. ...more

December 10, 2008

The rapid rate of foreclosures in Florida is starting to change the way county property appraisers do business, and the result could mean a change in home values and property tax bills next year. The long-held wisdom of county appraisers was to ignore foreclosures when setting property values. But that's all about to change, according to Rob Turner, Hillsborough County property appraiser. ...more

December 9, 2008

Gov. Charlie Crist says he's contemplating an emergency freeze on foreclosures for the holidays. ...more

November 25, 2008

Gov. Charlie Crist says he's contemplating an emergency freeze on foreclosures for the holidays. ...more

November 24, 2008

With Congress facing its lowest approval rating in memory, the mantra in Washington is that change is coming to Capitol Hill, and our west-central Florida representatives know it. ...more

October 16, 2008

Susan Stephens hired TransFlorida Corp. to build a sun room on her Clearwater home. Now she finds herself without the sun room or the safety net that the state is supposed to provide when construction projects like this go south. The safety net, known as the Florida Homeowners Construction Recovery Fund, disappeared with the decline in its funding source: building permits. ...more

October 9, 2008

Savings Are Minimal I received my "Proposed Tax Notice," and I now realize that it did not change the tax environment much, as we were told it would do last year. My 13 years of paying $3,500 taxes for my home is probably average for Tampa. However, my tax statement states that with no budget changes my taxes will be $10.20 less than last year. ...more

August 28, 2008

By asking the simple question "why" and refusing to back down until he got a reasonable answer, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has saved customers of Allstate millions of dollars. ...more

August 20, 2008

Florida's attorney general on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Countrywide Financial Corp. for engaging in "deceptive and unfair trade practices." ...more

July 2, 2008

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum's office said today it has filed a lawsuit against Countrywide Financial for engaging in "deceptive and unfair trade practices." The suit says Countrywide, one of the nation's largest mortgage companies, knowingly put Florida borrowers into mortgages they couldn't afford or into loans with rates and penalties that were "misleading." ...more

July 1, 2008