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| Appraisal rules irk Realtors
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| New rules meant to create a firewall between real estate appraisers and mortgage lenders are instead scuttling home sales, some Realtors and mortgage brokers say. A local appraiser said it is too early to tell how many deals have been lost, but real estate agents, mortgage brokers and builders are nonetheless leaning on Congress to impose an 18-month moratorium on the new rules, arguing that the measures are stalling a housing recovery. The code was intended to protect appraisers from pressure to hit predetermined values. It also prohibits mortgage brokers from ordering appraisals directly. Instead it requires bank loan officers to delegate the hiring of an appraiser to others or to use an appraisal management company.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 07/06/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Just like a 'rocket,' Lee County, Ft. Myers; foreclosures clear
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| The "rocket docket" is living up to its name - rushing through thousands of foreclosures and grinding away at the backlog that clogs the court system. Since December, the backlog has been reduced by about 6,000 as judges handle hundreds of foreclosures a day in morning and afternoon marathon sessions. If there's no objection from the defendant, and there usually isn't, the foreclosure goes through and is set for public auction a few weeks later.
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| @ Ft. Myers News Press | Posted: 07/06/09 at 0315 EDST
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| June foreclosure filings dip slightly in Manatee County, Bradenton
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| Manatee County’s foreclosure surge is showing signs of ebbing. Lenders initiated 497 foreclosure actions in Manatee County Circuit Court in June, the third consecutive month that they have filed fewer suits than in the previous month, according to court records. There were 517 filings in May. Yet local foreclosure filings remain elevated: There were 3,193 through the first six months of 2009, 20 percent ahead of last year’s record pace.
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| @ Bradenton Herald | Posted: 07/06/09 at 0320 EDST
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| FDIC insurance: Accounts covered up to $250,000 through 2013
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| In May, Congress approved an extension of the $250,000 FDIC insurance limit through Dec. 31, 2013, from the 2009 expiration enacted in October, when legislators raised the basic limit on FDIC coverage from $100,000 per depositor per insured bank.
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| @ Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel
| Posted: 07/06/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Home foreclosures expected to surge in coming months
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| Moratoriums from banks, government to expire, setting off new wave of default actions
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 07/06/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Reverse mortgage can help seniors buy new, smaller home
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Americans have learned a tough lesson: Your home is not your piggy bank. However, there is a reward for those who did build equity in their homes: In their senior years, their home can provide a monthly stream of tax-free income, or a lump sum of cash to spend as they wish, while remaining safely in their home. Or it can provide a source of financing for a new, smaller home. It's all done through a reverse mortgage.
Editor's Comment:This is a good read
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| @ Chicago Sun Times | Posted: 07/06/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Small U.S. banks fear new regulations may be costly
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| Community banks say the proposals to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, remove the thrift charter, and require banks to hold a financial interest in loans they originate, are among changes that put an undue burden on some of the institutions that did not engage in abusive practices.
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| @ Reuters | Posted: 07/06/09 at 0415 EDST
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| State budgets in crisis. Happy new year
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| THE mantra in Washington, DC, is simple: spend billions now, pay later. Congress has been crafting ambitious plans for energy, health care and transport. But the mood in state capitals has been different. Forty-six states had a deadline of June 30th to pass their budgets. Just as important, those budgets had to be balanced. With the sole exemption of Vermont America’s state governments, unlike the federal one, are not allowed to run deficits. For many states June was an agonising month. Every state but two, commodity-rich North Dakota and Montana, has faced a deficit this year. One legislator in New Jersey described her state as “functionally bankrupt”. In California, which faces a $24 billion gap, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor, sent the leader of the state Senate a metallic pair of bull testicles to urge him to cut spending.
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| @ The Economist | Posted: 07/06/09 at 0419 EDST
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| India Will Borrow Record $93 Billion to Fund Budget; Stocks, Rupee Decline
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| India’s Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced plans to borrow a record 4.51 trillion rupees ($93 billion) to fund budget spending on roads, power and aid for the poor. Stocks, bonds and the currency slumped. Unveiling the budget for the year to March 2010, Mukherjee said India’s fiscal deficit is expected to widen to a 16-year high of 6.8 percent of gross domestic product from a revised 6 percent. Indirect taxes will be streamlined through a goods and services tax.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 07/06/09 at 0646 EDST
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| Banks spending more to cut risks
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| Banks are continuing to increase their investment in managing risk even as they look to slash costs, according to research that paints a cautious picture of the global economic outlook. The Ernst & Young survey published on Monday shows that most financial services companies expect no return to growth until the first half of 2010 at the earliest.
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| @ Financial Times - UK | Posted: 07/06/09 at 0652 EDST
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| The New Global Economic Reality for Mexico
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The U.S. media – over the last year – has portrayed Mexico as being on the brink of economic collapse and civil war. The Mexican people are either beheaded, kidnapped, poor, corrupt, or narco-traffickers. The American news media was particularly aggressive in the weeks leading up to spring break. The main reason for this is money. During that two-week period, over 120,000 young American citizens poured into Mexico and left behind hundreds of millions of dollars.
Editor's Comment: This is a good read.
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| @ Bandaras News Puerto Vallarta, MX | Posted: 07/06/09 at 0655 EDST
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