Larry Tolchinsky | March 8, 2012
It’s very stressful to be a Florida home owner dealing with an underwater mortgage or defaulting on a home loan. Your credit rating is getting zapped, there are all the collection practices by the mortgage lender to juggle, and then there’s the legal process itself – strategizing with your lawyer on your home and mortgage [...]
Larry Tolchinsky | March 1, 2012
The reality that Florida real estate is in a Wild West situation is known by most professionals in the real estate industry — but it just keeps getting more wild it seems. Now, there is a growing problem with illegal home conversions – which potential buyers may know as “nonconforming conversions. ” Surf through sites [...]
Larry Tolchinsky | February 28, 2012
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the federal agency that regulates the housing market in this country, is going to begin selling homes that have been foreclosed upon by Fannie Mae to vetted investors in certain parts of the country now, as part of its test run – or pilot phase – of the new [...]
Larry Tolchinsky | February 21, 2012
Across Florida, and particularly in South Florida, condominiums and homeowners’ associations are having to deal with problems that arise when a condo owner defaults on his or her condo mortgage. One of those problems is the growing amount of unpaid assessments and fees on that defaulted condo. Enter the Florida Legislature with proposed legislation, HB [...]
Larry Tolchinsky | January 24, 2012
Florida home owners concerned about foreclosure and pondering a short sale should get busy and get that short sale process started. Why? There is a countdown to the expiration date of a federal law that will impact them badly if they wait until after the end of 2012 to close on that short sale of [...]
Larry Tolchinsky | January 17, 2012
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) implemented the federal Servicing Alignment Initiative last year and, in 2012, this new federal incentive plan should boost the number of short sales here in Florida, which is great news for home owners wanting to avoid a foreclosure. What is the Servicing Alignment Initiative? The Servicing Alignment Initiative is [...]
Larry Tolchinsky | January 3, 2012
The former chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (1987-97) and the current chief economist for Florida Realtors | Orlando gave his take this week on the current Florida real estate climate in an article written by Orlando Sentinel staff writer Mary Shanklin. You can read the full article, entitled “Talking With … John [...]
Larry Tolchinsky | December 29, 2011
The Pew Research Center is one of the country’s most respected research firms, and here at year end, many are listening to what Pew is reporting regarding Americans’ take on the foreclosure crisis and people not paying their mortgages. What has Pew discovered? In answers to a Pew survey, thirty-six percent (36%) of Americans said [...]
Larry Tolchinsky | December 20, 2011
The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeals just issued an opinion that is a very big deal for Florida homeowners everywhere – but especially those who are facing foreclosure as well as those with underwater mortgages who are wondering what their future holds. In Robert McLean v. J.P. Morgan Chase, as Trustee, Florida’s homeowners won [...]
Larry Tolchinsky | December 15, 2011
Florida home owners – especially those in trouble on their home loans and considering foreclosure, short sale, or what to do about their underwater mortgage – need to know the difference between some of the documents that they signed long ago when they bought their home. Note, Mortgage, Deed of Trust: what are they, what [...]
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