Clearwater house flipper Mark Lepzinski gets 13 months in prison for mortgage fraud Calling him “a good example of why we are in an economic crisis,” a federal judge on Thursday sentenced Clearwater house flipper Mark Lepzinski to 13 months in prison for lying on applications for loans he knew he couldn’t afford. “It’s simple …
Category Archives: Legal
‘Short sales’ help Hawaii homeowners get rid of their houses to avoid bankruptcy
‘Short sales’ help Hawaii homeowners get rid of their houses to avoid bankruptcy When Aloha Airlines shut down a year ago, Ron Verderame knew he had to escape the weight of a hefty year-old mortgage. The pilot faced a slumping real estate market and bleak job prospects, but finally, after trying for seven months to …
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Foreclosure Program Moves Forward
Foreclosure Program Moves Forward With hundreds of homes currently in foreclosure in Hernando County, it didn’t take much impetus for county commissioners to green-light a program designed to help alleviate the situation. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with a Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) that allows the county to access federal money that …
Condos forced to revert to apartments to survive [North Florida]
Condos forced to revert to apartments to survive [North Florida] When a developer converts a building into condominiums, it’s taken as a sign of prosperity and success. And when the wheels fall off the real estate market and condominiums languish back into apartments, it’s the opposite. Those condominiums are “fractured.” In Jacksonville, more condominium owners …
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Florida county may declare itself an economic disaster
Florida county may declare itself an economic disaster Just five years ago, Port St. Lucie was America’s fastest-growing large city. Then the foreclosure crisis slammed it like a hurricane. Today it sits in one of the hardest-hit counties in the nation. Thousands of houses are empty or unfinished. Neighborhoods are littered with for-sale and foreclosure …
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Turn the foreclosure tables
Turn the foreclosure tables On Thursday, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that Florida ranks third in mortgage delinquencies, second in foreclosures started and first in foreclosure inventory. At year’s end, 22 percent of mortgage borrowers were at least a month behind on payments. Everyone pays, directly and indirectly, for these often vacant, blighted foreclosed properties. …