News & Public Affairs

Tampa Bay homeowners outraged over Citizens sinkhole insurance rate hikes

Listen to this entire show:

Tags: Citizens Property Insurance, sinkholes, sinkhole, sb 408, insurance rates, insurance, insurance industry, mortgages, fraud, Mike Fasano

More than a hundred furious protestors shouted and waved signs outside Pasco County government offices yesterday. They rallied to protest massive rate hikes proposed for sinkhole insurance coverage.

Last year there were far more sinkhole rate claims in the Tampa Bay area than in previous years. While many say the drought is to blame, some politicians in Tallahassee think fraud is at work. So State Senate Bill 408 was written to address the fraud, but also did away with a 10% annual rate h...

ACORN supports Crist's call for freeze on foreclosures

Listen to this entire show:

Tags: Economy, mortgages, foreclosures, Fannie May, Freddie Mac, Wall Street bailout

One advocacy group that supports Gov. Charllie Christ’s idea to put a freeze on foreclosures is ACORN, the Associated Community of Organizations for Reform Now.

ACORN is working in Florida and across the country in trying to keep homeowners having problems with their mortgages from being foreclosed.

They have also endorsed the proposal made by FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair to use as little as $25 billion of the $700 billion bailout to guarantee up to half of the loss that may result from ...

Financial regulator asked to step down listen

Listen to this entire show:

Tags: Alex Sink, Don Saxon, mortgages

On Sunday, the Miami Herald published an investigation titled “Borrowers Betrayed.” It revealed that state regulators allowed thousands of ex-convicts to enter the mortgage business. In response, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has called for the commissioner of the state’s Office of Financial Regulation, Don Saxon, to resign.

According to the Herald’s eight-month investigation, more than 10,000 mortgage brokers who had criminal records were licensed between 2000 and 2007,...

Deal will help subprime borrowers listen

Listen to this entire show:

Tags: mortgages, acorn

The grassroots activist group ACORN today announced that it had reached an agreement with Countrywide, the nation’s largest mortgage company, that will provide millions of dollars to help subprime borrowers avoid foreclosure.

Carolyn Patmon is with the Orlando office of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Her office picketed the offices of Countrywide before the mortgage company decided to work them.

Florida was second state in the country last year, ranked...