Monthly Archives: December 2010

Fox news reported that home prices are continuing to drop in the nation’s largest cities, Tampa Bay being one of them. This can be a result of fewer homes being purchased and millions of foreclosures arising in the market.

Atlanta recorded the largest decline. Prices there fell at a percentage of 2.9. Washington homes dropped 0.2 percent in October. Plus this year has been recorded as the “worst” for home sales in more than a decade according to FOX Tampa Bay. Tight credit and high unemployment have kept people from buying homes.

Most experts expect the decline to continue through mid-year with prices on average to lose another 5 percent to 10 percent.

To learn more contact your local real estate attorney today!

The Federal Trade Commission has adopted a new rule the companies offering to help homeowners avoid foreclosure may not collect any up-front fees until the homeowner gets a written offer from the lender that the homeowner considers acceptable.

This rule is intended to diminish any further fraud by mortgage modification companies. The rule prevents a company from collecting any fee from a consumer until the lender or loan servicer has made an offer that the consumer deems acceptable, according to the Florida Bar News. Consumers are able to reject the offer without any charge due to the loan modification company.

However when working with attorneys, according to the new rule, they are exempt from the new rule if they meet the following conditions.

1) They are engaged in the practice of law.

2) They are licensed in the state where the consumer or dwelling is located.

3) They comply with state laws and regulations governing attorney conduct.

4) They must place any fees they collect in a client trust account and abide by state laws and regulations covering such accounts.

The new rule becomes effective December 29, except for the advance fee prohibition which will be in effect January 31, 2011.

If you need proper assistance with you mortgage modification and need a Tampa loan modification attorney, please contact us today for immediate assistance at 813-931-0840.

Read an interesting article from CNN this morning regarding potential gas prices to reach $3 by Christmas. All U.S. motorists could see gas prices exceeding $3 per gallon if they have not witnessed such prices already, according to the new survey of filling stations.

The Lundberg Survey of cities estimated the nations average price per gallon of self-serve unleaded gasoline is $2.91, an increase of 3.9 cents from a survey conducted not even two weeks prior.

Why is there a sudden rise in the price of gasoline? According to Lundberg Survey, it is based on the necessity for gas retailers to reflect an increase in the wholesale price of gas at the pump. Retailers will have to raise prices at the pump.

Gas prices in this survey were nearly 28 cents higher than in December a year ago.

The Lundberg Survey sampled 2,500 different gas stations, the average highest was found in Long Island, New York at $3.21 per gallon.

Miami, Florida: averaged $2.96