Business briefs: 30-year mortgage holds steady at 6% (The Sarasota Herald-Tribune) SOUTHWEST FLORIDA -- The average rate for a conventional 30-year fixed mortgage on a owner-occupied, single-family home with 20 percent down on Wednesday afternoon was 6 percent, the same as it was on Tuesday, Sarasota's Sentinel Mortgage reported.

WSJ: A Novel Tack by Mortgage Firms (Columbia Journalism Review) The Wall Street Journal has an interesting report on mortgage firms slashing troubled borrowers’ principal, rather than foreclosing on them. I didn’t know this was going on at all, and it’s a hopeful sign that lenders may be finally realizing what they need to get this crisis behind them .

Prosecutor: Delray Beach man responsible for $5 million mortgage scam (The Palm Beach Post) A Delray Beach man on trial for mortgage fraud used his position as a real estate closing agent to help others land more than $5 million in fraudulent loans, a federal prosecutor told jurors Monday in Fort Lauderdale federal court.

Report: Many in Southwest Florida owe more than their home is worth (Naples Daily News) As home values continue to fall, more borrowers are likely to find themselves in trouble in Southwest Florida. In Lee County, 30.4 percent — or about a third of all homeowners — owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth, according to a quarterly report by Seattle-based Zillow.com. In Collier County, the number isn’t quite as staggering. It’s 18.7 percent — or nearly one in five ...

South Florida home prices tumble 16.9 percent (Miami Herald) The median sales price for South Florida single-family homes fell 16.9 percent from a year earlier in the third quarter, the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

AG Madigan sues mortgage rescue firms (ABC 7 Chicago) Struggling homeowners should be warned about mortgage rescue companies, according to Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

AllRegs FCRA Coursework Approved for Attorney CLE Credit in California and Florida (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) EAGAN, Minn.----AllRegs, the leading information provider for the mortgage industry, today announced that its Fair Credit Reporting Act coursework has been approved for continuing legal education credit by the State Bar of California and the Florida Bar Association.

Florida pension fund loses a quarter its value (AP via Yahoo! Finance) Florida's public employee pension plan has lost more than a quarter of its peak value, but Gov. Charlie Crist and other officials Monday said the fund is built for the long haul and there's no need to panic.

How to Get the Best Deal for Florida Commercial Real Estate (Turks.US) Even if you are planning to get Florida commercial real estate , you can still rely on mortgage brokers and do some things about the appraisal process to help get the most value for your money.

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