TITLE INSURANCE – Florida is one of six states taking a closer look at title insurers. The collapse of the housing boom is bringing harsh new scrutiny to the $17 billion title-insurance business, including allegations that insurers colluded illegally and paid kickbacks to get business.

FORECLOSURES – Florida has a problem with foreclosures, but it’s worse in California. While Florida cities placed high in RealtyTrac’s ranking of top 2007 foreclosure markets, the city with the highest number, Miami, came in only at No. 8.

GREAT TIME TO BUY – Potential homebuyers hear a lot of criticism about today’s market, but there are a lot of good reasons to invest in Florida real estate.

HOME BUILDERS – The National Association of Home Builders wielded its big stick, telling lawmakers that it won’t contribute money to any federal congressional political campaigns “until further notice” because lawmakers and the Bush administration have not done enough to stabilize the housing market.

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE – Florida lawmakers may revisit property insurance changes instigated last year. A $12 billion increase in state-backed reinsurance was supposed to drop homeowners’ premiums by 24 percent, but it didn’t work that way. And some legislators now think the state’s increased financial risk overshadows the minimal savings.

HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT – The FHA is mailing hundreds of thousands of letters to at-risk homeowners facing the initial reset of their ARMs. The first round of 280,000 letters went out last week, with 570,000 more scheduled through September 2008.

COUNTRYWIDE – In a turnaround for a mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial Corp. says it will expand programs to help borrowers manage mortgage payments for any type of subprime loan, even if the homeowner is not facing foreclosure or fallen behind in payments yet.

MORTGAGES – The mortgage mess is even messier than it appears on the surface. American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. has 490,000 loan records and no one, including American Home, knows who owns the loans now – including, apparently, the investors who actually do. For individuals facing possible foreclosure actions this could make for an excellent defense – the owner of the mortgage needs to be the one to file for foreclosure.

MORTGAGE RATES – Rates on 30-year mortgages dipped slightly this week to an average of 5.67 percent, the fifth decline in the past six weeks, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly nationwide survey.

ECONOMIC STIMULUS – The biggest winners in the economic stimulus plan now awaiting President Bush’s signature: homeowners in high-cost areas able to refinance their home loans at cheaper rates. According to economists, the bill’s mortgage market provisions are likely to help those who can take advantage of them more than the tax rebates of $600 per person.

MORTGAGES – If a bank can buy a mortgage loan at a substantial discount through a bankruptcy auction, why can’t the homeowner who carries that mortgage be able to do the same thing? A judge says there’s no legal reason that can’t happen, but banks say the costs would be too high.

SALES – Some sellers are trying a new tactic: connecting with other sellers who might agree to swap properties. The concept of trading homes temporarily for vacations has long existed, but now it’s being adapted as a home-selling strategy. While anecdotal evidence suggests the number of people doing this is still relatively small, it has popped up from virtually nothing in recent years.

HOMESELLERS – Some sellers may need to be convinced that the price they want for their home is not the price they’re going to get.

A survey finds that many homeowners are an optimistic lot with a glass half full. While most homes have decreased in value nationwide, 77 percent of owners believe their own home has either held its own or increased in value.

VACANT HOMES – Many local governments are taking action – including filing lawsuits and developing land banks to buy distressed properties – to cut the number of houses left vacant when the mortgage can’t be paid. At stake are valuable tax dollars and the survival of neighborhoods.

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE – After two days of Florida Senate panel hearings, it appears some of the state’s biggest insurers used loopholes to skirt a requirement that they pass on savings from a state-backed financial safety net to homeowners.

Two Florida lawmakers this week reviewed findings of a national study from the James Madison Institute, which examined insurance markets across the nation. According to the study, insurance reforms in Florida did nothing to achieve lower premiums for policyholders, and it concluded the state could see a reduction or elimination of private insurers from the market as a result of those reforms.

MORTGAGE FRAUD – Did mortgage fraud contribute to the current housing meltdown? One study that looked at 45 subprime mortgage defaults found that two-thirds of them involved owners who lied about their intention to live in the house.

ECONOMIC STIMULUS – Groups are leaning on wavering Republicans in the U.S. Senate to support a $200 billion-plus economic aid package, set for a vote Thursday included is a provision that increases loan limits guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.