HOUSING AID

A mortgage rescue plan to save hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure drew overwhelming Senate support on Monday, inching toward possible passage by the end of the week despite Republican objections. The bill’s centerpiece is a new $300 billion Federal Housing Administration program to allow struggling homeowners who are currently too financially risky to qualify for government-backed loans to refinance into safer, more affordable mortgages.

REAL ESTATE OWNED

While it’s impossible to predict the future of median home prices, some experts don’t think REOs will decline any more since banks are cutting such great deals right now.

PERMANENT GENERATOR PERMITTED?

If you installed a “permanent generator” for you home or condo in Naples, Bonita Springs or Estero – was it properly permitted and installed to code?

If a home listing includes a “permanent generator,” it may not be installed to code. Building officials estimate tens of thousands of open permit cases exist in just Broward and Palm Beach counties. Some contractors, in the post-hurricane rush to install generators, did not follow through and get the necessary permits and inspections.

FORECLOSURES

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain both promise help for homeowners facing foreclosure. But even the optimism that surrounds a new president taking office cannot resurrect home values overnight, and presidents have no direct ability to reduce mortgage rates.

But they do have the ability to work with Congress and the lenders to be more pro-active to alleviate the issues facing homeowners.

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE

Consumers coping with rising prices for food, gas and electricity should explore ways to save on homeowners insurance – some areas for exploration could be reviewing their policies to determine if the coverage is appropriate for today’s real estate replacement value, insuring structures that do not exist, adding hurricane protection, having a fire extinguisher, adding smoke alarms, strengthening their home security with new deadbolt locks and alarm system installation or monitoring.

MORTGAGE RATES

Rates on 30-year mortgages, which had been rising for five straight weeks, posted a decline this week to 6.35 percent as signals from the Federal Reserve eased worries about imminent interest rate increases.

MY SAFE FLORIDA HOME

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer announced today that the My Safe Florida Home program will end this weekend, when it’s expected to meet its goal of 400,000 free wind inspections.

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE

Florida homeowners may get hit with a 2.5 percent hike in their property insurance bills, thanks to a state plan announced yesterday to shore up the Catastrophe Fund that helps cover insurance company losses after major hurricanes.

FORECLOSURES

Hope Now, the group backed by the Bush administration to help stem the mortgage crisis, said Wednesday that about 169,000 borrowers received help in May, but that number is down from 177,000 a month earlier, and the number of foreclosures continues to rise.

HURRICANES

Scientists say the jury is still out on whether rising sea temperatures will cause more hurricanes to hit U.S. coastlines – but some insurance companies are boosting premiums based on assumptions that they will.

REAL ESTATE TAXES

Every homesteaded property owner in Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero and elsewhere in Florida will pay less property tax this year than they would have paid if Amendment 1 had not passed in January and property values had not declined. However, owners of $420,000 and higher properties who have a lot of their property taxes shielded by Florida’s Save Our Homes amendment will probably still pay more.

COUNTRYWIDE

In an interview yesterday, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum discussed details of the state’s lawsuit against Countrywide. “They knew very well these (homebuyers) didn’t qualify,” McCollum said. Meanwhile, Bank of America completed its acquisition of Countrywide yesterday.

MORTGAGES

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago is expected to rule sometime this month on a case that could force the U.S. banking industry to cancel or rescind mortgage loans if borrowers prove that their lenders violated a federal lending disclosure law.

HOUSING AID

President Bush expressed confidence yesterday that he’ll reach a deal with Congress on a housing-rescue plan, but he prodded lawmakers to show “less politics.” The Senate is considering a $300 billion plan to back cheaper loans for people who risk losing their home, but that measure has stalled for now.