Florida halts foreclosures for 45 days...one of highest rates in the country.

[madfloridian]

Crist called on banking institutions to have a moratorium on the foreclosures. He doesn't have the authority to enforce it, but sounds like they will go along.

Florida lenders halt new foreclosures for 45 days

TALLAHASSEE — Facing one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country, Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday called on lending institutions to hold off on new foreclosures for at least 45 days.

Flanked by representatives from the banking community, Crist urged lenders to voluntarily stop new foreclosure filings and cautioned troubled borrowers to contact their mortgage holder to work out repayment options.

Crist has no legal authority to prevent lenders from calling in home mortgages but said Floridians deserve a break. Lenders would benefit by reducing the number of owners who can’t keep their loans.

He also stressed that any moratorium should target primary homeowners while letting investors deal with the consequences of their decisions.

“This is to help people who really need help,” Crist told reporters. “This is not for somebody who bought a bunch of condos in South Florida in the (speculative) market.”

It prolongs the agony for many, but it is better than nothing. Anything helps at times like these.

Florida is in really serious trouble financially. Our CFO keeps urging the Republicans to pay attention.

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink suggested Friday that the state's Republican leaders are in denial about the dire economy and they should call a special legislative session now to deal with the impact on the state budget.
Sink, speaking to the Council of 100 in Palm Beach, said a possible $1-billion gap in state funding demands attention now, not later.

"I do not see any way we can afford to wait until March to deal with a potential $1-billion-plus shortfall in this budget year," Sink, the state's only elected Democratic executive, said in an interview later. "That's just an impossible situation."

Either the governor or the two leaders of the Legislature call special sessions, and so far Gov. Charlie Crist and new leaders of the House and Senate, all Republicans, are taking a wait-and-see approach. And Sink's criticism comes as Crist is reaching the midpoint of his term.

These are the results overall from the disastrous policies of Jeb Bush.

Now I hear he is going to run for the Senate seat of Mel Martinez. He says he has things he needs to accomplish in DC.

God help DC if he achieves what he did here in Florida. :wow:

[madfloridian]

1. More on Jeb's possible run.

Really upsets me a lot.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/floridapolitics/entries/2008/12/02/jeb_considering_senate.html?cxntfid=blogs_q_florida_politics

"Former Gov. Jeb Bush is considering entering the race for U.S. Senate, a source close to the Republican said this afternoon.

An affirmative decision from Bush would likely clear the field of Republican, if not Democratic, candidates.

It could also set up a re-match of sorts between Bush and state CFO Alex Sink, whose husband, Bill McBride, lost a gubernatorial race to Bush."

I think the Dems would back out of running if beloved Jeb runs.

[suzie]

8. A rematch would involve finding a candidate as bad as Bill McBride.

Which would be difficult, even for the Florida Democratic Party. A major difference between Alex Sink and her husband--she's actually likable. And by virtue of having won one electoral office, she's far more experienced than her husband.

Just because the Democrats backed out of the running when they put Bill McBride up against Jeb Bush, and gave Jeb a complete free ride doesn't mean they will do so again.

[flvegan]

2. Hopefully Echevarria and Stern know better.

Shhhh.....

[katmondoo]

3. Jeb is lazy. He won't run

A senator has to work, that is not what Jeb is accustomed to doing. Giving orders to advance his right wing agenda and having someone implement them is his style.

[madfloridian]

4. I think he might.

I really do this time.

I had hoped the Bush name was too tarnished...but not here in Florida. He seems to be viewed almost worshipfully still.

[madfloridian]

5. Yep, he says he might.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16155.html

No more Bush family. No more.

[madfloridian]

6. Florida foreclosures continue despite Crist urging.

Some stressed homeowners say Chase is still chasing them. The bank says it is just collecting payments for others

Some homeowners say they are still receiving foreclosure notices, even from banks that have said they would halt the process until the New Year.

Over the past month several large financial institutions have sworn to halt foreclosures during the holiday season. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) started the ball rolling on Halloween with an announcement saying it would "not put any additional loans into the foreclosure process" (BusinessWeek.com, 10/31/08) for 90 days. The bank said it hopes to keep 400,000 borrowers in their homes by modifying terms of their loans, opening more mortgage counseling centers, and reaching out to borrowers in distress.

Yet a BusinessWeek.com reader who lives in Washington State says he started receiving notices asking him to call the "loss mitigation" department at Chase on Nov. 25. But that wasn't all, says the homeowner, who wrote into BusinessWeek and asked that his name not be used.

"Foreclosure is scary as hell," he writes. "They send strange men to your house after dark on Saturday night to hand-deliver copies of documents from a metal lockbox. Every day brings more certified mail. The mailman has to knock and wait for us to sign things—three different certified copies of everything, one to 'occupant' and one to my wife and I."

This is all so sad.

[profitfighter1]

7. sick

the opposite of profit is loss. which means there are losers

[LaPera]

9. Let massive build up of FL foreclosures build in 45 days- Then after Democrat Obama takes office...

start up the foreclosures again and then they can & will blame it on Obama and the democrats....

Americans have short memories and Limbaugh and the rest of the republican pigs will be pounding the lie in, day after day, month after month, year after year.

"Don't you remember this ALL started when the democrats took office"!