FAIR Files Additional Lawsuits Against Florida Home Owners Insurance Carriers

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The 10 News Investigators have learned the group suing Citizens Insurance over its insurance practices will file more lawsuits Monday.

We’ve learned that group — FAIR — will be filing class-action lawsuits against private insurance companies Monday.

Those suits will go along with the cases they’ve already begun against Citizens.

The 10 News Investigators have been leading the way on this. Following reports by 10 News last fall, allegations surfaced.

The claims: insurance companies statewide are setting the replacement costs of some homes extraordinarily high — much higher than they should be.

That means the companies can charge you more to insure your house. The technique lets them make more money and dodge state laws that limit how much they can raise your rates.

That practice is what led the group FAIR — Florida Association for Insurance Reform — to the steps of the state Capitol last week.

FAIR announced it’s suing Citizens Insurance over the issue. Citizens is run by the state and backed up by Florida taxpayers.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

What’s Not Covered In Florida Home Owners Insurance?

Do You Know What is NOT Covered in Your Home Owners Insurance Policy?

You Might be Surprised

 

In recent years, insurance carriers in Florida have added many exclusions to property insurance policies, with little oversight or public debate. These exclusions are drafted into policy leaving consumers with less coverage for the same (if not higher) premium.

Because many policyholders rarely read every word of their large and complex policies, they may not even be aware of what is NOT covered. Since policyholders are unable to negotiate policy language, they are left with a choice of accepting the changes, purchasing new endorsements or seeking a different carrier.

Examples of common policy exclusions include:

Eliminating Your Rights to Appraisal – For 200 years, policies have included the binding appraisal process to settle disputes between insurance companies and the insured over amount of loss or value of damaged property. Many insurers are restricting or eliminating this provision, which provides important consumer protections.

 

Giving You a Sinking Feeling – Many policies no longer cover damage from sinkholes unless the sinkholes are deemed “catastrophic,” usually meaning large and sudden. But slowly occurring sinkholes can cause catastrophic damage to a home and its value. Damage can run into the hundreds of thousands, often more than the value of the home, leaving many homeowners with no other choice than to walk away from their mortgages.

 

Requiring You to See Through Walls – Most insurance claims deal with water damage, often stemming from damage behind walls or under slabs that doesn’t become noticeable for weeks or months. Citizens and other insurance companies now deny claims for leakage occurring over more than 14 days, even if it is hidden from sight. In fact, Citizens has just announced plans to further expand its water exclusion.

 

Eliminating Coverage for Mold – Where there is water damage mold often forms. Though it is recommended that water be removed and damaged areas dried within 48-72 hours, company insurance adjusters often are unable to visit the home within that time. No matter the reason, if mold forms, most companies will no longer cover the cost of its removal.

 

Leaving Screened Structures Uncovered – Popular in Florida, screened enclosures used to be covered under most homeowner insurance policies. Many carriers have now added exclusions that remove screened structures from coverage.

 

Re-Defining “Falling Objects” – Typically, damage from falling objects in a home or condo (such as floor damage from a falling light fixture or fan) is covered. Citizens’ new condo policy, however, only covers such damage if the falling objects come down from the sky through your roof or walls. Great coverage for meteorites, but little else.

Join FAIR BY CLICKING HERE

California Files Suit Against Fannie and Freddie

SAN FRANCISCO – California’s attorney general filed lawsuits against mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Tuesday, demanding that the companies that own some 60 percent of the state’s mortgages respond to questions in a state investigation.

Attorney General Kamala Harris, whose office filed the lawsuits in San Francisco Superior Court, is investigating Freddie Mac’s and Fannie Mae’s involvement in 12,000 foreclosed properties in California where they served as landlords. She also wants to find out what role the companies played in selling or marketing mortgage-backed securities.

 

The essentially identical lawsuits ask the mortgage firms to respond to 51 investigative subpoenas that call on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to identify all the California homes on which they foreclosed. They also want the mortgage firms to reveal whether they have information on the decreased value of those homes due to drug dealing or prostitution, as well as explosives and weapons found on those vacant properties.

“Foreclosures not only affect the families who lose their homes, but also the safety, health and welfare of the entire community,” the lawsuit said.

Harris also called on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to disclose whether they have complied with civil rights laws protecting minorities and members of the Armed Forces against unlawful convictions and foreclosures.

The suits also seek to determine whether the companies are in compliance with California’s securities and tax laws.

The companies were taken over by the federal government and put into conservatorship under the Federal Housing Finance Agency in September 2008 to save them from collapse.

An attorney representing the Federal Housing Finance Agency said in a letter attached to the lawsuits that the 51 subpoenas were “frequently vague and ambiguous,” and said state attorneys general did not have the authority to issue subpoenas against the federal conservator.

“The burden to collect that information would be nothing short of staggering,” the letter said.

Representatives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said the companies would not comment on the lawsuits Tuesday.

The lawsuits could determine whether states have a right to investigate the mortgage firms while they are under federal control. Harris argues that since the mortgage companies own properties in California, they are subject to state law and demands.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy home loans from banks and other lenders, package them into bonds with a guarantee against default and then sell them to investors around the world. The two own or guarantee about half of U.S. mortgages, or nearly 31 million loans.

The companies have so far cost American taxpayers more than $150 billion — the largest bailout of the financial crisis. They could cost up to $259 billion, according to the FHFA.

Two former CEOs at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last week became the highest-profile individuals to be charged in connection with the 2008 financial crisis. In a lawsuit filed in New York, the Securities and Exchange Commission brought civil fraud charges against six former executives at the two firms, including former Fannie CEO Daniel Mudd and former Freddie CEO Richard Syron.

The executives were accused of understating the level of high-risk subprime mortgages that the companies held just before the housing bubble burst.

Harris has created a task force that is pursuing criminal charges and civil judgments in mortgage fraud cases. She has said that her office would not join a planned 50-state settlement over foreclosure abuses that federal officials and other state attorneys general are negotiating with major U.S. banks.

She said the settlement gave bank officials too much immunity from civil litigation.

Harris said 768,330 residential mortgages were foreclosed on in California between January 2007 and June of this year.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/20/california-attorney-general-sues-fannie-freddie-demanding-answers/#ixzz1hAzFp71w

 

 

 

 

 

 

Branch Manager

4117 Mariner Blvd.

Hernando County Florida, 34609

 

Office 352-688-7949

Cell 727-946-0904

Houses in Hernando County Florida for $100 Dollars Down

That’s all you’ll need for a down payment to buy a foreclosure offered for sale by the government.

This sounds like a heck of a deal: Rather than requiring a 3.5% down payment on foreclosures it’s trying to sell, HUD now only wants $100 down to close the deal.

Yes, folks, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has brought back the $100 down payment plan in Southern and Western states. It could be a tremendous opportunity for some people — first-time homebuyers or perhaps those who are close to retirement and are looking to downsize to a smaller home. (Some of these are modest homes in locations where jobs may be scarce. Others are large homes in metro areas.)
The details:
The $100 down payment incentive is only available if the purchase price of the home is equal or less than the appraised value of the home. If you have an accepted bid for over the appraised value of the home you must bring the difference as down payment to the closing.
So, what might you buy with $100 down? You can find a database of HUD-owned homes here. There’s quite a range, judging from the descriptions and photos of the properties. And the list can change every day.

The information about each home is detailed and includes the price, how long the property has been listed, and whether the original list price has been reduced. That can be handy information, suggesting you may be successful with a bid below the stated price.

From the looks of some of the homes we checked out, it’s a good thing your $100 will also gain you admission to HUD’s 203k loan program, which can pay for repairs and upgrades. But, remember, gorgeous homes can also be found.

These homes were acquired by the Federal Housing Administration after lenders foreclosed on homes with FHA-insured mortgages. So some of these homes could be in your neighborhood. There are plenty of these types of homes available in the Hernando County Real Estate market as well as through out the Tampa Real Estate Market.
For More Information About Buying HUD Foreclosed Homes In Hernando County Florida or the Surrounding Tampa Bay and Manatee County areas contact Agent Trust Realty in Hernando County by calling 352-688-7022 or visiting the Hernando County Foreclosure Data Base online.