21st Century Holdings to take over 30,000 homeowners policies

A unit of Lauderdale Lakes insurer 21st Century Holding (TCHC) has gotten approval to take over up to 30,000 homeowners policies from state-run Citizens Property Insurance.

Low-interest housing loans urged

The head of the government's financial system rescue effort said Thursday the Treasury Department is considering a program to encourage banks to make mortgage loans at low rates to help revive the battered housing market.

Miami-Dade makes lenders maintain vacant foreclosures

Hagen Hendrix never thought selling homes would require him to pack heat. But the real estate agent now brings a pistol when he visits the foreclosures he is trying to sell for banks, in case he runs into ne'er-do-wells squatting in the long-vacant homes.

Miami-Dade makes lenders maintain vacant foreclosures

Hagen Hendrix never thought selling homes would require him to pack heat. But the real estate agent now brings a pistol when he visits the foreclosures he is trying to sell for banks, in case he runs into ne'er-do-wells squatting in the long-vacant homes.

MORTGAGES

Home loan fraud still rising

Despite more stringent underwriting of mortgages in the wake of record foreclosures, lenders continued to battle home loan fraud during the second quarter of the year, with Florida borrowers again submitting more questionable loan applications than borrowers in any state in the nation, according to an industry report released Tuesday.

Florida leads nation in fraudulent mortgage applications

Despite more stringent underwriting of mortgages in the wake of record foreclosures, lenders continued to battle the problem of home loan fraud during the second quarter of theyear, with Florida borrowers again submitting more questionable loan applications than borrowers in any state in the nation, according to an industry report released Tuesday.

Real estate listings from Michael Y. Cannon

Location: 7311 Gary Ave. Seller: Craig August Ellsworth Cook and Parzham Jatala. Buyer: 7311 Gary Avenue, LLC, represented by Gabriel Z. Markovich, managing member.

WASHINGTON REPORT

Ratings agencies targeted for hand in subprime mess

In what is apparently the first legal action of its kind, an association of community-based organizations has filed a federal civil rights complaint against two of the three largest Wall Street ratings agencies, charging that their inflated ratings on subprime mortgage bonds disproportionately caused financial harm to African-American and Latino homebuyers across the country.

HOT PROPERTY: HOLLYWOOD

Meg Ryan goes official with listing

Actress Meg Ryan's Bel-Air house is listed for sale at $19.5 million. It was a pocket listing -- never in the Multiple Listing Service but known to be for sale for the right price -- for the past few years, having been shown to Galaxy soccer star David Beckham and wife Victoria-the-Posh and, more recently, to Ben Affleck and wife Jennifer Garner, who apparently fall in and out of escrow with the frequency that Paris Hilton falls in and out of love.

Exhibit shows paintings morph into tapestries

Contemporary tapestry art both builds on and transcends those famously hand-knotted Medieval unicorns surrounded by fields of flowers that adorned castles and homes. A collection of tapestries -- images produced from paintings specifically created for that purpose -- will be on display this week as a satellite of Design Miami during Art Basel Miami Beach.