WEST LAKE WORTH· A parade of residents, angry and armed with stories of spiraling tax bills, unloaded on state legislators for more than three hours Monday at a public hearing on property taxes, demanding lower bills and a stop to sharp increases in government spending.

Amid a mosaic of personal stories of financial anguish, more than 90 speakers in a crowd of 500 also seethed at their local leaders, taking aim at the Palm Beach County Commission for what many called wasteful spending.

Property taxes, said North Palm Beach resident Lawrence Morrisey, are a “tsunami that’s offshore that is steamrolling its way to this state. And if we don’t do something about it immediately, it’s going to flatten this state.” Read more

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The economy grew during the fourth quarter at the fastest pace since early 2006 while inflation moderated, prompting the Federal Reserve Board to leave interest rates unchanged yesterday.

The Fed voted unanimously to leave unchanged its target rate for short-term interest rates, at 5.25 percent. This rate drives mortgage and credit card rates.

In announcing no change, the Fed said recent data “have suggested somewhat firmer economic growth, and some tentative signs of stabilization have appeared in the housing market.”

Source: USA Today, Barbara Hagenbaugh (02/01/07)

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Seller financing has become more of a topic in potential real estate transactions. Property owners appear more willing to negotiate terms that will help close a deal with a buyer who may not be able to meet the requirements of a regular mortgage lender, says Walter Molony, a spokesman for the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

High lending rates in the teens made seller financing — in which the seller finances part or all of a home sale — popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. But high residential prices threaten to keep many prospective buyers out of today’s market. Read more

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Many landlords don’t understand their responsibilities under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and that could get themselves in trouble as a result, says Scott Brueggeman, publisher of CompleteLandlord.com
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