Naples Real Estate News - 12/20/07

REAL ESTATE TAXES - Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio is speaking around the state in support of a citizens’ constitutional amendment that, if passed, would cap property taxes at 1.35 percent of taxable value. “It’s a grassroots campaign and I am absolutely committed to helping however I can,” Rubio said.

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE

Florida Governor Charlie Crist has asked three trial lawyers to review the property insurance industry’s compliance with the 11-month-old reform plan and recommend whether to sue the insurers for failure to deliver the 24 percent rate reduction it promised. Meanwhile, Allstate is pursuing its request for a rate hike.

MORTGAGES

What if you make a law and no one enforces it? The Federal Reserve proposed changes this week to guard against deception and fraud in mortgage lending, but the two biggest sources of abuse – mortgage brokers and non-bank lenders – were, and are, regulated at the state level.

FANNIE MAE

It’s a real estate conspiracy theory: The former Chief Executive Officer of Fannie Mae claims the Bush administration helped orchestrate an accounting scandal that cost him his job. He describes in court documents an unofficial White House task force dubbed “Noriega” charged with weakening Fannie Mae and driving down its stock price.