Paperless Mortgage - E Signature
By: Alan Aptheker

Been to a closing lately? Did you see any indication that electronic signatures have been legal in the United States since the year 2000?  Click to sign has the potential to be the new “swipe to buy,” but it’s been slow to catch on, as acceptance at the Federal Housing Administration and the Internal Revenue Service has been tepid.

Ask Well Fargo spokesman Jim Hines. "For some lenders, having an inconsistent process across all products is not an option. They're holding off implementing electronic signatures until they can offer them for all products." There are signs that the IRS and the FHA are softening by developing policies that let mortgage lenders and borrowers e-sign a variety of mortgage

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RiverTown’s amenity center

RiverTown, the 4,170-acre St. Joe Company master-planned residential development in St. Johns County has officially opened its state of the art amenity and fitness center. Taking up more than 11 acres, the list of sports, and leisure options at Rivertown has something for everyone -- fitness, family fun, nature trails, even accommodations for fishing and boating just a short distance from any of the RiverTown community homes. 

ST. JOHNS, Fla. (June 13, 2012) – Hundreds of residents and visitors alike gathered to celebrate the opening of RiverTown’s all-new amenity center Saturday, May 19. This state-of-the-art amenity center boasts a splash pool with corkscrew waterslide, a lap pool, tennis courts, fitness center and club

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Grand Ravine Exterior

Homes by Deltona is opening up a community with a new innovative, contemporary floor plan. Single level homes, or "flats" are becoming more and more prevalent in the new homebuilder market.  Read the Deltona Homes press release to find out more about Grand Ravine by Deltona in St. Augustine.

Grand Ravine Entrance

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (June 11, 2012) – Homes by Deltona has introduced “flats” or single-level floor plans at its Grand Ravine community located near St. Augustine Shores.

          “Single-story homes are among the most requested style of home today, and we have already sold half of the units in our first building,” said Homes by Deltona Vice President Joanne Stoval.  “Our new flats include energy efficient

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‎Homes in some stage of foreclosure or bank Real Estate Owned (REOs) properties accounted for more than a quarter of all U.S. residential sales during the first quarter, according to new data from Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac. This is up from 22% of all sales in the fourth quarter of 2011 and up from 25% of all sales in the first quarter of 2011.

Third parties purchased a total of 233,299 residential properties in some stage of pre-foreclosure - defaults and scheduled foreclosure auctions - or REO properties during the first quarter, an increase of 8% from the previous quarter and virtually unchanged from the first quarter of 2011.

The average sales price of homes in foreclosure or REO properties was $161,214 in the first quarter, down 1% from

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John Gorrie Condos - Reading Room

Trivia Quiz: Every Florida resident should know this one. Who invented the first air conditioner? The answer is at the bottom of this article. (Do not skip ahead!)

John Gorrie Junior High School was built in 1923, and for decades was the center of learning for thousands of middle-schoolers throughout the years.  John Gorrie Junior High School closed in 1997 and was purchased by J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver in February of 2009. The school has been completely renovated to house upscale condominium units, and given the sheer size of the building, its Riverside location and historical significance, the renovation of the school is a great example of the continuing revitalization of the Riverside Avondale historic

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Their home was on the market for a year with another Real Estate agent. One year and less that ten showings. No offers. It literally just sat there. Frustrated, Tom and Nancy G. took it off the market. Why? 

Watch and listen to the Tom and Nancy talk about how Bloom Realty sold their home is 17  days. How did we do it? We work hard. What a concept.  Yes, our method it works, and the proof is in the pudding. It worked to for Tom and Nancy.

They talk about their relationship with Bloom Realty, and our Bloom Realty professionals, Joi Perkins and Alan Aptheker. 

Open houses, social media, blogging,  professional photography, video, and the property was sold in 17 days. Our secret sauce: Communications, exposure -- everywhere -- and developing a…

The research firm Capital Economics are among the growing cadre of economists and industry forecasters that believe that the crisis is coming to an end. They cite one big factor, albeit an obvious one, and that’s loosening credit. 

As economists are prone to do, they blow through the water cooler buzz and head straight for the numbers, so here they are. If you have a credit score of 700, you should be able to qualify for a loan. Sure, this is a higher number than may have been required five years ago, but it’s remained fairly flat over the last two years. 

Phrased another way, the number, at least, is not rising. The Federal Reserve reported that credit score requirements in the fourth quarter of 2011 were about the same in previous two quarters of

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Brio Tuscan Grill at St. Johns Town Center

Brio is Italian for enthusiastic vigor, vivacity, verve.  With a definition like this, the new Brio Tuscan Grille, now under construction at the St. Johns Town Center, will fit right in to the city's most popular shopping mecca.

Slated for an August opening, the 8,535-square-foot restaurant is situated on the growing perimeter of the St. Johns Town Center between the main shopping area and J. Turner Butler Boulevard. Seasons 52 restaurant was the first to build on the perimeter of the St. Johns Town center, as the Center is literally "busting out" of its original borders. (There's also 5000 Town a new luxury aparment complex that's broken ground in the same area, on Big Island Drive). There will be 120 new

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Homeowners today want their outdoor space to be a extention of their home, and what designers have been offering lately does not dissapoint.  With all the new features such as sliding glass doors that roll away, helps unite the indoor with outdoor spaces.   Outdoor fireplace brings a cozy ambiance as well as comfortable warmth on chilly nights. Judith Sisler of Sisler Johnston Interior Design get's into all the details and trends of outdoor living.  Read her complete review after the break.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (May 22, 2012) – Outdoor living is one of the most popular trends in home improvement, according to Jacksonville-based Sisler Johnston Interior Design.

“The top trends in home design and renovation are blurring the lines between indoor and

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It should not be seen as an embarrassment, or personal shortcoming if you don’t really understand much about credit scores. Few non-financial industry people out there really understand how they’re formulated. There was a survey released by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) that implies we all should really get smarter on the subject. Not knowing the nuts and bolts of the credit score process can cost you money when you’re applying for a mortgage.

The CPA survey showed that there has been an learning curve over the course of the mortgage crisis, and in the past year, the survey showed, more of us understand how bank use credit scores and how they collect the data. But how are the scores calculated? How do they get to that number, exactly?

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