The Times Union reports from Florida. "Northeast Florida homeowners applying for home equity loans - also known as second mortgages - are finding the cup isn't as full as it was during the real estate boom. Instead of making such loans based on 100 percent of a home's equity, most lenders have become more cautious by dropping the maximum amount to 90 percent or less, said Donny Griffin of Liberty Mortgages Inc. in Jacksonville."

"Homeowners might be able to find a loan for the full amount, but the odds are against it, he said. 'It's not impossible, but it's the next level to impossible,' he said."

"Tom Morcum, president of Coastline Home Mortgage in Jacksonville, said lenders are reacting to forecasts that home values will fall, leaving lenders vulnerable if borrowers default."

"'I think all financial institutions are going to be constantly evaluating the performance of their real estate loan portfolios,' he said. 'While we're in the businesses of making loans, we're also in the business of making good loans in expectation of being repaid.'"

The Sun Sentinel. "Some took notes frantically, as if in a college classroom. Others sunk their heads in their hands as if to hide their confusion and desperation. But all who attended a forum Saturday at Boynton Beach High School hoped to learn something to keep foreclosure at bay."

"Jose Varga is trying to hold on to his house in West Palm Beach. His problems started when he lost his job in October. After two months of unemployment, he fell behind on his payments."

"'When I call, they tell me to pay or they will take my house,' he said. 'I want to make some kind of arrangement so that I can pay and keep it.'"

"Vargas' credit wasn't strong enough to qualify for a mortgage with a low interest rate. On top of that, his home's value declined from $330,000 to $250,000 last year."

"'I'm trapped,' he said. 'I can't even sell it to pay my mortgage and move to a more affordable place farther north.'"

The Palm Beach Post. "How do you make a small fortune? Start with a large fortune, then invest in Florida apartments in late 2005, with plans for a condo conversion."

"BH Capital Group of Miami in 2005 paid a total of $59.7 million for Waters Edge and the Fountains, both in Delray Beach. BH Capital this month sold the two properties to companies affiliated with Goldman Sachs for $36.75 million, according to deeds recorded this week."

"'I know they were selling them at a large discount,' said Jay Jacobson, South Florida director for apartment developer Wood Partners. 'They bought them at the height of the condo craze.'"

The St Petersburg Times. "John McRae watched as weeds took over the yard of the house across the street, 3223 Hibiscus Drive. In an otherwise peaceful neighborhood, deputies began to show up regularly to stop fights between renters. A crew of vagrants moved into a crawl space underneath the house."

"Meanwhile, the home on Hibiscus, valued for tax purposes at $416,476, repeatedly sold for much more: $560,000 in April 2005, $810,000 a year later and $835,000 six months after that."

"'Once it went above $800,000 - that's just totally, absolutely, catastrophically out of proportion to what that property is worth,' McRae said. 'We thought somebody was putting a lot of money in their pockets.'"

"By analyzing property records, the St. Petersburg Times found dozens of what the FBI calls indicators of mortgage fraud. These include houses, such as the one on Hibiscus, that began to slip into foreclosure almost immediately after their purchase."

"Dishonest investors apparently targeted Hernando Beach because its waterfront houses were expensive enough to hide inflated prices, said county Property Appraiser Alvin Mazourek."

"The larger problem was distant mortgage companies making loans with no knowledge of local markets, said Frank Gregoire, a St. Petersburg property appraiser and president of the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board."

"Many of these companies were too eager to grant high-risk, high-interest loans, said Jay Newton, an administrator with the state Bureau of Finance Regulation."

"'It's a matter of greed, and it affected everyone from buyers who knew they couldn't afford a $650,000 home to lenders who saw the opportunity to give out a $650,000 loan at 8 or 9 percent interest,' Newton said. 'Lenders were crawling all over themselves to lend money.'"

"Jim Bourgoin...a Spring Hill real estate broker who only represents buyers, says he can no longer tell clients whether asking prices in Hernando Beach are fair because he often cannot find legitimate sales for comparison."

"'Fraud just totally messed up the market,' Bourgoin said."

"He blames not only investors and Realtors, but the county Realtors association for also failing to address the problem."

"He explained why in a letter to the paper in December. Dishonest investors and real estate agents, he said, 'are doing an injustice to our community by selling houses knowing these properties will eventually go into foreclosure and become a burden and an eyesore. ... These Realtors need to be exposed and their licenses revoked.'"

From Tampa Bays 10. "Sandi Staskal remembers the day she closed on her Clearwater home. 'I specified at the time of buying this home, which was 3 years ago that I would not accept an adjustable rate mortgage. I would not accept a prepayment penalty.'"

"But in the rush to sign all the paperwork and get her house keys she did something she says she never intended to do. 'The man there said, 'By the way, I do have to give you this piece of paper that you've got an adjustable rate mortgage.' And I knew better but for some reason you're in such turmoil and the pressure. I wanted the house and I signed it.'"

"It was a move Staskal says she regrets because her mortgage payment goes up every three months."

The News Press. "Because waterfront — especially Gulf access — is king, $700,000 to $800,000 will usually buy a bigger home inland than it will along the Caloosahatchee. However, in this topsy-turvy real estate market, more and more exceptions can be found to that rule of thumb."

"Broker associate Alicia Galante said the price of waterfront homes has dropped drastically from the days when real estate was at its height. She said that houses with direct Gulf access generally carried a pricetag of $1 million or more and it’s now possible to find them for $700,000 to $800,000."

"'That’s where I think we’re seeing the biggest drop because everyone paid so much for them when the market was high,' she said."

The Miami Herald. "Homestead City Manager Curt Ivy watched fretfully as the results from Tuesday night's property tax vote trickled in on his television. Last year, a state-mandated $3.5 million tax cut forced Ivy's South Miami-Dade town to eliminate 21 positions and cut back on services like lawn maintenance in its $42 million budget."

"The Jan. 29 vote means another $1 million in lost revenue to the hardscrabble town that leads to the Florida Keys."

"Tuesday's vote will surely cut into their budgets, leaders say, but most also express fear over an expected decrease in property assessments in June, which would curtail revenues. 'It's like a double whammy,' Aventura City Manager Eric Soroka said."

"Copy that, says Ivy, whose city was in a nation-leading home-building frenzy before the market collapse last summer. 'We forecasted a softer landing. We didn't forecast a nose-dive,' he said."

"Karen Azari wasted no time after Florida voters overwhelmingly approved the property-tax amendment last week. Azari, who owns a Miami granite countertop business, promptly put her longtime home in Bay Harbor Islands up for sale."

"She figures that the portability provision, which allows homeowners to transfer tax savings to another home when they move, will help her out."

"How much the amendment will help jump-start the sluggish real-estate market overall is another question. Most analysts say it will boost sales only modestly in the short term."

"'There's not going to be a running of the bulls,' said Richard Barkett, chief executive officer of the Realtors Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale. 'But now, people are not chained to their homes, and now they have the freedom to trade up or trade down and take their tax savings with them.'"

"But a bigger roadblock is that many potential buyers are waiting for signs of a market bottom. Nobody wants to buy a house when prices are on the way down."

"'It certainly will have some effect,' said Ron Shuffield, president of a real-estate brokerage firm in Coral Gables. 'But will it eat up all the excess inventory of homes on the market? No. We still have the market we're in. If someone wants to move, they still have to sell their home before they will buy another one.'"

"Indeed, Azari -- the eager seller in Bay Harbor Islands -- said that if her house sells, she'll scour the market until she finds a sure bargain, 'maybe a foreclosure.'"

"The amendment 'helps some, but it's far from being the answer,' said Martha Gomez, who owns several rental properties in Miami-Dade."

"The $8,500 tax bill for one home on Southwest 63rd Place, which rents for $1,900 a month, ate up more than four months of income, she said. 'When you couple the taxes with the insurance and maintenance, we're losing money on these rentals.'"