DAILY BRIEFING


**********************************************************

HURRICANE RECOVERY

On Friday, HUD announced an additional $973 million in funding
would go toward hurricane relief projects through its Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. Over $100 million
will be spent for Florida victims.

__________________________

REAL ESTATE FRAUD

Deed forgery is a problem in Florida because no state law requires
county recorders to verify each document's authenticity. Homes that
are vacant or behind in taxes are the most vulnerable to deed forgery,
since the owner is not as likely to notice that someone illegally took
ownership.

__________________________

RISKY MORTGAGES

Mortgage insurance companies have begun pleading with federal
banking agencies to restrict risky mortgages that lenders continue
to offer despite federal warnings. The Mortgage s Association,
however, calls the proposals "overly prescriptive" and warns they might
stifle product innovation.

__________________________

COMMERCIAL

Banks have changed their focus to commercial loans as residential sales
drop, and many offer good deals. Outstanding commercial and industrial
loans grew by a record $21 billion in early August, up about 15 percent
from a year earlier.

__________________________

HOMESELLING

Upscale staging takes off: Home sellers are renting artists' works from
museums to boost their homes' appeal in the marketplace.

Read the full story:

http://www.planetrealtor.com/florida/news/daily/news.cfm?article=n5-08212006

**********************************************************