To the Editor:

If there's one thing industry insiders knew and everybody else has seen from the OCC and robosigner settlements,  it’s that, at best, regulators underestimated the complexity and man power associated with these problems (at worst they knew what banks and servicers were doing all along, only to later leverage these institutions as scapegoats).  Case in point, regulators estimated they would need only a handful of hours to review files believed to contain errors.  After months and almost $2 billion, they realized the reviews required five times the time and cost estimated.

It's too bad REITs seem to be being hijacked. Oftentimes crack downs impact legit uses. On another note one of the reasons investors couldn't modify struggling home loans was fear of compromising the tax structure (meaning modifying loans may have triggered taxes for investors). Be careful what you wish for!

The federal government could save tens of billions of dollars each year by trimming duplicative programs including catfish inspections by three separate agencies and 159 contracting organizations that provide foreign-language support for the Defense Department, according to a report from Congress’s auditing agency.

The Government Accountability Office found 162 examples of government duplication or other inefficiencies while analyzing programs in virtually all major federal departments and agencies over three years, according to a report the agency released Tuesday.

2012 Property Taxes Are Due March 31, 2013 or they become delinquent April 1st and any active Property Tax Appeal is automatically denied!

Pursuant to Section 194.014, Florida Statutes, at least 75% of the ad valorem taxes and 100% of the non-ad valorem taxes must be paid by March 31st, 2013 or the VAB tax appeal petition will automatically be dismissed.