Foreclosures in Florida – Same As It Ever Was (Courtesy: Talking Heads)
Maybe it is because foreclosures were merely a blip on the radar during the presidential election.
Maybe it is the fact that the home prices are looking healthier than they have in years.
Regardless, some people have been lulled into a false sense of security about the state of foreclosures here in South Florida. To my amazement, I will get the occasional phone call, asking if we are still doing foreclosure defense.
The short answer is, of course! While there are less homes starting the foreclosure process, there remains a backlog of foreclosure cases in Florida and in other judicial foreclosure states. Banks are still trying to illegally throw people out of their homes, and so I am still defending many of those homeowners.
Florida remains on the top of the list for states with foreclosure activity, with a filing rate more than double the national average. In Dade County, there are still 60,000 foreclosure cases on the books. In Broward there are 43,000. 1,800 new foreclosures were filed just in Broward County alone last month, which is a substantial increase.
This is partly due to the return of the zombie foreclosures. Those are the David Stern files that were dismissed by the court. Now those cases have now been transferred and they are coming out of storage.
New attorneys are taking these cases, and those homeowners will have to dig in their heels and start their fight all over again.
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