Florida's Foreclosure Rates Highest in Nation

Florida Foreclosure and Real Estate News

Foreclosures in Florida nearly double since last year. US foreclosure filings show Florida has one of the highest ratings in the country. Mortgage Consultant Michael Jones says many homeowners bought at the end of the real-estate boom, and now are stuck with homes they can't sell. Jones also says the credit standards have changed significantly over the past year. Jones says the types of loans that produced the housing boom are no longer available. Though rates are at an all time high, Jones says change will be coming soon. Jones says people always need to be cautious when making the big decision to buy a house.

With Foreclosures, Everyone Loses

 

Mary Shanklin |Sentinel Staff Writer

Lenders, governments and homeowners in Orange and Osceola counties stand to lose more than $400 million from foreclosure actions in 2006, according to a study released Tuesday by the community advocacy group ACORN. And neighbors of those who lose their homes stand to lose more than $100 million in property value, too.

Banks will lose $293.5 million in loans, governments $80 million in tax revenue and homeowners $30 million in equity based on last year's foreclosures in the two counties, the group's study concluded.

But the financial damage also spreads through the neighborhoods where foreclosures occur, ACORN representatives said during a news conference in front of the Orange County courthouse. According to the group's calculations, homeowners living within a block of a foreclosed home can expect about a 1 percent drop in the value of their home. In Orange and Osceola last year, that adds up to a $126 million decline in property values.

"In my neighborhood, about 15 houses are in some phase of foreclosure," said Apopka-area resident James Harris, a volunteer for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

ACORN organizers urged local governments to spend more on affordable housing and to notify homeowners about their options when they have defaulted on a mortgage. About a dozen adults and children at Tuesday's news conference held hand-colored signs with messages such as "Foreclosures Increase. Violent Crime Increases."

Spokeswoman Stephanie Porte said her group is working with several legislators, including state Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, to force lenders to work more closely with homeowners in default so they stand a better chance of keeping their homes. The nonprofit group also offers foreclosure-avoidance classes; those interested can call ACORN at 407-423-9832.

The number of foreclosures in Central Florida this year is on track to more than double last year's totals, an Orlando Sentinel analysis of data in seven counties found earlier this month. ACORN's findings reflected those in the recent Sentinel report; in both cases, the blue-collar Poinciana community, which straddles the Osceola-Polk county line, has the greatest number of mortgage defaults overall.

St. Cloud resident Diane Goldsboro, who attended Tuesday's news conference, said her mortgage company started foreclosure proceedings after she and her husband missed several monthly payments. The transplants from Boise, Idaho, purchased their $247,000 home with an adjustable-rate mortgage little more than a year ago, just as the housing market was heading into a slump.

Goldsboro said she has called her lender more than 50 times to try to work out a repayment schedule, but her calls have gone unanswered. Now she fears she will lose her home along with her credit rating.

"We could have rented anywhere," Goldsboro said, looking back at the ill-timed home purchase. "We had glow-in-the-dark credit."

Mary Shanklin can be reached at mshanklin@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5538.

 

 

For more Florida foreclosure news and related articles visit our Florida Foreclosure home page.

 

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