Many residents of Florida, who are underwater on their mortgages and are in the midst of foreclosure, are playing a waiting game. This is because foreclosures in the state currently take an average of 749 days. The over two year wait for a foreclosure to complete impacts more than just the homeowners. It negatively affects the housing market and overall economy as well.
There are of course several reasons for this drawn out process in addition to the number of homeowners who are under water on their mortgages. One of them is the foreclosure process used by the state. Currently, all of the foreclosures in the state go through the courts. Around 20 other states in the country follow this same model.
If one state representative has her way, the model in Florida will change. The representative from Naples, has sponsored a bill to introduce changes to the foreclosure process that speed up the process and make it more similar to a nonjudicial foreclosure. It is known as House Bill 213.
Nonjudicial foreclosures make it possible for a house that is in foreclosures to legally be taken by the lender without being part of the judicial process. In addition to getting homes back on the market faster, it is also usually less expensive.
Those who support HB 213 point out “nonjudicial foreclosure” is not mentioned anywhere in the bill.
Many in the state are not in support of the bill however. Among other things, they fear that homeowners would be denied their right to a day in court.
Many in Florida are facing foreclosure and bankruptcy as a result of their financial issues. For better or worse, the two are often closely related. Anyone facing either of these situations, or dealing with any other financial issues, might benefit from the assistance of an experienced bankruptcy lawyer.
Source: news-press.com, “Florida bill seeks to hasten foreclosures,” Mary Wozniak, Feb. 5, 2012