Orlando Mortgage Foreclosures in the News

Mortgage foreclosures in Orlando and the state of Florida are in the news again.  The Orlando Sentinel reported this month that the Orlando metro area saw an 18 percent increase in forelclosure-related filings from March to April, ranking Orlando 36th nationally.

There was an even higher increase, 39%, in the number of Orlando homeowners who recieved their first foreclosure notice.  I believe these statistics are a sign that mortgage foreclosure activity is about to increase, after a lull due to concerns about the legitimacy of documentation relied upon banks and mortgages companies to foreclose.

A breakdown of the metro counties shows a significant increase in Ocseola and Lake counties: the number of new mortgage foreclosure filngs in Osceola County increased by 86 percent; Lake County mortgage foreclosure filings increased by 58 percent.  Orange County mortgage filings increased only by 7 %, while Seminole County actually declined by 9 percent.

Some good news in the statistics:  Mortgage foreclosure filings are down by 63 percent in Orlando; 59 percent across the state of Florida, compared to the number of filings in April of 2010.

So, the mortgage foreclosure crisis continues, resulting in more loss of homes to Orlando homeowners.  It also means continued depression of home prices for homeowners in Orlando and throughout the Central Florida area.  So far, our political leaders have failed to provide any meaningful solutions.

However, the Florida Realtors lobbied Washington this month to pass a bill introduced by a Florida congressman, H.R. 1498, the “Prompt Decision for Qualification for Short Sale Act of 2011.”  If passed into law, this bill would require lenders to accept, reject, or ask for more information about a proposed short sale within 45 days of receiving a written requrest by the borrower.

This would speed of short sales, which often drag on endlessly due to unresponsive bank beaurocrats.   Certainly, faster short sales would help Orlando homeowners get out of mortgages that no longer work for their finances and enable them move on to a new start with their housing arrangements, while avoiding mortgage foreclosure.  Let’s hope congress takes a close look at this proposed law.