Foreclosures that are two years old and even older have continued to linger within the Florida court system. As the struggle to continue pushing these cases forward has persisted, a steady backlog has grown.
Across Florida as of July 2014, there are approximately 55,800 foreclosures that are two years or older, with the total number of pending cases in Florida now exceeding 185,820.
According to data from the Florida State Courts Administrator, over 15,190 foreclosure cases are pending with over 5000 of them exceeding 730 days in the system in the 15th circuit alone.
Meanwhile, we have seen a militant effort by the courts to push many of these cases through in the past year, with particular interest being paid to the cases that have aged the longest.
Over 194,000 cases were disposed between July 2013 and April of 2014.
In Palm Beach’s 15th circuit, judges have been able to clear nearly 17,740 cases during that same time period. To put that in perspective, nearly 377,710 foreclosures were pending within Florida courts just two years ago, with 32,980 of those coming from Palm Beach.
Part of the problem is due to the fact that in a foreclosure lawsuit, banks really aren’t interested in owning any more homes. Meanwhile, homeowners don’t want to lose their properties. In most other lawsuits, a judgment is usually desired but with foreclosure, there are far too many variables to consider and negotiate.
While we are seeing a slight drop in the number of foreclosure cases being filed throughout Florida, there is a possibility these cases could begin to increase again once banks get adjusted to new regulations that were recently issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
These new regulations have slowed down foreclosures as banks are only permitted to file a foreclosure when a person has been delinquent for 120 days or more. And if there is a complete loan modification package in place and under review, the filing of a foreclosure proceeding can not commence.
The Fernandez Law Group understands the difficult choices a homeowner must make when faced with foreclosure.
Our foreclosure defense attorneys will work directly with each lender to create options for homeowners who are or have fallen behind on their mortgage obligations.
Call us today for a free consultation at 813-489-3222.
