Mortgage foreclosure speeds up with new Florida bill

News were reported that the days to process foreclosures in Florida reached an all-time high. This was despite the sudden and hasty recovery of the housing market in select cities of the state. Home valuations were also reported to have increased yet the time to foreclose a home had certainly not picked up.

Recent developments reveal that the Florida House voted to pass a bill to speed things up. With the surfeit of properties currently under the process of foreclosure, and with the number of days to finish them taking longer, it is now only the right moment to pass such bill.

The bill, according to Representative Kathleen Passidomo, preserves the rights of foreclosure homeowners while also stimulating the state’s housing market by providing a speedy process, thereby putting in said properties back in the market.

During the collapse of the housing market in early 2000, Florida was one of the states that experienced the most damage. Foreclosures poured in from every direction in already busy system. The delay in processing foreclosures is a no-win situation for everybody involved. As long as these properties stay in the market, lenders and buyers will continue to lose. The state’s economy will also be likewise affected as fewer properties get listed.

One of the crucial provisions of the bill is the reduction of the statute of limitation. This is the amount of time for backs to reclaim a foreclosed home. The bill has reduced that time from five years to one.

Also, the bill would require banks to provide detailed evidence that they own a mortgage. Others besides those who hold mortgages may also request the court to hasten the foreclosure processing.

Many opponents of the bill assert that it provides leverage to lenders instead of the already distressed homeowners. And still others suggest that it doesn’t effectively shield homeowners who were wrongfully foreclosed.

But Representative Jared Moskowitz defends the bill by saying that it indeed helps struggling homeowners.

While the bill may have been passed with overwhelming acceptance (87-26), the debate continues. And this might provide more evidence of the nation’s slowly recovering from a foreclosure crisis.