With foreclosures, final doesn’t always mean final.
Some Tampa Bay residents are still living in their homes long after the final judgment of foreclosure because banks have canceled the public auction two, three, even five times. Others have had their houses sold at auction, only to have the sale reversed later.
Either way, here’s a surprising result: Banks’ slowness to take title to thousands of homes and condos might actually be helping to stabilize Florida’s beleaguered real estate market.
“It’s helped keep the values up a little bit in that we have a pent-up demand” for foreclosed houses, says Scott Samuels, a liquidation specialist for Keller Williams.