A total of 1358 foreclosure cases were filed in Pinellas County during the period July 1, 2009 to August 1, 2009. While this figure is high, it is fascinating that the number is not that much greater than the number of foreclosures that were filed during the same period in 2008 or 1118. Having said that, the 2009 number of cases filed puts us on pace to have more than 12,000 foreclosure cases filed in Pinellas County for all of 2009. This relatively large number will continute to place a drag on home price stabalization, particuarly in those neighborhoods with a higher concentration of foreclosures.
Its Not All Bad News
While the number of foreclosures filed is relatively high, 12,000 foreclosures filed in a county with a population somewhere around a million people isn’t all that bad either. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinellas_County,_Florida Although I have consistently reported that homeowners are having difficulty obtaining modifications of mortgages, I can also report that many of the cases that I am working on for homeowners are just sitting dormant with no activity whatsoever, no attorneys pressing for hearings, no bill collectors hassling homeowners for payments….just nothing at all. I suspect the reason for this is the foreclosure attorneys are just overwhelmed with work and are focusing all their energy and attention on those files where a homeowner has not hired an attorney…just working on getting those people out of their homes.
Foreclosures Just Left In Limbo
Another interesting pheneomena is the fact that many lenders are bringing the case right up to the point when they could schedule a foreclosure sale, but they are not actually having that sale, presumably because they do not want to become the title owner of that property because that lender would then start to become liable for all the costs and fees associated with that property.
Bottom line is if you are in foreclosure or need information about foreclosure, contact my office at www.mattweidnerlaw.com Coming tomorrow, a review of foreclosure sales held in Pinellas County in August.
