In Florida civil courts are contending with over 290,000 foreclosure cases clogging the dockets.  An examination of one rural Central Florida County demonstrates a considerable rise in foreclosures with one very big and notable change in the type of proceedings. This year, according to Clerk of the Court insiders, the defendants in these foreclosure actions are most often unemployed property owners hard hit by the economic conditions of the day. Clerks report that in 2007 and '08, Mortgage Holders in general foreclosed mostly on unoccupied holdings, which were typically investment properties purchased by speculators eager to turn a quick profit or failed businesses.

Lake County, a county located dead center of the State of Florida can be viewed as a microcosm of the nation over all, in that a greater portion of the Country, the unemployment and foreclosure rates are running very close in comparison. Although it should be noted Lake County maintains slightly higher negative marks as do national averages, but the County can be observed as a predictor of future personal economic movement.

With national average unemployment rate reaching a historic 10.2% and estimates of over 17% actually, considering the unemployed, under employed or those having exhausted unemployment benefits many millions of people can be facing a Judge in a Foreclosure hearing.

Lake County’s jobless rate as of September 2009, calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is 12.3%, up from the August figure of 11.9 percent. The soaring Lake County rate is a significant jump from this time last year when the rate was at 7.1 percent the same month in 2008. The rate in September 2007 was 4.6 percent. You may note these numbers almost mirror foreclosure filings.

This year, the Lake County Clerk's office recorded 4,965 residential and commercial foreclosures filed as of Halloween, (October. 31, 2009). This amount is currently running 25% higher than the first 10 months of 2008 and is expected to rise by the end of the year. By comparison Lake County processed 4,801 foreclosures in all of 2008, 2,080 foreclosures in 2007 and 878 in 2006. Each of these years all established new benchmarks in foreclosure filings in a single calendar year for the County.

In the State of Florida, the unemployment rate spiked to 10.7% and most likely will rise.

According to the Institute for Economic Competitiveness of the University of Central Florida, the unemployment rate in Florida is expected to hit or surpass 11.1% by 2012. Numbers for small business failures were not calculable but these are also expected to rise as consumers tighten their belts and proposed taxes for Healthcare and Cap in Trade legislation are enacted.  

In a recent elevauation of the national unemployment situation comparing all major metropolitan US Cities, Florida’s Major Cities are now considered on the national most unemployed top twenty list. The rankings and ratings below are as of August 2009.

City                Ranking          % of Workers             # Not Working

Tampa                       #8                          11.7%                                 154.3K

Orlando                     #10                        11.5%                                  128.8K

Miami                         #11                        10.9%                                  311.7K

Jacksonville               #13                        10.7%                                   73.2K

National Avg               N/A                         10.2%                                   N/C

The numbers reported above do not include those underemployed, working part time or those that have exhausted unemployment benefits. Nor do they include areas like Lake County which like much of Florida lies well outside a Metropolitan area.

Florida presently reports an average working age population (ages19-64) of 10.7 million people, of which 11% are unemployed. This indicates approximately 1,117,000 people in the State at out of work and at risk.

Judge Don F. Briggs, The Administrative Judge of the 5^th Judicial Circuit, in Lake County, reportedly said recently the onslaught of foreclosures dominating the civil dockets in the County’s Judicial system has impelled him to examine the likelihood of requiring mediation in all foreclosure cases. Many other Judges and legal systems throughout the nation are experiencing the same type of docket pressure.

The Florida Supreme Court heard an opinion presented by members of the high court's Task Force on Residential Mortgage Foreclosures. The task force uncovered and enlightened the Court to many problem issues in the current system. The primary issues were cluttered dockets and insufficient documentation, all causing delays and wasting precious time in the judicial infrastructure.

One such issue frequently has been the Plaintiff (the foreclosing entity) in many cases does not have the financial instrument or deed in its possession, for which the court cannot establish a time line for the process. Another concern is that defendants are rarely represented and have been in many cases taken advantage of.

The Task Force therefore recommends “Mandatory managed mediation in homestead cases should be required statewide prior to final hearing, on an opt out basis; with the initial cost to be borne by Plaintiffs subject to recovery in full in the final judgment.” Further, “It would also create a structure for those institutions participating in TARP/HAMP to assure compliance with the loss mitigation efforts of those programs.”

Also recommended was “To the extent possible, lawyers and bar associations should target pro bono efforts at dealing with the borrowers in these cases, the vast majority of whom are unrepresented, including providing training to attorneys in foreclosure matters.”

Other major considerations presented to the Court were that Mortgage Holders have not met or have not sufficiently been in compliance with mortgage rules, stipulations or requirements for loss mitigation and have in some cases unfairly dealt with or threatened homeowners. Another is that many foreclosures, which have through the process, reached the forced sale point are having those sales pulled at the 11^th hour by the Mortgage Holder leaving the Court and the Homeowner in limbo. Perceivably these sales are being pulled in an effort by the Holder to defray maintenance costs and property security on a foreclosed property to the homeowner until a profitable “off the steps” sale can be negotiated or the falling market prices return.

It can be inferred that similar discussions and investigations are being conducted nationwide since all Judicial infrastructures throughout the country are experiencing the same pressure on their systems.

Help of sorts may be on the way, what is yet to be determined is if this “judicial help” will benefit the Homeowner or streamline the foreclosure process for the Mortgage Holder.

In the mean time with rising foreclosures driving market prices downward, predatory investors are anticipating speculation purchase savings upwards of 40% and higher and millions of hard working Americans could be homeless due to no fault of their own.

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http://hubpages.com/hub/Is-the-Government-About-to-be-Stealing-Homes

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