- June 6, 2016
- Thomas Adam
- Foreclosures
This week’s blog will highlight some positive news stories regarding Florida foreclosures and real estate.
The Market is Recovering
Overall, Florida’s housing market continues on its trends towards recovery. It is still a slow process and some victories are small ones, like Florida no longer holding the largest inventory of homes in the foreclosure process (it was surpassed by New York)
, there is reason to be optimistic as reports show a consistent movement towards recovery. For example, Florida Realtors reported that in October media housing prices were up, the 47th month in a row of improved year over year prices for both singe family homes and town homes.
The improving market has led to increased optimism among real estate professions who according to a recent survey, haven’t been this optimistic since 2006. This is good news as real estate professionals are emersed in the market on a daily basis and for this reason, often have the best sense of the state of the market.
And it’s not just owner occupied homes that are bouncing back. Home rentals are once again a lucrative investment opportunity. An opportunity that the Sun Sentinal reports can lend to more profits over its lifetime than simply flipping a home because income comes in month over month. This isn’t just good news for investors, it’s good for homeowners who may begin to see some of the foreclosures in their neighborhoods bought, renovated, and rented, decreasing the number of vacant homes and increasing the neighborhood’s property values.
Homeowners are Fighting Back
…and winning. As we’ve often discussed, there are options available to homeowners facing foreclosure that can often obtain more favorable results than they thought possible. Some are pre-litigation options, like deed in lieu of foreclosure, while others are defenses to lawsuits, like predatory lending practices and a lapsed statute of limitations. Homeowners are becoming increasingly aware of these options and consulting with attorneys experienced in Florida foreclosures like the ones at Adam Law Group to evaluate and implement them. The result is more headlines like that “Foreclosure Plaintiffs Win Against Wells Fargo.”
Florida Still Faces Scrutiny
Florida is still a frequent subject of critical news reports and commentary. Recent examples include the criticism of Florida’s implementation of its Hardest Hit Fun and 99 Homes, a movie about Florida foreclosures. This type of attention may not seem like a positive, but it is. The focus on the issues that still remain helps keep lenders honest and pushes legislatures to support legislation and programs that assist homeowners.