Rising Number of Lee County Deficiency Judgments

For many Lee County homeowners, the nightmare of having your home repossessed or foreclosed by your lender due to mortgage default is not over. A lot of lenders are actually exercising their right to go after the difference between the fair value of the property when it was sold in the foreclosure auction and the mortgage amount owed by the borrower. Unfortunately, the home’s value will be based on current appraisal.

Based on records, the number of Lee County deficiency judgments is certainly rising. Last August, there were 51 judgments recorded compared to 32 in July. For the first eight months of the year, deficiency judgments filed have already reached 179.

According to the Florida Real Estate Investors Association, the numbers can be expected to rise even higher as foreclosure filings slow down and lenders have more time to look into these judgments, which is in their legal right to do so.

With the foreclosure rate still high nationally, a lot of real estate experts believe the next wave will involve debt collectors and investors going after borrowers. At present, these people are already buying deficiency judgments for very low prices.

In order to avoid a deficiency judgment, experts are recommending homeowners to fight foreclosure with everything they got. One option is a Lee County short sale. With the right short sale Realtor working with you, it is entirely possible for your lender to forgive your mortgage debt especially if you have stated a strong case. Even if the lender chooses to go after the homeowner with a deficiency judgment, it will not be the same since it was a short sale and not a foreclosure.

In Florida, lenders are given one year to file for a deficiency judgment after repossessing a property. Most often than not, the smaller banks are the ones more aggressive when it comes to getting these judgments.

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