Are we any Closer to Foreclosure Reform???
With buyer demand increasing and inventory levels at record lows, Realtors consider foreclosures lingering in the courts as prime housing stock. To be sure, foreclosing on a mortgage is a long process in Florida -- about 853 days, more than twice the national average. That should begin to change with the passage of HB 87 by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples).
The bill allows lenders to ask the court to justify why a final order hasn't been entered, and gives condominium and homeowners associations the right to request the court move the process along where appropriate. Consumer interests are addressed in several provisions including: (1) requiring lenders to prove they own the loan for a property before foreclosing on it; (2) reducing the time lenders can seek deficiency judgments from five years to one year and (3) providing protections for innocent parties who purchase a property without knowledge that a previous owner may have a claim to the property.
For the person whose home is erroneously foreclosed on, HB 87 provides for the recovery of damages (monetary, compensatory, punitive, statutory and consequential), injunctive relief and fees. Effective upon becoming law.
© 2015 Florida Realtors
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