Just weeks after President Bush moved forward with his own plan to try and stall the quickly escalating home foreclosure rates in the nation, Gov. Charlie Crist has taken a few steps of his own by creating the Florida Home Ownership Promotes the Economy, or HOPE Task Force.
Using an executive order, Crist said he intends to bring together experts in the mortgage and banking industries as well as consumer advocates and policy experts to review Florida's foreclosure rate and its impact on the state economy.
"Foreclosure hurts all Floridians by depressing home values and causing families to lose homes, jobs and hope," Crist said in a statement. "As this task force comes together to explore solutions, we will search for ways to restore hope to Florida's families, and to our state's economy,"
Florida was ranked second in the number of home foreclosures in the nation in 2007, doubling the number of foreclosures recorded in 2006. It's a number that effects 1 in every 95 households in the state, said Alex Sink, Florida's chief financial officer.
"Working with the Governor's HOPE Task Force, my office will be focused on identifying solutions to help families work through the often confusing and difficult process of retaining their homes," Sink said in a release.
The task force will meet for the first time on March 3 in Tallahassee and it other meetings scheduled for March 19 and April 2. It is expected to present recommendations to state leaders by April 18.
Among those on the task force will be Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp as its chair, along with Sink; State Sen. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge; State Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville; State Rep. Franklin Sands, D-Plantation; Rep. Garrett Richter, R-Naples; Alex Sanchez of the Florida Bankers Association, D. Ritch Workman of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers, Mike Fields of Bank of America, Thomas Kuntz of SunTrust, Nancy Riley of the Florida Realtors Association, Bill Newton of the Florida Consumer Action Network and Steve Auger of the Florida Housing Finance Corp.
Richter not only is a state representative but also is the founder and chief executive officer of First National Bank of Florida.
The task force also will look at the state's banking and mortgage industries with a focus on the subprime market and the laws and regulations that govern foreclosures. It will identify and assess public and private financial resources and educational opportunities available to assist Florida homeowners, the release said.
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