Earlier this year, the state of Florida was leading the country as number one in the amount of foreclosures. While other states may be close behind, Florida still has that title for the largest percentage of completed foreclosures and threat of foreclosure. Even so, the amount of foreclosures have dropped.
Over 25,000 homes have gone into the foreclosure process just within the last year in Florida, which is double the amount of foreclosures in the state with the second highest amount of foreclosures. Within the state, the central Florida area including Kissimmee and Orlando had a large share of foreclosures and is rated the top region for bank filings. Currently, the foreclosure rate has dropped from 11.2 percent down to 7.4 percent, which is still three times more than the rest of the country.
In regard to nationwide foreclosures, the amount has decreased in comparison to last year's rates since over one million homes were in some stage of the foreclosure process. This year, the amount dropped to a little over 900,000. The completed amount of foreclosures nationwide in the last year was 636,670 and 18 percent of them came from Florida alone.
Almost any type of negative circumstance can put a homeowner in the financial hot seat. Unemployment or underemployment has become one of the primary issues causing financial dilemmas for homeowners. Many Florida homeowners are unable to modify their home loans and choose to combat the threat of foreclosure by filing for bankruptcy protection to safeguard their homes, which may have the added benefit of eliminating other debts that are keeping them from moving forward financially.
Source: heraldtribune.com, NEW: Florida still tops for foreclosures, John Hielscher, Nov 1, 2013