Florida’s annual legislative session is about to get under way. Florida’s legislators are about to contemplate many significant issues this legislative session. Chief among them includes re-districting and gambling.
But the ongoing foreclosures crises in Florida will also be front and center. Several laws have been introduced that could impact the method and manner in which banks foreclose on properties in Florida, and especially here in South Florida.
One of the issues being addressed this legislative session involves deficiency judgments in foreclosures.
For instance, lenders are often entitled to judgments against the homeowner to make up the difference between the mortgage debt and the amount recovered at the foreclosure auction. Those judgments against the homeowners are good 20 years.
This pending bill tries to strike a balance between homeowners and lenders. It tries to create a way for lenders and homeowners to satisfy a deficiency judgment in exchange for homeowners doing certain things.
The bill states that homeowners in default on homestead purchased from 1/1/04 to 12/31/08, may receive a waiver of deficiency and up to $1,000 in moving expenses if they settle their foreclosure actions with a non-monetary judgment and vacate the property within three months of the judgment or judicial sale, whichever is later.
The state fund would be used to give lenders incentive to settle by helping them recoup some of their losses where properties are worth less than the mortgage balance.
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