Florida Home Buyers and Investors Blog

Once again, the news agencies just grab whatever comes in on the fax machine and dump it on the public with little or no research on the subject matter.

Sound bites are not news.

Reports of foreclosures are up in all the major markets.  Now lets analyze the subject a little further.

Just like the unemployment numbers, foreclosure numbers are skewed.

We are seeing a rise in defaults, not FORECLOSURES!  A foreclosure is when the bank repossess the property.  Lis Pendens is when a notice of default is sent to the owner, informing them of their obligation and that legal action has begun.

Realty Trac sends Lis Pendens numbers to the news agencies, and they report them as FORECLOSURES!  

Now if we look a little further, we see that the majority of these Lis Pendens are homeowners who are re-working their mortgages or have stopped paying with the hope the lender will be more flexible with negotiating a lower interest or reducing the principal balance.

From what I see, the majority of these owners have the ability to pay, they are listening to people who are providing bad advise by telling them to stop paying and the banks will negotiate.  That may have been the case several months ago, but not now.

You are actually in a better position if you are current, but have a change in circumstance, vs. not paying at all.   Banks don't want you to fall behind in the first place.

It is the same thing with Unemployment.  We hear about the numbers, but they are not taking into account Mortgage Brokers, Real Estate Agents, Construction Workers, Self employed and other unemployed or underemployed individuals that do not qualify for benefits.

News agencies should stop acting like drug dealers, pushing every piece of crap news, and do the research.  It's not that hard.