Broward County Foreclosure

For most Broward County residents, it’s no surprise to learn that Florida leads the nation with about 25% of all foreclosures nationwide. Plunging county property values make the dream of selling your home for a larger one nearly impossible and with so many Broward County foreclosures it’s like an epidemic with no vaccine. However, there is some good news to help deal with Broward County foreclosures and by taking action now you may be able to avoid the foreclosure process entirely.

Defending Florida Foreclosure Lawsuits

For each of the last several months new foreclosure filings have fallen off significantly providing a much needed break for both homeowners and the local real estate market. For the housing market, a reduced number of lawsuits means less foreclosure sales flooding the market with undervalued homes keeping prices at or near present levels. With 43% of the county mortgages already underwater (358,072 Broward County residents) anything helps.

Florida Foreclosure Process

Act Now To Stop Florida Foreclosures

For homeowners, now is the best time to strike while new foreclosure filings remain low. Select your foreclosure option and use the tools and information we provide to set your foreclosure plan in motion before the next round of lawsuits begin. Although foreclosure filings are down now, the huge number of Broward County residents more than 30 days behind in mortgage payments suggests the decline is temporary and most analysts expect a crushing new wave of foreclosure lawsuits in the next several months and years. As a result of the recent 49 State Foreclosure Settlement, action will begin to heat up for both those covered by the deal and the majority of homeowners who’ll see no impact whatsoever from the Settlement.

Learn Why the Nationwide Foreclosure Settlement Won’t Help Many Homeowners.

Whether you implement a Strategic Default to improve the chances of a Loan Modification or Short Sale approval or giving your property back to the bank by a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, do it before a foreclosure lawsuit is filed and the bank’s lawyers get involved. By doing so now or as soon as possible, you’ll increase your overall chances of success while minimizing additional costs and the likelihood of a deficiency judgment. Avoiding Deficiency Judgments

For those planning to Defend a Foreclosure Lawsuit and possibly counter-sue the bank as well, use this time to gather information on the foreclosure process in general as well as possible defenses and grounds for counterclaims. Also make sure to save as much cash as possible if you’re not making mortgage payments to help sustain you through the foreclosure process and/or hire an attorney or other professional to help your cause.

Broward County Courts and Foreclosure Process

Whether you decide to represent yourself or hire an attorney to defend your foreclosure lawsuit, Broward County is not a bad place to do it. Unlike many other Florida counties who value cost and efficiency over the preservation of legal rights and respect for two hundred years of property laws, Broward courts are trying to do it right. By treating every case and every homeowner individually, the docket may move slower than other counties but the outcomes are much fairer. Pending Broward County foreclosure cases were at 46,155 as of late 2011. Florida is Ground Zero in Foreclosure Crisis

The judge most responsible for this homeowner friendly approach is new Chief Judge Peter Weinstein who seems like one of the good guys. In a recent newspaper article, Judge Weinstein noted that he “doesn’t see fast tracking foreclosure lawsuits as the solution to the bottleneck in the courts as every case is individual and if we fall behind we fall behind. I don’t ever want to find out someone lost their home because of some foolish mistake.”

What a great attitude for the leader of the Broward County court system and what a pity so few fellow judges nationwide are willing to speak out and help lead the way to protect homeowners and more importantly protect constitutional rights to a fair trial.

Broward County courts have developed a special section to handle foreclosure cases which can be accessed online at the Broward County Clerk of Court website or at the courthouse located in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. The court has also automated the foreclosure sale process by moving auctions online to www.broward.realforeclose.com. This site not only allows homeowners to check on the status of pending foreclosure sales but also lets investors purchase property online avoiding the fiasco of sales at the courthouse.