The Florida Fair Foreclosure Act, a potential bill which could potentially remove many foreclosure proceedings from state courts, may have more consequences for ordinary Floridians other than its intended effect of speeding up the foreclosure process. Florida has one of the longest average foreclosure processes in the U.S., with an average foreclosure taking 638 days in contrast to an average of under 400 days for those states which do not utilize judicial foreclosure processes.
Proponents of the Act justify their support of the bill citing the need to speed up the foreclosure process in order to strengthen the overall economy by getting foreclosed homes back onto the market more quickly. Foreclosure defense advocates point to lenders and mortgage servicers as the primary reasons the judicial foreclosure process is slow. Practices such as "robo-signing" foreclosure documents, bring suit without proof of ownership of the loan are just a few of the acts perpetrated by banks which have caused much of the delay.
If the Act is passed, it may have a significant negative fiscal impact on the state court system. In the last fiscal year, over 60% of the operating budget was derived from foreclosure filing fees. Non-judicial foreclosure systems shift the costs of initiating litigation to already financially burdened homeowners, a move which could cost homeowners and the state court system dearly.
If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free consultation to determine what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.
