Wednesday, March 30, 2022 / by Stephanie LeFew
Buying Foreclosures in Florida in 2022
The current state of the foreclosure market in Florida
The federal foreclosure moratorium that was implemented in response to the pandemic severely restricted the supply of foreclosures across the country. The Supreme Court finally ended the moratorium at the end of August 2021, and since then the market has been gradually returning to normal, although with courts experiencing huge backlogs, we’re still not yet back to business as usual. However, having said that, the foreclosure rate in Florida has been among the highest in the country since the end of the moratorium. In both October and December of last year, Florida was reported to have the second-highest foreclosure rate in the country. Buying a pre-foreclosure property in Florida
Buying a Florida home during pre-foreclosure means the period of time between the homeowner receiving a notice of default (NOD) and the property being foreclosed. In Florida, it can take 10 to 12 months from the date of the first missed payment, for the lender to repossess the property. This provides investors with plenty of opportunities to purchase directly from a homeowner during the pre-foreclosure stage. And of course, getting in and negotiating a sale before a foreclosure hits an auction can result in a far more favorable deal for the investor. There are plenty of middlemen (both individuals and companies) operating in Florida, who identify pre-foreclosure opportunities and then connect buyers and sellers in exchange for a fee. While a pre-foreclosure can represent a very good opportunity, it is also vital to remember that the buyer might be liable to pay outstanding mortgage payments. To confirm if there are any liens to pay before committing to the sale.