Foreclosure activity in the Orlando metro area continued its upward march as foreclosure filings were reported on 3,209 properties in September, a 43 percent increase when compared with the previous month, data released on Thursday by RealtyTrac shows.
Although there was a slowdown of foreclosure activity in the first half of 2011, resulting from the robo-signing controversy last year and clogged courtrooms, many leading real estate experts believed that this would only be temporary.
“While foreclosure activity in September and the third quarter continued to register well below levels from a year ago, there is evidence that this temporary downward trend is about to change direction, with foreclosure activity slowly beginning to ramp back up,” said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac in a statement.
According to the RealtyTrac report, there were 1,963 foreclosure properties in Orange County in September, or one in every 237 housing units with a foreclosure filing, an increase of 46 percent compared with August 2011, where one in 346 units had a foreclosure filing.
In Osceola County foreclosure filings more than doubled in September to one in every 289 housing units, compared to one in every 913 units that received a foreclosure filing in August. Currently, there are 424 foreclosure properties.
In Lake County, there were 427 foreclosure properties in September, or one in 341 housing units with a foreclosure filing, an increase of 23 percent from the previous month. In August there were 347 foreclosed properties or one in 419.
Seminole County was the only county in the Orlando metro area to buck the upward trend as the number of foreclosure properties declined to 395 in September, a decrease of 7 percent from 425 the month before. According to the data, one in 443 housing units now have a foreclosure filing compared with one in 411 in August 2011.
Mark Hoewing, Communications Manager of InCharge Debt Solutions in Orlando, believes the best thing homeowners could do is to arm themselves with the needed information to prevent foreclosures. He told West Orlando News Online recently that, InCharge Debt Solutions, a non-profit organization, provides a range of services–personal finance education, housing counseling and bankruptcy services, among others, — free of charge.
“Anytime anyone needs advice not only in housing, but are struggling with credit card debt and need credit counseling services, we can help,” Hoewing said. “We also provide brankruptcy services too and we offer all these services for free.”
InCharge also provides a number training programs, including for prospective Habitat homeowners.
“We work with HABITAT for Humanity in Central Florida to provide a ten-week course in financial literacy,” Hoewing said. “Every homeowner in Florida has to take that financial literacy course before they can qualify for their Habitat home and that is all done free of charge.”
But Hoewing has a warning though, for those seeking services.
“All homeowners and prospective homeowners should make sure that they seek out a HUD-approved agency, like InCharge, for advice and services in order to eliminate any likelihood of being scammed,” he said.
