Buying a house is a monumental achievement. Putting down roots, raising a family and building a thousand tiny memories all help transform that house into what most people in Florida truly crave — a home. When faced with the possibility of losing that home, most people are unaware that they have options even if they are behind on house payments.
The fiscal year that started in July 2008 was the worst for foreclosures in Florida. By the end of June 2009, approximately 403,000 people had received notices of foreclosure, and another 337,000 homes faced foreclosure between then and the 2010 fiscal year. In 2007, about 284,000 homeowners were faced with foreclosure. All of this compounded to about 1 million Florida homes that went through foreclosure during the Great Recession, one of the hardest hit in the nation.
Current foreclosure rates are significantly lower than they were a decade ago, and home sales are set to hit their highest point since the housing bubble burst. In 2016 there were 43,772 foreclosures on Florida homes. By 2017, it dropped sharply to only 24,215 homes.
Although the rapidly decreasing foreclosure rate is a good sign for many Florida homeowners, not everyone is in the clear. It does not take much to suddenly find oneself behind on house payments, and the situation can quickly spiral out of control and into foreclosure. However, most homeowners have options at their disposal. Some can achieve the best outcome by contacting their lender and asking for modified payment plans until they are able to catch up, while others can effectively stop the foreclosure process in its tracks by filing for bankruptcy.