• Lisa Simpson
• Jul 2,2009
• In: Bank Foreclosures

Orlando Bank Foreclosures

Florida has been hitting the headlines for being one of the worst foreclosure-hit states in USA along with California, Nevada and Arizona. It is little wonder then that Orlando bank foreclosures have been hitting the headlines.

Orlando is a prime city in Florida and located in Orange County. Orlando is well known for its tourist attractions – the most popular being Walt Disney World Resort. On an average there are 52 million tourist footfalls in Orlando. Tourism means big business and this has led to the prosperity of the city. It is this very prosperity that is the root cause for bank foreclosures. The housing boom fueled by the sub-prime mortgage easy money pouring in. The rest is known – the busting of the boom resulting in thousands and thousands of Orlando bank foreclosures. During the early part of 2007 there were 8,325 Orlando bank foreclosures.

Apart from tourism Orlando has been seeing stupendous developments in technology and development. Fortune hunters moved in to this land of milk and honey. Suburbs spread into exurbs until the pace could not be maintained. Orlando bank foreclosures had the last word and continue to hold sway.

Many experts blame racial discrimination at the root of proliferation of Orlando bank foreclosures. In Orlando 61% of the population is White while the Blacks comprise of 27%. Statistics show that like California most of the Orlando bank foreclosures are located in the minority dominated regions. The Orlando bank foreclosures are a direct fall out of predatory lending. The minorities were not conversant with English. Even those who were knowledge could not understand the intricacies of the mortgage deeds. It seems these deeds were drafted more to confuse rather than clarify. Orlando bank foreclosures were the natural consequence.

The courts in Orlando are flooded with foreclosure cases running into thousands per day. It is now taking few seconds for a case to be dispensed with.

Foreclosures have led to unemployment. Today it has touched 9.9%. From 2004 to 2005 real estate prices shot up by 34% annually. The average of $182,000 (August 2004) spiked to $245,000 within 12 months. Then began the fall. In February 2007 it went down to $255,000 and then again further tumbled to $211,000 in April 2008.

During the moratorium there was a brief lull in foreclosures but once more it is picking up speed. Sale has picked up also but there is the danger that speculators are once more snapping up bulk lots setting the stage again for a rerun of the crisis.

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