Record Foreclosures For Emerald Coast In 2007
Posted in Foreclosure, January 15th, 2008
Emerald Coast has witnessed a record number of mortgage foreclosures in the year 2007. The local real estate prices have depreciated considerably and people are attributing it to increasing foreclosure, higher property taxes and escalating insurance premiums.
Way back in August, banker David Braithwaite had spoken on the ill-effects of these factors, “All three are combining to create the perfect storm. A lot of people are finding themselves in bad shape … developers, homeowners. It’s across the board.”
In August, the Daily News started tracing the foreclosures happening in Emerald Coast. According to the postings in court at that time, foreclosures in Okaloosa County had increased by almost 70 percent in 2006 from the previous year and were slated to go up further by 83 percent for the year 2007.
Walton and Santa Rosa counties too showed a tremendous jump and closed at record highs, far outnumbering the foreclosures in the year 2005 and 2006. According to the experts, the surge witnessed in mortgage foreclosures is nowhere in sight.
According to the Fort Walton Beach based Parker Mortgage Services president, Shirley Parker, “I don’t think we’ve reached the top as far as foreclosures, I think it’ll continue probably through next year.” A veteran of 34 years in the mortgage industry, Ms. Parker believes that 2007 has by far been “the worst year we have ever had in real estate.” A lot of people have expressed this opinion after foreclosures peaked countrywide, causing wide spread panic and severe capital market reactions, fueled largely by the sub-prime crisis.
A lot of home owners who were on the verge of foreclosing were given the option to take negative adjustable rate mortgages the normal adjustable rate mortgages and sub prime loans, which promised the borrowers an extremely lower rates of interest or those that waived the eligibility criteria, confirms Ms. Parker. Obviously, she says that the borrowers did not take into consideration the long term ill-effects of their move.
She insists that although one can counsel people and explain the implications, “but if they want something, they want it.” She has over a period of time spoken and counseled them against buying multiple properties that they could ill-afford in the long run. She would tell them that “at some point, this balloon is going to bust, and when it does, you won’t be able to afford this house note.”
