A look at the trends in data over the course of the last 10 years suggests the worst pains of the Great Recession are over. A widely available graph of new foreclosure filings shows that they spiked in 2010 in Leon County, but have steadily declined since then. As we work through 2018, however, some real estate watchers observe that filings are starting to creep up again.
That, of course, does not a trend make. And what is more important to acknowledge is that while the numbers are low, the trauma that foreclosure represents to a family doesn’t diminish. If anything, one could argue that having fewer people in the same boat only makes foreclosure harder. If you are facing foreclosure, you deserve to be heard and have your options for defense explained.
One foreclosure-affecting elements that market watchers regularly keep an eye on is hurricanes. Irma hit Tallahassee hard last year, and forecasters indicate it could be another active year this year. Some observers say that natural disaster contributed to a slight uptick in foreclosures late into last year, as is evidenced by data showing that liens on certain lines of credit increased after Irma 1.2 percentage points.
All those numbers relate to the business side of the residential real estate equation. And as important as they are, on the human side of the equation, homeowners tend to experience the threat of foreclosure as a very personal issue. It’s understandable if foreclosure sparks a homeowner’s drive to defend his or her castle. Any number of different methods exist for doing just that. Finding the right one for you is best done with the help of a skilled attorney.