Bill to Increase Foreclosures Stalls


A bill to speed up foreclosures, failed to pass the Florida Legislature this year (2010).

The sponsor of the bill, State Senator Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, the bill's sponsor said, "I've never been able to come up with any way to adequately protect the consumer".

With this proposal, it seems as if it really is not Bennett's intent on protecting the consumer.

The legislation is supported by the special interest of the "Florida Bankers Association". It would allow banks to speed up foreclosures and kick people out of their homes in as little as three months. Judges would no longer oversee the cases. Home owners would actually loose a level of protection.

My mortgage went from affordable to practically unaffordable overnight.

What happened, you might ask?

Well my insurance payment is included with my monthly mortgage payment. Recently my home insurance agent, which had total coverage, kept part of the coverage (homeowner's)and sent another part (windstorm) to the mortgage holder. Now I am being covered by two separate companies. Now, although the original agent would be covering less, the agent would not lessen the required payment from me. Then the mortgage holder charged a monthly amount that would be more than the monthly amount of the original insurance agent, more than doubling my mortgage insurance, and practically doubling my mortgage payment.

Now I am coming close to foreclosure; not because of my original deal of purchase, but because of the recent act of the insurance agent. With this proposal of State Senator Mike Bennett, and the special interest of the Florida Bankers Association, I would be closer to going into foreclosure. Isn't that something, bankers can actually cause your payments to increase, causing a burden, and then take your house. Yes, banks can work behind the scenes to increase your payments, maybe with the intent of taking your house, and then rush to do it.

With this legislation, it seems as if Bennett really has no intent on protecting the consumer. Such legislation would actually attack homeowners.

Florida currently runs foreclosure cases through the courts to protect homeowners.

Mr. Bennett says one thing, but does another. He says he wants to protect the consumer, then he introduces a bill to bypass the courts, and speed up foreclosures, making it easier for homeowners to loose their homes.

Pete Dunbar, a Tallahassee attorney representing the Real Property division of the Florida said, "banks want the power to go in unencumbered with no oversight on anybody they want, to do this to".

Frederick Bryant
September 11, 2010
e-mail: fbryant@nigerpublishing.com
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