A new Florida Realtors report offered a detailed account of the factors contributing to the state's recent spike in foreclosures.
BY TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com
Florida Realtors released a report Tuesday showing that rather than just loss of a job or a bad loan, there is usually more than one factor pushing Floridians into foreclosure.
Foreclosed homeowners' problems are generally more complex, said Joel Searby of Strategic Guidance Systems, which conducted the study, ``The Face of Foreclosure: Florida,'' for Florida Realtors, the trade association for 115,000 real estate professionals in the state.
``Contrary to what some researchers have argued, many Florida homeowners were not driven into foreclosure by simply being trapped in bad loans, or losing their jobs or taking pay cuts,'' Searby said. ``What we found in talking with people who've gone through foreclosure is that there's a `plus one' factor,' '' meaning job loss coupled with other circumstances such as divorce or health problems usually led to homeowner distress.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/07/1566552/report-many-factors-behind-foreclosures.html#ixzz0kX2o3Qxh
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