Report: Pre-foreclosure filings triple in September

Pre-foreclosure filings in Florida went up by more than 3,000 in September, Default Research Inc. reported Tuesday.
Florida lis pendens filings, when the bank first files the paperwork on a defaulted payment - the first step in the foreclosure process -- rose from 1,541 in September 2006 to 4,872 in September 2007, according to Default Research. Of those filings, more than 13 percent were condominiums, says Serdar Bankaci, Default Research president and CEO, in a prepared statement.
"Many of these were speculators trying to buy properties and turn a profit, but they got trapped in the market," Bankaci says. "Foreclosures will likely continue to escalate at least for 12 more months as the market and mortgages adjust."
Orange County had 376 lis penden filings in September, a significant increase from the 127 filings in the same month the year prior, the report says.
Default Research also reported Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm counties notched the highest total pre-foreclosures in the state.
Pleasant, Pa.-based Default Research provides clients with pre-foreclosure information.
Source: Orlando Business Journal