Just three weeks into his presidency, Barack Obama traveled to Fort Myers, FL, highlighting the country’s foreclosure crisis. The NY Times has featured Lee County, FL foreclosures on its front page. The rate of foreclosures in southwest Florida was the highest in the nation in 2008. The way Florida law works has national import.
Foreclosure Defined
When someone borrows money to buy a home, two documents define the borrower’s obligations to repay the money. One is a mortgage, making the real estate security for the loan. The second is a note, making the borrower personally liable if the value of the real estate is not sufficient to cover the loan. The terms of repayment of the loan are defined in these two documents.
If the borrower does not make the payments agreed to in the documents, then the lender may go to court, and request that the property be sold to satisfy the debt. The process of getting a court order and having the property sold is the foreclosure process.
