Bill to Expedite Florida Foreclosures Passes House, Senate

A ""bill"":http://dsnews.comarticles/rep-in-top-foreclousre-state-introduces-law-to-shorten-foreclosure-timeline-2013-01-09 introduced in January to speed up Florida's foreclosure process passed both the House and the Senate and made its way to Gov. Rick Scott's desk Friday.

[IMAGE]

""H.B. 87,"":http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h0087__.docx&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=0087&Session=2013 introduced by ""Rep. Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples),"":http://www.kathleenpassidomo.com/ would require lenders to prove they have the appropriate paperwork showing they have the right to foreclose on a property before entering the foreclosure process.

The bill reduces the timeline for a lender to pursue a deficiency judgment from five years to one year.

[COLUMN_BREAK]

The bill also allows condo associations to take certain actions to expedite a foreclosure if they believe a bank is moving too slowly.

In cases of wrongful foreclosure, the proposed law allows homeowners to sue for monetary damages but does not allow them to reclaim their home.

Supporters of the bill champion its efforts to speed up the state's lengthy judicial foreclosure process, while outspoken opponents claim it infringes on homeowners' rights.

""Sen. Darren Soto (D-Orlando)"":http://darrensoto.com/ has opposed the bill from the beginning and introduced his own set of bills aimed at solving Florida's housing problems. ""So what we're going to see here is, we're going to reduce property rights … that have been on the books for generations and it's not even going to work,"" Soto said, according to Tallahassee.com.

However, Passidomo ""stated on her website"":http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=5b16daf3be8179efb5f91fbf3&id=c4671f0dbb that the bill ""passed with bi-partisan support.""

According to ""Tallahassee.com,"":http://www.tallahassee.com/viewart/20130504/NEWS01/305040019/Foreclosure-bill-headed-Gov-Scott the bill passed the Senate with a 26-13 vote and the House with an 87-26 vote.

With one in every 317 homes receiving a foreclosure filing as of March, Florida continues to rank as one of the highest states for foreclosures, according to ""RealtyTrac."":http://www.realtytrac.com/ The online foreclosure marketplace currently ranks the state as No. 2 in the nation for foreclosures.