Foreclosures for Sale in Lee County

The county of Lee was established in 1866 and named after the famous Confederate General, Robert E. Lee. Demographically there are around 50,000 housing units in the county, which is a useful figure when talking about the number of foreclosures that are listed across the area.

RealtyTrac is a California based company which has been tracking and charting the foreclosure crisis since it first hit the headlines in the summer of 2007, currently they are listing 155 properties available on the market at some stage of the foreclosure process.

Governor Charlie Crist announced a 45 day moratorium on foreclosures across Lee County a few days ago, which has been received with mixed feelings from different camps. From the homeowners perspective it is clearly welcome relief as people prepare for the Christmas holiday season.

The announcement has not been so well received by real estate agents and lenders, who say the announcement may even harm the local economy. The clerk of the County Court sarcastically referred to the government as Santa Claus, and stated that it is their loose lending policies in the first place that allowed the borrowing crisis to occur, leading to a national recession.

The courts in Lee County currently have over 25,000 cases pending and this announcement will simply back up the process meaning banks losing more money and people being held on for longer without knowing the fate of their home, possibly wracking up even more debt in the process. The moratorium is voluntary.

About 30 percent of the properties listed for foreclosure in the recent months have been primary homestead properties, which is where the moratorium is directed, to relieve the stress being felt at the moment.

Whilst many, especially businesses, concentrate on trying to kick start the local economy and reintroduce some consumer confidence, the criticism is that this will simply delay the economic recovery for a month or two.

The moratorium allows for a 45 day ‘break period’ in which the courts will not proceed with the foreclosure any further. However, the reality of the process is that once the Notice to Default has been served on the residents, the properties are usually vacated. Once a property enters the foreclosure system it can take six to nine months to process and become foreclosures for sale; this announcement simply guarantees that many of the properties will simply be empty for longer, and not keep people in their homes over Christmas, some say.

Optimists at least will grant the Governor his five minutes of fame, as at least he tries to add some positivity to what has been a lengthy two year ark cloud hanging over the neighbourhoods of Lee County.