Below is a recent article written by James Thorner of the St. Petersburg Times discussing Tampa Bays increasing population of underwater homewowners.

Three years of depreciation have left close to half of Tampa Bay homeowners owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.

In a September report put out by First American CoreLogic, a real estate information company, 46 percent of residential properties in the Tampa Bay area struggled with negative equity. That's 314,183 out of 684,822 homes.

In Florida, about 2 million of 4.6 million home mortgages were underwater, for a rate of 45 percent.

The number of upside-down homeowners has been rising in Tampa Bay and Florida. Eleven percent more Tampa Bay properties were underwater in September than in June, when First American's last report came out.

"The recent improvement in home prices this past spring and summer has slowed the increase in negative equity," said First American economist Mark Fleming. "But it will take a significant rebound in home prices, which we are not expecting, to offset the dampening effects."

Nevada had the highest rate of upside-down mortgages, affecting nearly two-thirds of home­owners. Arizona was next with 48 percent. Florida was third.

The bulk of distressed homeowners financed their properties in 2006 or 2007, close to the housing price peak in Tampa Bay. Altogether, bay area home­owners owe $104.6 billion on $116.3 billion worth of property, First American said.

First American admits it exaggerated negative equity earlier this year by assuming homeowners made fuller use of home equity loans than they actually did. But even after correcting those figures, negative equity is still rising.

James Thorner can be reached at jthorner@sptimes.com

FLORIDA

45 percent

2 Million of 4.6 Million homes

TAMPA BAY

46 percent

314,183 of 684,822 homes

If you owe more than your house is currently worth, contact the Tampa short sale attorneys at Yesner & Boss to find out what options may be available for you.

Below is a recent article written by Molly Moorhead of the St. Petersburg Times regarding Pinellas and Pasco Counties new empahsis on mediation in foreclosure cases.

As foreclosure filings continue to pile up in Pinellas and Pasco counties, the courts are trying a new emphasis on mediation.

The move targets owner-occupied properties, not investments.

Now, when homeowners are served with a foreclosure lawsuit, the paperwork should come with an explanation of their right to mediation and information about how to set it up.

"We want to encourage people to try to save their homes," said Thomas McGrady, chief judge for the 6th Circuit.

He signed an administrative order last month that requires lenders to notify homeowners about mediation, a meeting of both parties out of court in which they try to resolve their dispute without going before a judge. It has always been available, but court officials say most borrowers take no action in a foreclosure and simply accept losing their home. Through mediation, they might be able to obtain a loan modification that enables them to keep their house.

The order also requires the lenders to provide contact information. Judges around the state say they hear the same complaint from borrowers: They're in trouble on their loan but they can't reach anyone at the bank.

"I think the concern is the possible disparity of knowledge of the system," McGrady said, noting a typical homeowner probably knows less about navigating the process than bank officials.

Under the new order, the $150 mediation fee will be paid by the lender. But if the mediation results in no settlement, that money can be added to the final judgment against the borrower, McGrady said.

There's also a boilerplate defendant's motion, which can be downloaded from the circuit's Web site, that homeowners can use to request mediation.

The move by the court comes as Pinellas County saw 1,239 new foreclosure filings in October alone. In Pasco, the number was 762, with more than 12,000 pending.

"Our caseload is massive," said Pasco Circuit Judge Lynn Tepper, whose duties recently expanded to include foreclosure cases.

She also presides over juvenile delinquency court and sees a connection between foreclosed, abandoned homes and the juveniles who appear before her accused of vandalizing them.

"The neighborhood can only be helped by a home that's occupied and maintained," she said.

Tepper favors implementing a comprehensive managed mediation program for foreclosure cases. That's the model recommended by the Task Force on Residential Mortgage Foreclosures convened by the Florida Supreme Court. Citing the backlog of more than 290,000 foreclosure cases across the state, the panel says reaching out to borrowers is vital.

"Most of these folks, they're not denying they're in default. They're not trying to pull a bunch of voodoo delay tactics. They know they owe this money; they just want to know if something can work out," Jennifer Bailey, a Miami circuit judge who is head of the task force, told the justices this month.

McGrady said he wants to wait and see what tack the Supreme Court takes before adopting a broader program.

"We're trying this and we'll see if it works," he said.

-- Molly Moorhead, St. Petersburg Times

If you'd like to review the motion to request mediation please click here.

Recently we asked the viewers at yesnerboss.com to answer the following question: Do you Believe the Recession is Over?



Throughout the month of October, 50 votes were submitted from viewers in eight different states. 26 (52%) of you answered “No, we are going to be in this economy into 2010 and beyond” with the majority of these votes coming from Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, Connecticut and Michigan. However the majority of viewers from California, Texas and Georgia chose “No, but we are getting closer to the end” which received 16 votes (32%) overall. Ohio was the lone state that believed that “Yes, we are starting to come out of it” which received 8 votes (16%) overall.