Florida Foreclosure Auction Web Sites Confuse Consumers
Over the past year, I’ve covered Florida’s deep foreclosure problem on multiple occasions. To attempt to cope with the growing foreclosure inventory, the state government has turned to an eBay-like online foreclosure auction system. While utilizing the Internet may be a smart means for making the auction process easier, it also opens up these auctions to a much wider, less experienced pool of potential buyers — anyone with an Internet connection. But some of those new users who think they’re getting an incredible deal on a foreclosed property are actually getting ripped off instead.
Florida’s housing market was one of the most brutalized by the housing bubble’s pop. The state’s economy was very dependent on its real estate industry. In 2009 alone it recorded over a half-million foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac. In Florida 26% of all mortgages are at least one payment past due, reports the Mortgage Bankers Association. So you can see why the state needs to do something to whittle down its growing inventory of foreclosed properties.
The state government is trying to do just that through its new online auction system, administered through realauction.com. First rolled out late last year, counties across the state are slowly adopting these online auction systems accessed through their Clerk of Court’s webites. Miami-Dade’s site went live in January.