Foreclosures At All Time High In Coral Springs, Parkland  

Published May 26th, 2008

By Nicol Jenkins
Editor

“This is a situation of national tragedy,” said Coral Springs Commissioner Roy Gold.
Foreclosures are at an all time high in Coral Springs, Parkland and nation-wide.

“In January we had 50, and it doesn’t look good for the future,” Gold said.
Last year, Coral Springs had approximately 285 foreclosures. That was a huge jump from only 35 in 2006 and 17 in 2005, city officials say. 

Coral Springs Vice Mayor Vince Boccard added, “We haven’t seen the beginning of foreclosures. Second home buyers and those with loans have been hit the hardest.” The city is offering a program to help home buyers with finances.
Parkland is also experiencing the effects from foreclosures. “Every time a house goes into foreclosure there are issues the city has to deal with such as code enforcement and revenue,” said Parkland Mayor Michael Udine.

Governor Charlie Crist recently created the Florida Home Ownership Promotes the Economy (HOPE) Task Force to address Florida’s escalating foreclosure rate. The task force will bring together experts in the mortgage and banking industries. 

In 2007, Florida ranked second in home foreclosures, with twice as many foreclosures than in 2006.
Carlos Montoya of Fidelity Real Estate Group in Coral Springs has seen a “tremendous” increase in foreclosures.
“Buyers are flocking to these properties and looking for a good deal,” said Montoya, who e-mails his clients a list of foreclosures on a daily basis. “But people need to realize that foreclosures do not always mean a great deal. Some of the properties are in such disarray that it is not worth spending the money and time on renovations.”

He added, “Sellers need to realize that there are other options besides foreclosures. One of the options is a short sale, which means the lender will accept less than the amount due to them to prevent a foreclosure. Many times if the bank accepts the short sale, they may forgive the debt owed to them.”

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