Bankruptcy Lawyers And Foreclosure Experts Reaping Benefits From The Crisis

April 4th, 2008 | Tags: Foreclosure

Rhona Light is a foreclosure expert. She hardly has a time to herself with work rolling in continuously. She recalls that two decades ago there were hardly 50 cases in a week in Broward County. Of late she alone is handling 1,200 foreclosures in seven days. The trend seems to show that there are dark days ahead also.

Broward County including Miami-Dade was thought of to be a paradise on earth – the best place to stay. Real estate agents buzzed around like bees for quick profits. But when the housing balloon got pricked there followed a trail of woe and devastation in the wake of the foreclosure tsunami.

South Florida is one of the worst affected regions in the entire county. Real prices are tumbling. In 2007 there were 11,000 bankruptcy filings. Light is an expert and knows what she is saying – more numbers will be noted in the current year. It might run up to 2,000 in a week in Broward. The pressure is so acute that Miami-Dade and Broward counties have add to add another day in the weekly calendar to attend to more auctions.

Statistics may be confusing. There were 36,000 bankruptcy filings in 2007 showing a sharp decline. This is not because of improved foreclosure picture but because of the introduction of laws that have made it more difficult for borrowers to find relief through the bankruptcy route.

One man’s poison is another’s meat and for foreclosure consultants and bankruptcy lawyers it is a time to make hay. Light has started teaching sessions and now has 20 students per session. In South Florida bus tours are taking round potential buyers to see the foreclosed houses. Matthew Militzok of a Miami law firm comments that his organization has never been busier and most probably things are going to get more hot and exciting. He has been dealing with bankruptcy for the last eight years but suddenly during the previous six months work has suddenly shot up. Two or three new cases are coming up everyday.

Joel Aresty another Miami lawyer says that the worst is yet to come. The way the ball is rolling soon construction will come to a halt and thousands of workers will be thrown out of jobs. Contractors too and all those related with development will suffer. It will be a snowballing effect that will ultimately tell on the food chain.