To see if all the whispers I’m hearing of people unable to keep up with their mortgages is as bad as it sounds, I decided to check the court records to see if there are any signs of trouble. There are. I checked the number of Lis Pendens filed in the 4th quarter of this year versus last and the number has more than doubled, with nearly as many filings in the final quarter as there were for all of 2006, with 53 filings this year since October 1 compared with only 24 during the same period in 2006. These are for all of Gulf County, not just the Cape market. The lis pendens document surrounds issues regarding property in real estate, where the seller of buyer may breach any terms and a claim on the property has been filed. Dealing with anything like this definitely calls for the help of a professional who knows exactly what they are doing and can give you the best advice to get you through a situation like this.
The trend held true for the entire year, with 126 filings for 2007 versus 56 for 2006.