Florida To Become A Non-Judicial Foreclosure State? Yes, If The Shameless Banksters Get Their Way; The Push Has Begun!

The St. Petersburg Times reports:

• If bank[st]ers get their way, Floridians facing foreclosure could be kicked out of their homes in as little as three months. The Florida Bankers Association, the 400-member-strong lenders' lobby, has presented state legislators with a bill to upend decades of Florida law and establish "non-judicial" foreclosures in Florida by July 1.

• What's a non-judicial foreclosure? Banks would accelerate foreclosures against defaulting homeowners by bypassing the courts. Judges would no longer rule on foreclosure cases. Some states — 37 in fact — already grant that fast-track foreclosure authority, including California, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. But Florida, with its plethora of vacation and retiree homes, has always been big on homeowner rights.

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• The bankers association has titled the bill The Florida Consumer Protection and Homeowner Credit Rehabilitation Act (a .doc file; go here for .html version). Association president Alex Sanchez views the bill as a way to break a foreclosure crisis partly caused by mortgage fraud.(1)

For the rest of the story, see Florida bankers move to dramatically speed up the foreclosure process.

Thanks to both 4closureFraud and Foreclosure Hamlet for the combined heads-up on this story.

(1) For the banking industry to propose a new law and use the words "consumer protection" and "homeowner credit rehabilitation" in naming the bill shows that there really is no end to the shamelessness of these characters. Among the so-called "consumer protections" contained in the bill is the obliteration of the Florida Supreme Court's newly endorsed mandatory mediation for lenders and homeowners. The bill provides only for informal meetings between creditors and debtors.