Foot-Dragging Banksters, Bogus Paperwork, Foreclosure Mill Screw-Ups All Helping To Stabilize Real Estate Market?

In Central Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:

• With foreclosures, final doesn't always mean final. Some Tampa Bay residents are still living in their homes long after the final judgment of foreclosure because banks have canceled the public auction two, three, even five times. Others have had their houses sold at auction, only to have the sale reversed later.



• Either way, here's a surprising result: Banks' slowness to take title to thousands of homes and condos might actually be helping to stabilize Florida's beleaguered real estate market. "It's helped keep the values up a little bit in that we have a pent-up demand'' for foreclosed houses, says Scott Samuels, a liquidation specialist for Keller Williams.



• In some cases, banks delay taking ownership to avoid maintenance bills or homeowners association fees. In other cases, houses and condos have yet to get beyond the final judgment stage because of problems with foreclosure documents and errors by lawyers representing the banks.

For more, see Balky banks gum up foreclosure courts, benefiting some owners.