When it comes to repossessing property, it's once again pedal to the metal for lenders in South Florida.
For the first time since the robosigning controversy erupted a year ago, lenders in the three-county market are once again filing an increasing number of foreclosure actions, according to Condo Vultures, a Bal Harbour-based consulting firm.
More than 9,700 notices of default were initiated in the third quarter of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. In last year's third quarter, 13,900 such actions were filed. But then the foreclosure freeze took hold, and filings dropped to 8,900 in the fourth quarter of 2010, 6,800 in the first quarter of 2011 and 7,200 in this year's second quarter.
A notice of default is the first step in the foreclosure process.
Lenders "are going back to work," said Condo Vultures Principal Peter Zalewski. "For several months, lenders were riding the brakes as they examined their internal policies and procedures related to the repossession process. A year later, the banks appear poised to up shift into a higher."
