Florida Awash In Troubled Mortgages

Dominates Top 10 List; New Rules Won't Make Borrowing Easier

A new Moody's report released yesterday shows 7 Florida cities among the list of Top 10 U.S. metros where the most first mortgages will be written off. Mortgage delinquency rates have also reached double digits in several Florida counties including Palm Beach (16%), Broward (21%) and Miami-Dade (26%). According to the Sun-Sentinel, Moody's economist Chris Lafakis is at a loss for words,"It's unprecedented, in both the level and the swiftness of the decline. This goes right to the huge pressure the Florida housing market is under." The mortgage fallout is being reflected in tougher lending standards being rolled out by Fannie Mae...moves that, according to Monica Hatcher at the Herald, "analysts believe will make it even more difficult to sell units in buildings already starved for residents and struggling financially. The standards, which took effect last week and apply only to Florida, include requiring that no more than 15 percent of a building's unit owners be delinquent on association fees as a condition of funding home loans to new buyers."