Auctions in courts find few buyers

New investment has slowed down to where some banks are helping to keep their mortgage clients out of bankruptcy court. Experts say the issue is bigger for those already in bankruptcy.   "Usually, bankruptcy court proceedings were packed with people," analysts say. "Individuals attend because they think they are getting a deal on a property. Within the last several weeks no investors have showed up for an auction sale.

The worst thing about the housing slowdown may be that many people in Florida, like the rest of nation, were accustomed to mortgaging big purchases with existing home equity and hopes of a better interest rate and growing income.  If you speculate about the collapse of the credit crisis, the fallout is going to be people who can't get their house refinanced because their rate has reset and they can’t afford to make payments. "There is a trend in retail bankruptcy filings, including major corporations like the Bombay Co. and Movie Gallery.  In recent years, attorneys have handled historic high-profile bankruptcy cases like, Pan Am Corp., Piper Aircraft, South Motors auto dealership, Air Florida, and Bentley Bay.

There is was a spike in the number of bankruptcies prior to the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, which tightened some requirements for these bankruptcies.   The act has ended Florida's unlimited homestead exemption, which means people moving to Florida within 1,215 days can only keep $125,000 of the value on their home.