Foreclosures and Unemployment Caused McCain’s Loss in Florida
November 11th, 2008 by 
admin
For every one percent of foreclosed homes in Florida in September 2008, Barack Obama took away 16 percentage points from McCain. For every one percent of unemployed Floridians, Obama took away almost two percentage points from McCain. McCain lost Florida, with 50.9 percent of voters delivering their votes to Obama.
AP compared counties’ foreclosure and unemployment rates to the results of the election and found out significant correlations, although the correlation between foreclosure and election results is much more significant than the correlation between unemployment and election results.
Four of the six counties with the largest foreclosure rates were won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama, with two of the counties overwhelmingly won by Republican President George Bush in 2004.
According to David Denslow, a University of Florida economist and professor, counties struggling under bad economic conditions have overwhelmingly voted for Obama hoping that the new president can make things different.
Stan Geberer, the chief economist of Orlando-based Fishkind & Associates, said that foreclosure became the surrogate for all other economic troubles, such as extremely low consumer confidence and unemployment.
When George Bush was re-elected as president in November 2004, there were only 10,350 foreclosed homes in Florida. In September of this year, there were nearly 48,000 foreclosed homes.
In 2004, there were 47,000 unemployment claims. In September 2008, the figured doubled to 94,000 claims. In 2004, the unemployment rate was 4.5%. It increased to 6.6% in September.
Twenty-seven year-old Alicia Smith has not been able to return to work since resigning from her job as store cashier in 2006 to deliver her child. She decided to vote for Obama, hoping he will do things differently and create jobs.
Fifty-three-year-old Diane Sealey has kept her job and has no problems related to foreclosure, but she sees all around her the signs of a bleak economy. She also voted for Obama.
Search for Foreclosed Homes by Florida Top Cities:
- Holywood Foreclosed Homes
- Miami Foreclosed Homes
- Fort Lauderdale Foreclosed Homes
- Orlando Foreclosed Homes
Related Posts:
- Foreclosure States Decided the Winner of the Presidential Election
- Did Home Foreclosure Rates Predict the Next President?
- Election Officials Worried About Foreclosures and Voting Rolls
- Obama Faces Falling Stocks, Lost Jobs, Foreclosed Homes
- Obama Promises To Do A Better Job In Resolving Foreclosure Crisis
Posted in Florida | 
1 Comment »
November 11th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Good article. Most people do not realize that they can stop foreclosure even if they stopped paying their mortgage. Many recent cases have been filed improperly and an experienced attorney can assist with the identification and filing of substantive and procedural defenses with the court and vigorously defend your case. Due to the lender’s actions, omissions or other facts surrounding your case, you may be able to stop making mortgage payments and stay in your home while your attorney vigorously defends your property. This does not necessarily mean that you will not have to pay the loan back or completely Stop Foreclosure. It is possible to completely Stop Foreclosure if the bank or lender is in violation of the Florida Unfair Lending Act or other predatory lending practices. If the lender has committed such a violation, the entire principal and interest balance may be waived and the mortgage may be voided. This may not be relevant in your case. But, at the very least, a successful defense can do is buy you precious time to:
* Stay in your home
* Negotiate a work-out with the bank
* Sell your home for a fair price
* Refinance your home at a fair rate
* Continue to collect rent on the property
* Apply for a Court Ordered repayment plan
* File a Chapter 13 or 7 Bankruptcy
When home owners are faced with the reality of facing a potential foreclosure, many experience a state of paralysis. They don’t know what to do. Selling the home may not be an option since the equity appears to have vanished. To fight foreclosure or not? That is the question. Clouding the answer is perhaps the biggest misconception, “Hiring an attorney is not a cost-effective option.” If I can’t afford to pay my mortgage, then how in the world can I afford to hire a competent attorney? And why should I, if I am upside down in my home? First of all, EVERYONE can and should hire an attorney to represent them in their foreclosure case. There are many competent attorneys who specialize in this area. Due to the growing number of these cases, many attorneys have become “experts” in this area. Due to the fact that most of these cases are very similar, many excellent attorneys have experienced staff and can offer extremely affordable payment arrangements. Most people don’t know that once the foreclosure proceeding has started, the bank will not accept any future mortgage payments – doing so may adversely affect their ability to foreclose on your property. Furthermore, the bank pays any delinquent real estate taxes and the insurance on the property. In summation, once the bank files a foreclosure lawsuit, most of the homeowner’s expenses are being paid by the bank (mortgage, taxes and insurance). However, as the legal owner of the house with full possession, you have all the rights associated with same including residing in your home, collecting rents on the property, etc. Imagine the “EQUITY” you can save / build, if you fight the foreclosure case for a year or more. The cost of qualified legal representation is a drop in the bucket compared to your typical home ownership overhead. Time is money and the real estate and financial markets are likely to turn around. The hiring of the right attorney will save you thousands of actual dollars, in addition to thousands in time value of money. Its really a no-brainer.
Respectfully,
Frederick A Neustein
The Law Offices of Charles L Neustein P.A. is a Florida law firm focusing on the representation of home owners and investors defending their property from bank foreclosure. The goal of our foreclosure attorneys is to cost effectively stop foreclosure.