Big banks in deep foreclosure doo doo in Tampa area

Considering the national banking nightmare brought on by homeowners skipping their mortgage payments, I was curious how many problem real estate loans three of the biggest troubled lenders had in the Tampa Bay area.

Here's the guidelines I used. I decided to count "Lis Pendens" cases, typically how a bank initiates a lawsuit against a late-paying property owner. Not all such cases end in the confiscation of a house, but filing a Lis Pendens is a sign a loan hasn't been paid, sometimes for many months running. I started my Lis Pendens count on January 1, 2006, a rough marker for when the housing slump began.

So here's the extent of Washington Mutual, Countrywide and Wachovia's involvement in lis pendens cases in Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties the past 2 1/2 years:

• Washington Mutual: 2,077
• Countrywide: 3,200*
• Wachovia: 1,540

That's nearly 7,000 shaky home loans from just 3 lenders. Washington Mutual was bought last week by JP Morgan Chase, the former Chase Manhattan Bank. Countrywide was absorbed earlier this year by Bank of America. Wachovia is the latest buy-out victim, acquired today by Citigroup.

*Countrywide's number is approximate, and probably an undercount, since court records in Pasco wouldn't tabulate higher than 500. 

Comments

[Fuzzy Bear]

That's nearly 7,000 shaky home loans from just 3 lenders.

But, that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are more coming in the near future, such as the properties bought to flip that have ended up being rented for less than the person owes. These examples are just some of the the types struggling to keep their heads above water.

Now add in other areas of consumer debt such as auto loans and credit cards followed by bad business loans and the picture becomes much worse for the banking industry.

However, there is good news for the Tampa Bay area, the humidity and temps. have dropped making the weather much more appealing!