Along the Gulf of Mexico, hurricane season 2007 includes a welter of Tampa foreclosure homes awaiting new owners. Tampa, the third largest city in Florida, is part of a four county spread including St Petersburg and Clearwater, that is known as the Tampa Bay Area and houses more than 2.7 million residents. Hillsborough County alone listed over 1000 new foreclosure filings in July, 1 for every 486 households.

Sellers in Tampa struggle to get interest in their properties, close to 20 months of housing inventory across the Bay area means buyers have never fared better in terms of negotiating power. There are still plenty of new construction units, and sellers less under pressure are pricing keenly. . Still, buyers are not much in evidence.

The locals have become accustomed to foreclosure notices, notices of pending auction dates for auctions at the county courthouse, and foreclosure terminology. Neighbours, friends and family all know someone who has received a Lis Pendens, or notice of a pending lawsuit. The secret is out; home owners of all income brackets, in all neighborhoods across the Bay, may include those who are feeling the squeezing effect of readjusting mortgages.

The general knowledge about foreclosure has increased, but few understand that now is the right time for buyers of foreclosures, when prices are believed to be nearing the bottom of the housing market decline, or how the best of discounts can be obtained by taking advantage of the impact Florida State Law has on the foreclosure timeline.

Florida is a Mortgage state, foreclosure takes place through the courts, and the timeline average is 135 days to the sale date assuming no delays. This allows 4 months for a buyer to search listings and title, find the property with some equity or ability to yield equity through seeking discounts from lenders, and conclude the purchase with the best outcome for the seller

Housing in Tampa Bay is still comparatively affordable in Florida terms. Expect foreclosure sales prices to reflect this attraction to a greater degree. Expect that the relatively inexperienced buyer of a foreclosure property in a good location, prepared to stay in his new home through the next 4 to 7 years, or to rent it out at attractive rates should he need to move earlier, will build a significant level of equity at the end of the period, as housing prices ride back up the other side of the cycle.