The cork in the bottle

Foreclosures leap in Sarasota County

Foreclosure filings in Sarasota County spiked by 50 percent in September, even as an end-of-summer lull continued in Manatee and Charlotte counties.

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During August, filings dropped by double digits in Sarasota and Manatee counties. The drop in Sarasota was nearly 34 percent from the previous month and 17 percent from the year before.

In Manatee, the monthly drop was 19 percent and up 3 percent from a year ago.

But some think the 50 percent spike in Sarasota County last month foreshadows another wave of filings.

The cork in the bottle is the different ways banks are processing their distressed properties, with some giving borrowers a three-month reprieve to stay in their homes while others are simply ignoring whole sectors where they have foreclosures to keep the toxic assets off their balance sheets. More...