I read an opinion piece in our local newspaper the other day that said the high number of foreclosures in Florida were primarily due to speculators (house flippers) who were given interest only loans with no down payments. They couldn't flip so they walked away without losing hardly any money. Now the banks were stuck with houses they didn't want and can't unload.

My father-in-law died last year. He had a house in Florida. We can't get rid of it. At one time it was appraised at $250,000. It was listed at $125,000 and is now down to $80,000.