The News Press reports from Florida. "Area banks are racking up millions of dollars in bad debt, thanks to the softening real estate market in Southwest Florida. Five Southwest Florida banks had a combined $57.5 million in outstanding construction and land loans that weren't being paid, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for the first quarter of 2007."

"That's a 207 percent increase over the $18.7 million the same banks had a year earlier."

"The median price of an existing single-family home in Lee County has fallen from an all-time high of $322,300 to $268,000 in March, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. Meanwhile, the number of homes on the market has quadrupled to about 15,000 as the number of single-family home sales has spiraled down, 636 in March compared with 1,084 in December 2005."

"Karen Dorway, president of Boca Raton-based BauerFinancial Inc., said, the increase in bad debt was incurred from 'people who were trying to get in on the upswing. People without the expertise or the knowledge were trying to get in and taking out some of these loans with the expectation that 'I'll simply sell it for a profit.'"

"John Perry and his wife bought four properties, two in Lehigh Acres and two in Cape Coral, when the market was hot two years ago and now find themselves in trouble on all but one of the deals. They bought three of the homes from First Home Builders and the fourth from Paul Homes."

"Perry said the lenders 'should have definitely given some credence to our financial report, even though we had great credit.'"

"The lenders still should have known the Perrys didn't have the resources to make payments on the houses, he said. 'We have no means of making the mortgage payments on these properties,' he said. 'We've gone to the extent of putting our own personal home in St. Louis on the market. If push comes to shove and we have to pay something, I want that flexibility.'"

"Karen Quanstrom, a loan officer specializing in construction loans for SunTrust Bank's Fort Myers branch, said she has little sympathy for people like the Perrys."

"'Most of these people are in trouble now because they didn't plan for a worst case, they planned for a best case,' said Quanstrom, speaking for herself, not as a representative of SunTrust. 'They want to come back to the Realtor, the broker, the lender, and lay blame.'"

The Sun Sentinel. "Thousands of homeowners in Broward and Palm Beach counties can't make their monthly mortgage payments and are getting sternly worded letters from lenders who threaten to seize their properties and resell them, likely at a loss."

"'It has the potential to get very ugly,' said David Levin, a housing consultant in Palm Beach County."

"The number of people facing foreclosure has been building since January. In April, the number of consumers behind on their mortgage payments in Broward County ballooned to 1,135, compared with 248 a year ago, according to a Plantation research firm. The number of people with late payments also rose sharply in Palm Beach County, from 174 to 814."

"Many of the people who bought in the western suburbs were short-term investors looking to 'flip' properties for quick profits, said Shiela Kiniry, state director of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers. Now they're stuck with properties they can't sell and, in some cases, wilting under the strain of paying two mortgages."

"'I have to believe a lot of those people wanted to jump on the bandwagon while they still had the chance,' Kiniry said. 'It seemed wonderful when they put their money down. Unfortunately, the market's not the same now.'"

The Palm Beach Post. "Land formerly planned for the Opera Place condominium in West Palm Beach will not be sold to an investor group after all. Some residents who thought the project's 26 stories too tall for downtown."

"Well, folks, no need to worry about that too-tall building now. The deal's off. Now we proceed to the next stage in the process: Lawsuits."

"No outcome yet from a trial last week pitting the Marina Grande condo against buyers who have changed their minds about living at the colorful new Riviera Beach project."

"D&T Properties bought a condo at Marina Grande but now wants out of its contract, claiming maintenance costs are higher than it was first promised."

"Marina Grande is fighting back by saying buyers are making excuses to get out of their contracts because the flippers' market has died."

"D&T's is one of two dozen lawsuits by Marina Grande buyers trying to get out of closing on their pre-construction purchases. The lawsuits are part of a trend of home buyers running to the courts to get out of pre-construction contracts on houses, townhouses and condos throughout South Florida."

The Naples News. "Not being able to pay the bills is rarely a cause for celebration. But after a first try at home ownership landed a San Carlos Park couple in a deep financial bind, Amanda Stark and Bill Berr were willing to try anything to shave away at their debts, even partying."

"They’re throwing a benefit bash this weekend in the yard of their two-story, yellow-painted home they’re fighting to keep."

"The route the family is taking, a please-help-us party, might be unusual, but the circumstances are not. The family’s most pressing worry right now is the $3,500 they owe Lee County in past-due property taxes. That debt could eventually force a sale of their home. They’re also struggling to keep up with $1,800 monthly mortgage payments."

"'We’re just trying to do everything we can,' Berry said. 'We’re not giving up.'"

"They bought their 10-year-old home when prices were high in June 2006, eager to leave behind a rental in Cape Coral. They paid $241,000 for the 1,980 square-foot home, many times the $65,000 the property was worth a decade ago."

"With that history of appreciation, Berry and Stark said, they never expected the value of a home so near a university and new development would decrease. The fact the home was appraised that summer for $40,000 more than what the seller took for it might have been a sign, but at the time, Stark said, 'We thought we were getting a good deal.'"

"If they put their home on the market today, though, a real estate agent told them Friday, they’d likely face a $25,000 loss."

"Things would be easier, maybe even fine, if only Berry still made up to $6,000 a week as a carpenter. These days, though, with the slowdown in new construction, a very good week for Berry would bring in half of that amount."

"'And I’m no slouch,' Berry said. He’s at the point he half-wishes for a hurricane or two this season so the work would pick up, he said."

"The terms they borrowed under aren’t helping, either. It’s an 80-20 arrangement, a deal that allowed the couple to avoid a down payment. But it comes with an adjustable interest rate that will start taking their monthly payments even higher next summer."

"The family knows of at least one other couple in the area who have fallen about six months behind in their mortgage payments, and the San Carlos Park neighborhood is full of 'for sale by owner' and 'for rent' signs. There are four such signs on their block."

"Stark said she isn’t sure why they’re selling, but she has her suspicions. 'People don’t really talk about it,' she said. 'I think the reason I’m more comfortable talking about all this and putting it out there is that I think I’m not alone. In fact, I know I’m not alone.'"