Tampa Bay area foreclosures rise in September

More Tampa Bay homeowners failed to pay their mortgages in September. According to First American CoreLogic, 8.82 percent of Tampa Bay mortgages had dipped into foreclosure as of September. That's up from 8.58 percent in August and nearly double the rate of a year earlier. Properties with delinquent mortgages also grew. First American said 14.34 percent of Tampa Bay mortgages were 90 or more days late in September, up from 13.98 percent in August. For all of Tampa Bay's troubles, foreclosure and delinquency rates were higher in Florida as a whole. Economists expect mortgage defaults to remain a problem well into next year.