Year-end woes put 20 percent of Florida mortgages in trouble

Florida has the highest delinquency rate in the country, with one in five borrowers at least 30 days behind on their mortgage, following a fourth-quarter jump in late payments. The Mortgage Bankers Association survey, which tracks 45.4 million mortgages nationwide and 3.6 million in Florida, said 320,315 borrowers — almost 9 percent of homeowners — were in foreclosure. Nationally, 12 percent of mortgages are delinquent, the group reported. Falling property values remain the largest contributing factor to rising defaults.