LOS ANGELES -- Ed and Mardi Clahan invested $100,000 renovating their salmon-colored Van Nuys house over the past 14 years. But after losing their jobs in the recession, the Clahans this year fell behind on their mortgage.
"A month ago, I jumped in the pool because it was a hot night and I thought, 'This could be the last time I'm in this pool,' " Mr. Clahan said. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost this house." Van Nuys is a community in Los Angeles County.
With Mrs. Clahan having found another job as a secretary, the Clahans feel they have a good chance of getting back on their feet and avoiding foreclosure. But for many others, time is running out.
The mortgage delinquency rate at California financial institutions has doubled over the past year, according to the West Chester, Pa.-based consulting firm Regional Financial Associates Inc.
The delinquency rate at California banks was 1.64 percent for the first quarter that ended March 30, up from 0.83 percent for the like period a year earlier. The national average edged up to 1.86 percent from 1.7 percent, according to the firm. Foreclosures shot up 95 percent in Los Angeles County in the second quarter of this year, compared with the like period a year earlier, according to the Real Estate Research Council of Southern California. Roughly 80 percent of the foreclosures were on homes, said TRW REDI Property Data.
'A lot of people are hurting'
"A lot of people are hurting very badly," said David Schumacher, an appraiser and author in the Los Angeles County city of Hermosa Beach.
Delinquency is the first step toward foreclosure, a process in which a lender seizes a home if mortgage payments cannot be made. A homeowner is in delinquency after missing a first mortgage payment. Foreclosure proceedings usually begin after three missed payments.
Though losing a home is an emotionally grueling experience, the delinquency period preceding a foreclosure often is equally wrenching, according to homeowners and experts.
A house is lost in a foreclosure, but much of the worrying and uncertainty about what will happen can end when the house is lost. The stress of a delinquency can be sharper because the worry is just starting.
Homeowners often add to their indebtedness during delinquency by neglecting other bills, overextending credit cards depleting savings.
"I would wake up in the middle of the night crying because I'd have this on my mind," Mrs. Clahan said. "We'd try to avoid answering the phone and making up stories [to creditors]."
