A foreclosure for sale comes about when a lender is allowed to recover the amount owed to them by either selling or retaking ownership of the property. Usually the owner has defaulted on their mortgage or loan payments over a period of time. The process begins when the lender does a public default notice. The public notice is called a Notice of Default or a Lis Pendens. In 2007, a record number of homeowners are falling behind on their house payments. The foreclosures for sale are a common theme in many markets across the nation especially in California. The variable interest rate figures into many foreclosures for sale situations. Homeowners are not always able to handle the expense of an increase mortgage payment to their living expense. The novel ideal of a low interest initial wears off quickly with loan payment increases of $300 to $500 per month. In addition, the changing U.S. economy and job situation and quick credit lifestyles have lead to keeping up with the Joneses and over spending. However, the foreclosure for sale phenomenon has no easy culprit or easy fix. Homeowners are losing their property at record pace; it is a trend that does not seem to be abating. High utility costs and slowing economy are only a couple more factors adding input to an already worrisome situation. What Can the Home Owner Do? When facing losing their home, the property owner has a few options. Ideally after the investment in purchasing their home, up keeping and maybe even renovating their home a foreclosure for sale is not the option they had anticipated. However, in today’s financial world these things happen. Initially the home goes into pre-foreclosure; during this time the homeowner can reinstate their loan if they pay off the default amount before their grace period ends. The grace period is what is called the pre-foreclosure. If the owner is facing a foreclosure for sale situation, they also have the option of selling their home to a third party. This third party person comes in and pays off the loan. This allows the homeowner in the foreclosure for sale circumstance to have a better credit record by not having a foreclosure on their history. In this situation, the lender can take the property back to re-sell it. The lender may option to sell the property to anyone or they can go through a public auction. There are many people looking for a foreclosure for sale who earn money by buying and reselling property. It is usually considered a good deal to get the home at less than 20 per cent of the market cost. These investors then flip the property to make a profit. Ideally, the homeowner with a foreclosure for sale is either looking to retain their property by repaying their loan and returning to financial stability or to release the property without a blemish on their credit history. It is important to look into all options in order to decide what to do.