Faces of foreclosure

"We've also had a lot of clients who really shouldn't have gotten the mortgage in the first place," she added. "They weren't credit worthy, and so they got into an adjustable rate, and they were delinquent before their rate ever adjusts due to their poor money management or an unforeseen job loss, illness or increased expenses."

A recent report from RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, Calif., showed Utah ranked ninth in the nation in the rate of foreclosure filings last month.

The four Utah metro areas in July all ranked among the nation's top 100 for the highest number of foreclosure filings. St. George ranked 17th in the report, the Provo/Orem area ranked 39th, Salt Lake City ranked 70th nationally and Ogden/Clearfield was 100th.

Jim Wood, director of the University of Utah's Bureau of Business and Economic Research, said Utah could be in for a state record for foreclosures next year.

Nationally, the foreclosure rate in the first quarter of 2008 was 2.46 percent, Wood wrote this month in a research paper. "The expectation is that within the next 12 months, the national foreclosure rate will increase to over 3 percent."

A foreclosure rate of 3 percent would put about 13,000 homes in Utah in foreclosure, nearly double the previous high of 6,800 homes in 2002, he said.

Utah's foreclosure rate will likely follow the national trend and rise to at least 3 percent by 2009, he said. Falling housing prices will leave some homeowners with little or no equity, increasing the risk of default and foreclosure.

"There is simply no compelling evidence from either historical trends or local market conditions that Utah will be able to avoid foreclosure rates that approach at least the national rate," he said.

The routes that people take to find themselves in foreclosure vary. One Utah woman, who asked not to be identified, told of the struggle to keep her home from foreclosure. She feels shame — shame at finding herself in such a perilous situation and bewildered at how it could happen.

She paid her bills and worked hard, spending 14 years in the retail business so that she could buy a home. But in July 2006, her life took a sharp turn when she was forced to leave her retail job due to a debilitating medical problem.

"I went to the doctor and found out I had to have a severe back operation," she said. "It was hurting me to where I couldn't stand eight hours for work."

Following the surgery, she tried to return to work, but her employer would not modify her position and eventually laid her off. To make matters worse, in November 2006, she was diagnosed with a neck problem that also required surgery.

While recovering from the second operation, she fell behind on her mortgage.

"I got so far behind on my house because I couldn't afford it," she said. "It got so bad that I was getting phone calls from creditors, so I went and filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy."