clipped from: www.endproperty.com 
A devastating foreclosure boom has been sweeping across the nation. Many experts claim that this boom is due to relaxed lending criteria. This means that banks are lending money to people who are not set up to pay it back in a feasible manner.
Guidelines for foreclosure vary from state to state. However, every state relies on one of two processes; non-judicial or judicial. In a non-judicial foreclosure the owner can risk loosing their home in as little as thirty days if payments are not made. They must also repay all of the back payments on their mortgage or risk loosing their home. Once this process begins, it can not be reversed or stopped.
Many states use a formal judicial process. This process is slower and may take several years for a house to reach auction. After the legal process has ended, if the homeowner is still not able to pay on the mortgage, the bank can sell the home immediately.