The problem with the question is that there is no answer. If you asked me how long do you have to date a woman before she sleeps with you, I’d give you same answer as to how long it takes to foreclose…..it varies. I’ve seen people go 6 months from missed payment to curbside and others sitting there twelve months without a notice of trustee sale or extensions, while some don’t get an extension. The ones I know of that have lasted longer just got lucky, their lender went under and after being seized by the fdic, another bank bought them, so the paper trail was probably a nightmare. We’ve had posters show up on the boards who are angry they are being tossed out in 4 or 5 months, that they aren’t getting the free year they thought they would, some even wondered if the had some recourse for getting jipped.

I even know a guy who lost his job and owned two houses, stopped paying for both on the same day, but they were with two different lenders. One was taken back inside of six months (credit union), he still doesn’t have a notice of default on the other and it is nearing 10 months without a payment (subprime lender now defunct). Same guy, same scenario, same start day for missing payments, different banks, wildly different results.

My guess is that the lenders that took over some of the failed lenders are the ones with the more difficult task and are likely the slower ones to foreclose.