The nationwide housing crisis has spawned alternative ways to combat imminent foreclosures and many lenders were slowly cooperating with troubled homeowners in implementing loan modifications or short sales rather than both parties having to deal squarely with the horrors of painful property repossession.

Long Realty’s Ken Ryan said that short sales have become so eminent in the industry that property agents and bankers had already adapted to the sticky procedures, which could prove too long and arduous that Ryan is suggesting that patience and persistence must be the main armor of homeowners, buyers, bankers and even real-estate agents.

The deal calls for homeowners to sell their house for less than the money they owe to a bank, which in turn could agree that the remaining loan would be written off.

While the deal could last for many months, Pattie Johnson, also from Long Realty, said that that all the effort could work wonders for debt-ridden homeowners who may be looking for the best way out, stressing that “the overall impact on their credit is often going to be worse if they just walk away and let the property foreclose.”

Still, foreclosure incidents seemed to get worst by the day and in July alone in Pima County, 1111 foreclosure notices were recorded, which is 29 percent higher than in June, though county authorities said that the notices only formalized defaults in mortgage payment and should not be construed as preparatory steps to foreclosure.

Also, sales of foreclosed properties in the county have been spiking as a total of 4157 homes have been sold from January to July this year as against the 3185 disposed off from last year, which pointed to two tell-tale signs that problematic homes have been moving out of the market but sadly, their owners too had to move out.

And the nationwide conditions were far from any different as the July data showed that foreclosure shot up by four percent from the previous month and experts said that the trend could only continue as interest-only mortgages are resetting this year, which could push monthly payments by as much as a threefold jump.

As in the case of 39-year-old Dana Jones who attempted a short-sale deal with the Bank of America for her North Carolina home.

Jones owed the bank $75,528 but she managed to persuade a buyer to acquire the property for $70,000 yet BofA allegedly held her short-sale application at bay and after six months, the buyer finally abandoned the deal and Jones was forced to return on her native Tucson and wait for the eventual foreclosure of her home.

Bank of America opted not to address the Jones case when it was queried for comments yet it reiterated that through its cooperation, the bank has successfully worked for the completion of up to 160,000 loan modifications.

Banks giving its best to avert foreclosures could not be far from the truth as Wells Fargo’s Carolyn Mitchell had stressed that it’s best to prevent foreclosures since they are quite expensive both ways, adding that “it’s been our position since the beginning of the housing crisis to help our customers avoid foreclosure.”

Also, homeowners could explore other options in dodging foreclosure such as opting for a deed in lie where the lender could repossess the property minus the foreclosure scenario as Oscar Gastelum of Primavera Foundation reminded that “most investors are willing to work with a borrower if they show a surplus in their income.”

Gastelum admitted though that the waiting process in any load modification could prove to be too much for homeowners who already grapple in meeting bills and the additional stress of delay for a waited relief puts more weight on the already heavy burden.

However, Long Realty’s Johnson enjoined troubled homeowners to focus on solving their problems rather than dwelling on the severity of their cash-flow issues, stressing that they should pay close attention to bank notices and “once they start having financial difficulties they need to consult a professional about what their options are.”