County Notices of Default Rise 7.6% in 2nd Quarter

The number of Ventura County homes that received notices of default, the first step in a foreclosure process, rose slightly during the second quarter compared to first-quarter figures, a real estate data service reported Friday.

A total of 838 default notices were recorded in the county between April 1 and June 30, a 7.6% rise from the preceding quarter, according to the DataQuick Information Systems report. But the number of default notices dropped in June, when compared to April and May.

Throughout Southern California, the number of default notices recorded declined 11.8% during the second quarter.

Local economists said Ventura County was falling into line with surrounding counties, where the numbers of foreclosures have been on the rise in previous quarters.

The foreclosure process can take four months or more from the time a notice of default is recorded, analysts said. In the meantime, many homeowners either bring their mortgage payments current, deed the property over to the lender or sell the home and pay the mortgage off before the foreclosure process is completed.