More and more homes in Perris are unoccupied. This charred shell of a house is one of many properties that have recently undergone foreclosure. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
Kids shoot hoops late in the day at Avalon Park in Perris. The park was full of life but there are many for-sale signs in the neigborhood. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
Perris is at the center of the mortgage implosion. Bluff Street is no exception. There are at least five homes for sale and two foreclosures. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
Oscar De Leon, with his wife, Sandra, and children, bought his home in Perris in 2005. I like it here, says De Leon. They could offer me a house for free in L.A. Id take it and sell it, but Id never live there. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
A default notice, the first step in the foreclosure process, posted in Perris. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
For-sale signs dot the town of Perris in Riverside County. (Gina Ferazzi / LAT)
