THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

The Modesto Bee has a look at residential foreclosures in their market and finds both the bad and the good.

A staggering 10,700 Stanislaus County homes were lost to foreclosure during 2007 and 2008. That's nearly 9 percent of all houses and condos in the county.

Losses have been far greater in some communities. In Patterson, about 1,200 homes - almost one in five - have defaulted mortgages and have been repossessed by lenders.

Modesto also has been overwhelmed with about 5,200 foreclosed homes, more than 8 percent of its total...

..Beyond being eyesores, foreclosed houses have drastically driven down home values for homeowners who remain.

Mark Pensa said he paid $494,000 for a new Patterson home in 2006, and now it's worth less than half that.

"Most of the original (owners) on my street have walked away. But in the last few months, houses have started to sell. That's the problem: $450,000 homes now (sell for) $150,000," Pensa lamented. "What should a person do? I put $100,000 down, got a fixed-rate loan, and I'm now upside down $300,000."

Will he live long enough for real estate values to return to his break even? Who knows, and some folks who are coming to market now probably don't care.

"I found a really good deal," said Goodrich, whose wife, Rose Kapp, gave birth in August to their first child, Owen.

The three-bedroom house with "a gorgeous back yard and long pool" cost $235,000. Now his monthly payments, including mortgage, taxes and insurance, are less than what he used to pay in rent.

"Even when you factor in the cost of gas," Goodrich said, his expenses are lower. The only down side, he said, is commuting 90 minutes each way to work. But Goodrich said it's worth it to live in a home he and his wife love.

Judi Alves hears lots of good news stories like that. The PMZ Real Estate agent in Modesto sold more than 150 bank-owned houses in 2008, and she said there are still great deals and sales remain brisk.

"People are able to buy a lot of square footage for a very good value," Alves said. She listed three foreclosed houses last week, and "we instantly sold all three."

It's all in the timing, but really over the last eight years who could have seen this coming?