Most ruthless foreclosure states (CNNMoney.com)

[eppur_se_muova]

Laws vary widely from state to state. Do you know what kind of mortgage you have?

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer

July 20 2007: 12:11 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In Alabama, late-paying homeowners can lose their properties to foreclosure at breathtaking speed - as little as 30 days after a delinquency notice is published.

In New York State, the process can drag on for well more than a year.

With foreclosures spiking around the nation, homeowners should learn the foreclosure laws in their states - what you don't know can hurt you.

"The foreclosure laws tend to be very parochial," said Lawrence Jacobson, a real estate attorney in Los Angeles.

One major divide is whether the principle instrument securing the loan is a conventional mortgage or a "deed of trust." They are not the same even though everybody uses the term "mortgage" interchangeably.
***
more: http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/19/real_estate/foreclosure_by_the_state/index.htm?cnn=yes

Alabama, making me proud as ever.