However, there are state-by-state averages, which Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS) tracks each month. Nationwide, homeowners facing foreclosure are collectively 611 days late paying their respective mortgages.

The top places where foreclosures on average take the longest include:

• New York (767 days)
• Florida (757 days)
• New Jersey (708 days)
• Hawaii (681 days)
• Washington D.C. (676 days)

The top places where foreclosures on average take the shortest include:

• Wyoming (398 days)
• Nebraska (407 days)
• Alaska (411 days)
• Idaho (416 days)
• Arizona (418 days)

Homes in states that follow the judicial foreclosure process typically take longer to get through the system because the courts are so overburdened. Non-judicial states, therefore, are going to typically recover faster, according to Herb Blecher, a senior vice president for analytics at LPS, in a recent interview with BusinessWeek. com.

For more on the foreclosure laws in your state click here. To search foreclosed homes for sales in your area click here.

It’s April 18.

Typically, the date doesn’t strike fear in the hearts of ordinary Americans. Today is different, however, because it (not April 15) is the deadline to file individual tax returns.

And for many, 2010 could have been financially difficult, including defaulting on a mortgage loan and losing a home to foreclosure and/or short sale.

The good news is that the  Mortgage Debt Relief Act, passed in 2007 and expiring in 2012, protects most distressed homeowners from being responsible for additional liabilities.

Most, but not all.

CNN.com lays out the exceptions to the rule. Read about them after the jump:

1. You did a cash-out refinance and splurged
2. You have a home-equity line of credit
3. You lost your vacation home or investment property
4. You owned a multimillion-dollar home

Even if you do fall under one of the categories mentioned above, you may still “have a way out.”

Your best bet is to contact a tax professional and discuss your situation with him or her to determine the best course of action.

That’s the assessment from Jamie Dimon, who is the CEO behind one of the largest money-lending financial institutions in the nation, J.P. Morgan Chase

He explains via MarketWatch.com:

“It is a big mess, it has cost us a lot of money. Unfortunately, the only way to do it right is name by name by name…. We will do as many as we can. There is a lot of paperwork. The paperwork is different in every single state…. There were multiple checks and balances and there may be mistakes made in the foreclosure process, but they are very few and boy, when we find them, we try to make up for them right away.”

It’s nice to hear that big banks area learning from their mistakes revealed through the recent robo-signing scandal and are still working feverishly to correct them sooner rather than later. And fix them the right way … even if it means it may cost more.

Each foreclosure case needs to be scrutinized and airtight before heading to the auction block — there’s just too much at stake. That’s the way it should have always been and should remain indefinitely.

But Dimon cautions that because each case needs to be scoured with a fine-toothed comb, and because foreclosure laws are different (and changing) state-by-state, it could take “years before this plays out.” No more cutting corners.

If nothing else that gives distressed homeowners and their families more time to figure out their next moves, perhaps literally, which isn’t a bad thing, at all, considering the difficult circumstances.

It all depends on the laws that govern the state in which you live, however, the average loan is 484 days — or about 16 months — past due, according LPS Applied Analytics (via WSJ.com).

The article provides more context:

“In New York, the average borrower in foreclosure hasn’t made a payment in roughly 20 months. The shortest foreclosure timelines occur in Nebraska and Wyoming, where the average is 358 days, according to LPS.”

Keep in mind that typically if you miss three monthly mortgage payments your lender will likely initiate the foreclosure process.

But, again, it all depends on the state laws (judicial foreclosure proceedings often take longer), as well as your lender. If the lender is jammed up, it could take awhile before it gets to your case — that’s the reason you might see a vacant foreclosure house that isn’t yet listed for sale.

Always proceed with caution and care in a foreclosure situation. Don’t think that you can live rent-free for 16 months! Contact your lender early and often about your foreclosure situation and try as hard as possible to negotiate a mutually beneficial resolution.

To check out nationwide foreclosure laws and procedures in all 50 states click here.

Renters are among the many silent victims in the foreclosure frenzy that is currently gripping numerous areas throughout the nation.

That’s because even if renters satisfy their monthly payment obligations outlined by the property owners, it does not fully protect them from being forced from their homes if the landlords fail to pay the mortgages.

In fact, the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that 40 percent of the households that lose their homes to foreclosure are renters evicted after the bank takes the home from their landlord, according to the Washington Post.

It’s an alarming and unfortunate trend, which will hopefully be minimized thanks to the foreclosure prevention bill that President Barack Obama today signed into law and will extend until the end of 2012.

Here are the top-level points:

• Tenants who pay their rent on time can remain in their home until the end of their lease unless the bank sells the property to someone who intends to make it his or her own residence.
• Renters must be allowed to stay in their homes for 90 days after the foreclosure even without a lease.
• Jurisdictions that already have more stringent renter-protection laws in place won’t see the rules loosened by the new federal law.

For more on the protections for renters contained in the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act click here. To check out eviction laws in your state visit The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty right here.