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It should take more than 30 days to foreclose on

homeowners having difficulty paying their mortgages.

That’s what the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners affirmed earlier this month when it voted to adopt a resolution to lengthen the foreclosure process from 30 days to 90 days. The resolution will ask the county’s legislative delegation to the Georgia General Assembly to support legislation extending the process.

“Georgia is a leading state in the number of foreclosures,” said Commissioner Kathie Gannon. “That’s partly because of the very short length of time that it takes to process foreclosures.”

Gannon said that “in many other states where that process is much longer, it proves to be an incentive to the banks to actually work out loan modifications and other alternatives to keep those homes occupied.”

In Georgia, “the banks have no motivation or time, for that matter, to work out modifications,” Gannon said.

In DeKalb County, one in every 320 housing units received a foreclosure filing in October, according to statistics from RealtyTrac. In Ellenwood the rate was one in 106 homes and Lithonia, the rate was one in 142 homes.

Statewide, 10,000 homes received foreclosure filings, or one in 406 homes, in October.

“It’s a continuing problem,” Gannon said. “It’s certainly going to be an uphill battle in the legislature to change those kinds of laws, but I think that it is important that we continue to push for that.”