There is a foreclosure crisis in California. Since the housing downturn erupted, the state has always figured to be on the top of lists for the volume of foreclosed homes. As of the third quarter of 2008, California was at the No. 3 spot, following Nevada and Arizona. Worse, like the two mentioned states, almost half of the homeowners with foreclosed homes owe more to the mortgage lenders than what their homes are actually worth.

Because the housing industry in the state is cooling down, it is not surprising that homebuyers and investors are shifting their focus to California foreclosure homes. Particularly, Los Angeles foreclosure homes are becoming in-demand. Because buying new homes is not practical, purchasing foreclosures can be really viable as prices drop to about 20% to 50% off the actual market values of the homes. Mortgage lenders aim to generate cash, just enough to repay the amount of money lent to borrowers.

Currently, there are about 55,000 California foreclosure homes that are up for sale. If you are considering buying a foreclosed home in the state, check out several available foreclosure listings. If you do not have enough cash to spare, make yourself pre-qualify for a home loan. There is one advice experts give, though. Make sure you would be able to repay your credit facilities for buying foreclosures as you do not want the asset to be foreclosed as well.