BUSINESS WATCH:Guard against home loss

As California struggles with its highest-ever amount of foreclosures, Newport-Mesa’s real estate brokers had a simple message for homeowners: relax and take a deep breath.

And when that’s done, remember a few simple rules.

The state’s housing market has fallen under the media glare in the last month, as banks are repossessing homes in record numbers. Orange County’s market, though, has weathered better than those in Riverside and other counties, and brokers in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa said homeowners and prospective buyers had little to fear if they made the right choices.

“The first thing you should do is to understand the loan you are signing up for, with all its variables,” said Valerie Torelli, the owner of Torelli Realty in Costa Mesa. “And the minute you get into any difficulty, contact your bank or mortgage company and try to work out some payment plan.”

Torelli, who founded her Costa Mesa firm in 1986, said most people got into foreclosure situations for two reasons: taking out loans that they lacked the financial resources to pay off, and keeping hush when they fell behind in their payments. In addition, she said, many homebuyers were duped by adjustable-rate loans that required low monthly payments at first and then skyrocketed abruptly.

Torelli added, though, that the increase in foreclosures wasn’t much of a concern in Orange County, since the area hadn’t had many to begin with.

“The picture that’s being painted is really horrific, but it’s an increase from next to nothing,” she said.

Tricia Moore, the executive vice president of the Newport Beach Assn. of Realtors, seconded Torelli’s advice about dealing with monetary problems early. Lenders, she said, rarely wanted to go into foreclosure and would work with clients to avoid it.

“A lot of them will help you renegotiate, do a different payment plan, look at your individual situation, but they would be better working with you from the get-go,” Moore said. “Once the processes get started, it’s harder to get out of it.”