Foreclosure hit the nation fast and hard. I'm from Arizona; one of the states hardest hit by these tough economic times and had to fight to keep my own home. One of the problems I have encountered when fighting to keep my own home is information about options. Many lenders wouldn't touch my situation and kept trying to send me to someone else until I was forced to find my own way. Every home owner will face a different scenario that has led them into difficulties. My personal situation led me to unemployment for about four months. During those months, I tried to find a tenant to live in the house and help me pay the rent. The problems I encountered were competition from entire houses for rent in the area at considerably cheap rates. Who would live with someone if they could rent a house affordably? As of December 16, 2009, an average room to rent in a shared house cost around $510 per month, while an average one-bedroom house or apartment cost $650 (data referenced at end of trial). because that was the only job offer I received. I now work with the Oklahoma Inspector General's Office of Housing and Urban Development as an auditor. I found a tenant to live in my house and pay about 70% of the mortgage. The only reason this worked is because I was able to find a rental in Oklahoma for about the same price I'm renting the house for; I am not making any money from this transaction. I'm grateful for my job, but I understand that it's not an option for everyone. After having a chance to look at other HUD programs, I think a hybrid of a renovation assistance and rental program would be a great option for those who don't. i want to be totally hands free, but i would love to... middle of paper ... not as many as the number of seizures that could have been avoided with a little help. According to thetruthaboutmortgage.com, default rates reached 21% in the third quarter of 2009. With rates this high, every foreclosure avoided is worth it.ReferencesWebsite http://phoenix.olx.com/rooms-for-rent- shared-cat -301#Method I took the information below from the website above to calculate the average 1 bedroom rental rate in Phoenix, AZ for 3 bedroom homes as of 12/16/09Numbers 450600 Average 510 102 1224425575500 Website http://www.rent.com/locations/arizona/phoenix-scottsdale-and-vicinity/phoenix/Method Information is listed on the left side of the website under “cost of living and prices of apartments » NumbersAverage 650