About 4.5 % of mortgages in the greater San Francisco Bay area are at least 3 months behind in mortgage payments and not yet in foreclosure. This default limbo is different from other real estate crashes because previously there were fewer troubled loans which meant the banks moved quickly on those who fell behind on payments. Today with so many homeowners underwater, lenders just can’t keep up or are purposely avoiding foreclosures in fear of flooding the market with homes. Some underwater homeowners have used the lender default limbo to their advantage deciding to simply stop making payments on their mortgage. Instead using the foreclosure limbo time to save money rather than pour it into a property that may never gain equity. It is all bad news for homeowners causing market instability that could last for years.