Buyers, sellers and Realtors wait to see what impact a 90-day state moratorium on housing foreclosures will have on the housing market in Placer County.

The California Foreclosure Prevention Act, which took effect Monday, is expected to make lenders put more effort to keep borrowers in their homes. For Rocklin Re/Max Realtor Ed Kittle, he’s doubtful the measure will have a positive result.

“The last time they did this, the NOD’s (Notices of Default) went way down,” said Kittle, “But after the ban was over they increased dramatically.”

When times were good a few years ago, Mike Menas opened a second mortgage on his Roseville home to buy a second home as an investment property. When the housing market crashed, Menas was forced into bankruptcy and now lives in a rental property.

“My second home is still in foreclosure and I bought it after the first one,” Menas said. “I don’t know what the bank is waiting for.”

In Rocklin, there are 49 active or pending foreclosure sales, according to the Placer County Realtors Association, as of June 15.

Under the law, mortgage lenders will be required to prove they worked with the homeowner to make a loan modification before they can begin foreclosure procedures. Kittle said the new measure will just delay the inevitable for a lot of homeowners.

“Loan modifications are rarely worth doing and they are usually very difficult to qualify for,” Kittle said. “The real problem is, people are way upside down. If they lose their job, have to move, get a divorce or anything else, they can’t make the payment. No legislation is going to fix that.”

For new buyer Jennifer Smith, buying a foreclosure has been a real experience. She closed on her Rocklin home just days before the property was to be sold at auction and was surprised at what happened next.

“My husband called me and said people were showing up at our house for the auction,” Smith said. “He had to make a sign up to tell people it was sold.”

Kittle said the housing market in Rocklin and Roseville has reached bottom and home prices are stabilizing and in some cases increasing. He said the market will sort itself out.

“We need to go through it and take our medicine and get it over instead of delaying everything,” Kittle said.