Alabama has had an increase in the amount of foreclosures in the past several months from the year before. With many homeowners losing their jobs or taking a decrease in pay decreases any chance for the homeowner to be able to continue to pay their mortgage. Mainly in the county of Jefferson they have seen a rise in foreclosures. The sheriff has made a number of visits to evict people from their homes.

There were more than 3,000 evictions in 2008 in Jefferson County. This number doubled from the year before. For a sheriff to evict people from their homes it takes a long period of time before getting to that point. For instance, it takes 8 to 12 months to evict someone that is renting in Alabama. The reason for this is that it takes several months before it goes through the court for an official foreclosure. For everything to be passed through the courts it could take up to 4 months. Sheriffs send the final notice out of courtesy for the people the move out of the home. If they do not leave the premises by a certain date then the sheriff appears to evict them.

Some landlords of properties will claim that they tried reaching their tenants for several months but they never return their phone calls. By the time the sheriff arrives the people have to scramble to get their belongings and leave the property. In Jefferson County there were more than 300 foreclosures in February and 45 in Shelby County.