The average time it takes for banks to process a foreclosure -- from missed mortgage payment to the final part of the process -- has increased to 674 days, more than double the time frame foreclosures took just four years ago, according to LPS Applied Analytics. Four years ago, the average time nationally was 253 days.

Delinquent home owners are learning how to stay longer in their homes with some home owners taking advantage of delay tactics, according to a recent article at CNNMoney. Some stall tactics housing experts report more home owners are using to delay evictions are home owners’ challenging the bank’s foreclosure against them, requesting that lenders dig up original paperwork such as by asking for banks to produce paperwork that shows it is the legal holder of the mortgage note, or even, in some cases, home owners will declare bankruptcy, CNNMoney reports. 

Housing experts say the delays are continuing to throw a thorn in the real estate market’s recovery. “People who stay in homes undergoing foreclosure for years often don't maintain the properties, causing blight and lowering property values in the surrounding neighborhoods,” David Dunn, a partner at law firm Hogan Lovells in New York, who represents banks in foreclosure cases, told CNNMoney.

The following are the states with the longest delays in foreclosures: 

• Washington, D.C.: Foreclosures take on average 1,053 days 
• Florida: The average process time for foreclosures takes 1,027 days (or three years).
• New York: 906 days