Within the last year, Mary Beth Farmer suffered a house fire, an unscrupulous contractor, stolen car and unemployment. When she opened the envelope that said foreclosure proceedings were under way on the Troy residence she called home for five years, she packed her bags for California.

With no job and no vehicle to look for work, Farmer said she was unable to keep up with house payments.

“Our neighbors have been gracious enough to give us rides in town and pick us up on the way back,” Ms. Farmer said.

“We’ve been going to food pantries to get food. We were at the bottom by the time we realized what was happening,” she said. “We just thought we’d always get back on our feet.”

Ms. Farmer is not alone.

According to a company that tracks such data, lien holders filed 161 foreclosure postings on Bell County real estate worth about $184.5 million for the upcoming November auction. That’s a 17 percent jump compared to the same month last year.

George Roddy Sr., president of Foreclosure Listing Service Inc., said foreclosures are the symptom of a larger problem. Sort of like the canary in the coal mine.

“Foreclosure postings are a lagging economic indicator, which means that economic factors must improve before foreclosure conditions can improve,” Roddy said. “I simply do not foresee that happening for some time. Even with the adopted bailout plan, it remains to be seen if the individual homeowner, or ‘Joe the Plumber,’ will actually see any economic relief.”

Overall this year, Bell County foreclosures - 1,711 - are up 36 percent compared to 2007 - 1,261. With one month left in 2008 record keeping, because foreclosure postings run one month ahead of the calendar year, Bell County has surpassed last month’s total by 450, or 36 percent.

At this pace, Bell County foreclosure postings will reach about 1,850 by the end of this year, which will set a record high, Roddy said.

South of Temple, Travis County is up 44 percent and Williamson County up 37, comparing this November to the same month last year. McLennan County reported a 12 percent drop.

Back at the Temple train station, Ms. Farmer was ready to turn the page on “a year of bad luck.” She has a home health care provider job waiting in California.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Ms. Farmer said. “It’s going to be a fresh start.”

fafflerbach@temple-telegram.com