Sean Donnelly/Daily Journal Esthela Baldvonos stands with supporters in front of her foreclosed home.

In 2004, South San Francisco resident Esthela Baldovinos paid just $2,300 a month for her house.

Today, the payments ballooned to $7,500 and will reach $8,200 in November. Baldovinos entered into an adjustable rate mortgage not realizing how high the costs could get. Now she and many like her are asking local entities to pass foreclosure moratoriums. The South San Francisco City Council is considering such a voluntary measure, but the resolution is non-binding.

“I am delinquent on my mortgage because I was given an adjustable rate mortgage. I started out paying 6.5 percent. Now my interest rate is over 12 percent and I can’t afford the payments,” Baldovinos said.

Combined Baldovinos and her husband bring in $6,500 monthly — $1,000 less than the current mortgage payment. The parents of nine children with seven still living at home means the mortgage isn’t the only bill stacking up. Power was turned off last week with more than $1,000 owed to Pacific Gas and Electric. On top of it all, Baldovinos’ husband left from the pressure.

She wants to repay the loan and keep her house but Baldovinos isn’t sure how much longer she can avoid foreclosure.

“I need time to work out a loan modification with my lender so that I can stay in my home. We want the South San Francisco City Council to do everything in their power to help people like me stay in our homes,” she said.

Baldovinos is working with the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now, known as ACORN, requesting cities and counties to support a three-month moratorium on foreclosures.

The South San Francisco City Council is considering such a resolution. In addition, the resolution urges lenders to work with affected homeowners. However, the measure holds no authority.

“Nobody should lose their home, nobody,” said Mayor Rich Garbarino. “The thing that concerns me is we can all agree, ‘yes, this is terrible.’ But that’s all we’re doing.”

If the council passes the resolution Garbarino said he will write a letter to state and national leaders requesting action. The council itself, however, has no control over the loans, he said.

Garbarino encouraged anyone wanting change to write a letter as well.

County Supervisor Rose Jacob Gibson is working on similar proposal for the County Board of Supervisors to consider.

Baldovinos’ story is not unique.

California reported 57,875 foreclosure filings during August, which means one foreclosure filing for every 224 households — more than twice the national average, according to RealtyTrac, a forclosure-tracking company.

The trend isn’t unique to California. Counselors for the Homeownership Prevention Foundation fielded over 30,000 in the second quarter of 2007 — more than double the call volume of the first three months of the year. The call rate was six times higher than the same quarter last year, according to the organization’s Web site www.995hope.org.

The council meets 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26 at municipal service building, 33 Arroyo Drive, South San Francisco.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.