Having trouble paying your mortgage? You aren’t alone. According to RealtyTrac, 1 out of every 134 homes filed for foreclosure in the first half of 2007.

More and more, though, mortgage companies are doing their best to work things out with delinquent homeowners.

Loss of a job or a sudden medical emergency are just some of multitude of reasons that forces an otherwise responsible borrower to find themselves in difficulty.

What’s important to remember is that you are not alone, and there are people you can talk to. Remember: foreclosure is a difficult and expensive proposition for a mortgage company and it wants to avoid the foreclosure process as much as you do.

If you are having trouble making payments — before you fall behind! – call your mortgage lender and explain to them your situation. The lender will likely put you in touch with credit counselors and will usually attempt to work out a payment plan with you.

Never miss a payment (or make a partial payment) without first speaking to your lender because no news is bad news in the case. The lender will assume the worst — that you plan to never make a payment again.

People with excellent credit are burdened with bad luck all the time so don’t let a temporary problem destroy your credit or threaten your home.

No one benefits from drastic action taken against you, so give the lender a call and work things out to everyone’s satisfaction.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 311.50 points yesterday. On the rankings of Top 10 Daily Losses of All-Time, 311.50 doesn’t even come close, according to djindexes.com (and the charts above)

So, as we always do, let’s put yesterday’s action in perspective for the average person.

#7 on the “total points” list happened five months ago today — February 27, 2007. On that day, the Dow lost 416.02.

Was it a crisis? Probably not. We know that because if you pulled your money out of the market February 27, you would have missed the 10.3% in market gains since that day.

Yesterday’s loss doesn’t register in the Top 10 on a points basis, and on a percentage basis, it’s even farther off the chart. At 2.3%, the loss is just a blip.

The point is this: If you are invested in stocks, don’t react too swiftly to the headlines. Many passive investors lose money when trying to time the market’s ups-and-downs. If you’re nervous about your exposure to stock market fluctuations, speak with your wealth planning professional for advice.

The Dow’s worst day ever remains Black Monday on which the market lost 22.61%. Since that date, however, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has added more than 12,000 points. Investors that stayed the course endured temporary pain, but emerged as winners.

Don’t let yesterday’s losses get your down.

This video from CNBC via YouTube does a terrific job of illustrating how sub-prime mortgage defaults are impacting mortgage rates overall.

There’s some jargon in there, but overall, it’s very easy to follow.

June’s Existing Home Sales reported weaker than expected and dropped from prior levels, according to the National Association of REALTORS.

Because our country (A) loves to discuss real estate, and (B) loves statistical headlines, expect tomorrow’s newspapers to emblazon one (or both) of these data points on the front page:

• Home sales are down 3.8% from May 2007
• Home sales plummet 11.4% from one year ago

Those are two of the negative points from the NAR report.

There were positives in the report as well, but they’ll likely get buried deep in the newspaper coverage.

For example, homes are more affordable today than they were a year ago. Mortgage rates for “A” paper home buyers (i.e. strong income, assets and/or credit rating) are slightly lower today in June 2006.

Additionally. the number of homes on the market dropped in June which led to, in part, an increase in the median home sale price.

We bring the up today because it’s important to remember that real estate is not a national news story — it’s hyper-local. That’s why newspaper headlines need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Your home is a part of your neighborhood and that has its own “real estate market”. Just like on any street in America, your street has good buys and outright lemons listed for sale. What’s happening on the national scene has absolutely nothing to do with what’s happening in your backyard.

Unfortunately, this is a truth that remains largely untold.

Prospective pool of buyers can be frightened by negative headlines like the ones we’ll likely see tomorrow morning. Fewer buyers means less demand for homes, placing additional downward pressure on the housing market.