Foreclosure

This is not legal advice, but there was a recent article in the L.A. Times that said that banks have several alternatives to this and they are almost always better or it will be really hard to try to buy another house in the future due to required down payments, etc, so avoid it if you can.

Potentially forever, or at least 7 years.
Avoid if at all possible.

See http://www.afscanhelp.com/blog/2007/4/how-does-foreclosure-affect-your.cfm

A foreclosure will most likely impact your credit for at least ten years, and potentially forever. At Resolve Legal, we take the position that bankruptcy is better on your credit report than foreclosure, and I put a link to an article on our website about that very topic below. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy can stop the foreclosure from happening and give you time to cure the arrears, in some circumstances.