The American dream is becoming a nightmare for millions of Americans who are losing their homes to foreclosure. 161 Bay Contains lost their homes last month, an all time high. The Walton County numbers are even more staggering.

Many families feel the pressure every month when the bills start rolling in. For millions of Americans the financial struggles start because they can't afford their homes and it's causing many families to have to face foreclose.

William Howell is a lawyer in Santa Rosa Beach. Recently he's seen an increase in foreclosure cases and says almost 75 percent of his work load proves it.

William S. Howell, Jr., attorney at law, said, "Most of the people that own property now owned it for three or four years. My guess is quite of few of them were buying with the intention of holding for a year and flipping the condo or the lots. They've been holding for almost three years now and they're running out of money."

Newschannel 7 called officials in Walton County to see how the numbers had changed over the years. Here's what we found out. From 2005 to 2007 the number of foreclosed homes had increased more than four times the original number; 171 one foreclosed homes in 2005 compared to 721 foreclosures in 2007.

Through April, Walton County has already seen 509 foreclosures and if everything stays the way it is by the end of this year you could see over 1,500 foreclosed homes just in Walton County.

"I've talked with people from time to time that have drawn all their IRA accounts down, they've borrowed money, run up credit cards and many are just throwing up their hands and giving up and realizing they've done all they can do. "

Howell says if you find yourself in this situation there are things you should consider before you face foreclosure.

"I would suggest for people who are totally out of funds and still holding these types of properties need to talk to an attorney that handles bankruptcy. Bankruptcy attorneys can give you some good advice and help you plan a little bit."

About 1/4 of the homes foreclosed this year in Walton County were condo properties.