Manassas, Va. - Many cash-strapped families are getting around eviction notices by simply staying put, a move that frustrates local police. In places like Prince William County (web|news), there have been so many foreclosures that authorities have had a hard time serving notices.

One Prince William County police officer says that this year, he has served about a hundred eviction orders, but last year, he served only two.

"We went from a payment of... almost $4000 a month, and as of June first 2008, it was to adjust to $5800," lamented June Reyno. Reyno lost her job, and then she and her husband lost their home -- at least, on paper. On October 8, the sheriff's department served an eviction notice

Reyno has taken the drastic step of physically chaining herself to the house in an effort to keep it.

Other foreclosed homeowners are also taking unusual steps, some refusing to leave the home and others leaving extensive damage in their wake when they move out.

Michelle Casciato of Prince William County Public Works said, "We have seen more problems with debris left behind and vandalism."

Casciato says that in Prince William, the problem has gotten bad enough that the board of supervisors has passed new ordinances giving the county the authority to go onto private property to clean up what departed homeowners have left behind.

Some banks are now offering thousands of dollars to occupants willing to just turn over the keys and leave quietly. A long foreclosure process can cost lenders as much as $50,000, so paying between $5,000 and $9,000 up front has proven to be a more cost-efficient and less messy way to deal with the growing problem.

Evictions in Montgomery County (web|news) and Prince George's County are setting records, and in Prince William 5,000 homeowners have been evicted in the last year and a half.