Disclaimer: Legal information is not the same as legal advice

DEFINITION OF FORECLOSURE IN PLAIN ENGLISH

If you haven’t made your house payments, your mortgage holder will sell your home a public auction to pay back the money your borrowed (plus back payments, late fees, attorneys fees, etc.) and leave you on the street. The negative mark of a Foreclosure will remain on your credit history for 7 years. Call us 24 hours/7 days a week at 954-793-4898 and within 24 hours we will let you know for free what your best options are.

WHAT THE LAW SAYS

In Florida, (If your not in Florida click here) mortgages must be foreclosed by filing a lawsuit in court. As in any lawsuit, the borrower must be served with notice of the lawsuit and must be given an opportunity to appear and defend his or her rights. The lender will try to show that the borrower is in default, and that foreclosure is therefore necessary under Florida equity law. Florida is unusual in that the legislature has passed very few statues regulating foreclosures. Most of the law on the subject of foreclosures in Florida is found scattered in dozens of cases. The basic statue, chapter 702.01 reads as follows:

All mortgages shall be foreclosed in equity. In a mortgage foreclosure . . . action, the court shall server for separate trial all counterclaims against the foreclosing mortgage. The foreclosure claim shall, if tried be tried to the court without a jury. Counterclaims by a borrower may be tried to a jury, but they must be tried separately from the main foreclosure lawsuit.

In Florida because the lawsuit to foreclose on a borrower is a suit in equity, it is impossible to obtain an injunction to stop what is, in essence, a court ordered sale. In addition, the court can order the sale at a low price. A sale can be set aside if there is an error in the procedure to foreclose; however, it cannot be set aside due to the low sale price. The court order commanding foreclosure will specify how the foreclosure must take place, and the foreclosure must take place on those terms.

After the sale takes place, the sale terms must be confirmed by the court that ordered the sale. If the terms of the sale order are met, title in the buyer’s name can become complete by filing a certificate of title. At the discretion of the court, junior lien holders can redeem the property, up to the time of the confirmation of the sale. The equity of redemption is cut off when the sale is confirmed, but it exists prior to that time, which means the borrower can save the property from foreclosure by coming up with the money before confirmation of the sale.

DEFICIENCY
If the house is sold at Public Auction for less than what is owed (mortgage, back payments, late fees, attorney fees, interest, etc.). The lender has the right to file a deficiency judgment against the borrower/home owner. This deficiency must be filed within four years after the foreclosure sale.

To Request a FREE Consultation Call us at 954-793-4898 and within 24 hours we can let you know for free what is your best option.

THE PROCESS

1. Delinquency Notice (arrives after 1st late payment)
a. Bank starts calling, adds late fees to what you owe
b. Each month bank adds more late fees, compounding on what you already owe
c. By the 2nd or 3rd month, your mortgage lender assigns the case to an attorney which now adds another $1,000+ to the fees you owe.2.

1.) Date of Publication
a. After the 4th payment is missed, attorney goes to courthouse and places an ad in the newspaper in the Legal Notices section. Notice includes: Your Name, Address and Date of sale.
b. At the same time you will be served with a Compliant from the mortgage company’s attorney. Be sure to respond to this complaint.
c. At this point you’ll have a certain amount of time to pay back everything you owe and re-instate the loan, work out an agreement with your lender or sell the home to pay back what you owe.3.

2.) Date of Sale
a. Should you not resolve this situation by the sale date, the lender will sell your home at Public Auction and leave you with nothing. If your home does not sell for what you owe, the lender can also attach a deficiency judgment to you. Meaning you personally still owe the bank for the amount they didn’t get by auctioning off your home.

3.) COSTS INVOLVED
Each month that goes by the bank adds on late fees, attorney fees, back payments and interest. Within 3 months time, a $1,000 mortgage payment means you could easily owe the bank over $10,000.

Call us 24 hours/7 days a week at 888-555-5556 to request a free consultation and within 24 hours a consultant will contact you to discuss how we can assist you.