Foreclosure is a legal process where a lender or creditor will attempt to recover an amount due on a loan by taking ownership of the collateral property and selling it to pay off the mortgage loan.
A foreclosure can occur when the borrower or property owner does not make their mortgage payments and the lender will repossess the property. Foreclosure can also happen when property taxes or homeowner’s association fees are left unpaid.
Generally, after the first missed payment, your mortgage company will send a Missed Payment Notice. After two missed payments, they will send a Demand letter as an attempt to collect the missed payments. After 90 days of missed payments, lenders will usually send a Notice of Default stating that the loan will be turned over to the lender’s foreclosure department. Roughly 90 days after the Notice of Default, you will receive a Notice of Sheriff’s Sale. This means that your home is scheduled to go up for auction at a public Sheriff’s sale usually within a month. At the Sheriff’s sale, the home will be sold to the highest bidder who will immediately take possession of the property. At this point, you will receive an eviction notice and be asked to vacate the premises.
Marks Law Firm will do everything in our power to ensure that you are able to keep your home or remain in it as long as possible. However, the sooner you involve us, the better. Generally, we would recommend coming to us as soon as you receive a Demand letter.
Each individual case is different in how long the foreclosure process can take due to multiple factors including the dates of missed payments, the lender, and the county Sheriff’s office. A typical foreclosure can last anywhere from 6-12 months or even longer.
If you reach out to us immediately, it is likely that we will be able to keep you in your home for 4-6 months at a minimum.
The equity that you have in your house remains yours even through a foreclosure though it will likely be reduced. You will still owe your missed payments and any late payment fees will be added to the total loan amount. The lender can also charge fees related to the process of the late payment, foreclosure proceedings and expenses for the sale of the home. These fees will likely be subtracted from the final amount owed to you after the home is sold.
Once your home sells at a Sheriff’s sale to the highest bidder, your loan will be paid in full along with any additional fees charged by your lender. The remaining amount after the loan and fees are paid off is your remaining equity.
Yes, it is possible to keep your house even through a foreclosure proceeding. There are quite a few options that we can explore to keep your house during a foreclosure.
Contact us and schedule a free initial consultation to determine if it will be possible for you to keep your house.
Technically yes, but in the state of Iowa 99.9% of the time they wont because suing you personally impacts their legal rights negatively and therefore, they typically do not. Sam has been practicing for more than 20 years and has seen this happen less than 20 times.
Yes! Typically, if you keep your nose clean after filing BK, you will qualify (subject to income and other factors) for an FHA loan two years after discharge and a conventional loan four years after discharge
*we have heard but not confirmed that these time periods have been reduced to 18 months and 36 months. Our advice is to always talk to a mortgage broker (not agent) to better understand your options
Yes, you can seek a loan modification during the foreclosure process. Marks Law Firm is happy to help you work with your lender to get their loan modification forms and fill them out. However, time is of the essence so make sure to contact us quickly.
Contact our office today and schedule an initial appointment to start the process of obtaining a loan modification.
