Foreclosure
“A banker is a fellow who lends his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” --- Mark Twain
Home Foreclosure
Nothing can create a more stressful situation than facing a foreclosure of the family home. The two main causes of foreclosure are failure to pay mortgage payments as agreed or failure to pay taxes and fees. If the note is not paid as agreed, the lender will begin foreclosure proceedings with the clear intend of taking the property from you.
Government Taxes
In addition, if the homeowner avoids paying government levied taxes such as property taxes, water, sewer, or in some cities even your garbage collection fees, you also risk the horror of foreclosure.
Breach of Contract
There are other cases where the homeowner is faced with foreclosure when one or more of the provisions in the mortgage contract are breached.
Breach of contract may include property abandonment, not maintaining insurance, or contracting to sell the home without notifying the mortgage holder.
Prerequisite to Foreclosure
Initially the lender will send you a friendly notice advising you that you have missed your mortgage payment. If you do not respond to the notice by sending a payment or making other arrangements, you will receive another notice asking whether you have forgotten to send in your payment. This notice is still friendly, but a tad terse.
Threat to your Credit Rating
Another month goes by and the lender sends the “You are in the process of ruining your credit” notice and that they will take legal action available to collect the debt. This is followed by a phone call, (tell me this isn't worse than many of your mother's) and certified mail documenting the lenders attempt to collect the payments. This document goes a long way in the court's eyes to your reluctance in satisfying your debt.
Foreclosure Begins
Should yet another month go by and you have now avoided 5 attempts at resolution or negotiation, most jurisdictions allow the lender to begin foreclosure proceedings. This is a precarious position for anyone to be in and one that requires your utmost of attention.
The moment that one realizes they are about to loose their hearth and home brings on a depression that can overcome even the strongest of us, as it effects those we hold most dear, our family.
Time for a Foreclosure Attorney
If you are faced with an impending foreclosure, immediately contact an attorney who will attempt to delay the proceedings to allow you an avenue of response.
Process of Foreclosure
When the Wolf's at the Door and How the Foreclosure Process Unfolds...
“I hate banks. They do nothing positive for anybody except take care of themselves. They're first in with their fees and first out when there's trouble.” --- Harvey Goldsmith
Should your relationship with the lender decay to the point whereupon the lender determines that you have no intention of negotiating or resuming payment of your debt, foreclosure proceedings will be launched against you.
Foreclosure Proceedings
Foreclosure proceedings begin when the lender calls your loan, meaning that they are demanding payment in full. At this point your loan is clearly in default and no monthly payment will stop the proceedings. Your only hope at this point is to “cure” the loan by asking the lender what terms they could live with to cure the loan in default.
Pre-Foreclosure Sale
Your chances of successfully “curing” a loan in default are slim to none. Most people facing foreclosure attempt to sell the property to investors that specialize in pre- foreclosure purchases.
Should you find yourself facing foreclosure, it is strongly recommended that you engage the services of an attorney specializing in foreclosure proceedings.
Find an Attorney in your area.
Notice of Intent to Foreclose
The next step in the foreclosure proceeding involves a sheriff serving you with a “Notice of Intent to Foreclose”. If this wasn't embarrassing enough, the legal notice of foreclosure is published in your local paper.
The court will review your case and issue an order allowing the lender to proceed. In most cases the process of foreclosure takes about 2 months. During this time a legal notice of the property foreclosure sale is published in the local papers and finally the property is sold at a foreclosure auction.
