If you can’t afford to keep your home, sell it. If you owe more than your home is worth, list your home with a reputable realtor who is familiar with “short sales”, which requires your lender’s approval. Always ask for a waiver of deficiency from the lender. Make sure to avoid rescue scams by not signing or giving away money to an unfamiliar business.
Day 2-36: Payment is due on the 1st and considered delinquent on the 2nd, and late charges are assessed for each missed payment. Your lender or servicer must make live contact with the homeowners who missed their payment to inform them about loss mitigation options.
Day 45: the lender or servicer must assign a single point of contact to homeowner and provide written notification of delinquency and loss mitigation options.
(During this time you can work with a lender to obtain a loan workout, a modification, or loss mitigation option. If your lender allows you to make a partial payment, do it. However, don’t agree to a workout plan if you can’t afford to make the payments.)
Day 121: If all attempts to resolve default are unsuccessful and hardship application is not received, the foreclosure process begins. Notice of foreclosure is recorded at the local courthouse. A Sherriff’s sale date is schedules, and then published in the county newspaper for 4 consecutive weeks, including details of the debt. Notice of the sale date gets posted on the property within 2 weeks of the first publication.
6 Months: the Redemption Period starts the day of the Sheriff Sale (lists the last date the property can be redeemed—the homeowner can still submit a loss mitigation application); or about 6 months. If the amount claimed to be due on the mortgage at the date of foreclosure is less than 2/3 of the original indebtedness, the redemption period is 12 months. The homeowner can live in the property, and is not required to make payments. They may sell or buy back property and should maintain the property and maintain the insurance. They must allow purchaser to inspect the same and all ancillary structures during the redemption period. To redeem the property, the borrower must pay the amount bid at Sheriff’s Sale + interest + fees.
Redemption Period and Inspection: the purchaser has the right to inspect the inside and outside of the property. If the inspection is unreasonably refused, the purchaser can seek to evict and terminate the redemption period. If the property is in need of repairs or in imminent need of repairs, a 7-day notice to repair should be issued and if repairs aren’t made, then the purchaser can seek to evict and terminate redemption period. Interior inspection is permitted with at least 72 hours’ notice providing information about the purchaser and inspection rights; the purchaser may request additional information after initial interior inspection. When the homeowner moves out of the property, if the purchaser had sent a notice about inspection, the homeowner must provide a 10-day notice to the purchaser of their move out date or risk additional liability for damages to the property occurring during the redemption period. The purchaser can inspect the outside of the property without any notice.
EVICTION: at the end of the redemption period, if you have not already vacated the home, you will receive a summons to appear in court. At the hearing, a date is set for the Sheriff to physically remove you from the property, if necessary.
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