Florida foreclosure homes. If you are one of the many families facing foreclosure due to the current pandemic and changes in your employment, then you likely have questions. Most families in your current situation have questions too. So, today, we’re going to take a look at how foreclosure works in the state of Florida.
Florida Foreclosure Homes: How Does Foreclosure Work?
If you are facing foreclosure or believe that foreclosure is in the immediate future, you may be wondering exactly how foreclosure works. Let’s take a look…
What is Foreclosure?
First, we’ll look at what foreclosure is exactly.
Foreclosure is the name for the legal process used by a lender (your mortgage company) to recover the money owed to them when you fall behind on your payments. This is done by the lender taking control of the property and selling it.
How Does Foreclosure Begin?
Falling Behind
The whole process begins when you fall behind on your mortgage payments. Falling 30-days behind on your mortgage usually isn’t enough to push your mortgage company into action – particularly during this time. Once you hit 60 to 90 days past due on your mortgage, though, you will receive a letter from your mortgage company. This letter will request that you make a payment on your past-due mortgage and it will give you 30-days to make that payment.
Filing a Case
If you do not make a payment towards your mortgage within that 30 day period, your mortgage company will then file a lawsuit. Once they file their complaint with the court, they will receive a case number.
Serving You
Once your mortgage company receives a case number, they will use that case number to serve you with a notice of intent to foreclose.
If you are not home when your mortgage company tries to serve a notice of foreclosure, they will usually try a second time before publishing a notice of foreclosure.
The information contained in your response will be used to determine the timeline for your foreclosure case, so be sure to put a lot of thought into your answers.
Your Response
After you have been served with the notice of foreclosure, you will have twenty days to respond to the complaint. In your response, you must admit or deny the claims being made by your mortgage company in their suit against you.
The Discovery Process
The discovery process usually takes between 45 to 90 days.
During discovery, the mortgage company may serve discovery on you. This is their opportunity to discover evidence that can support their case against you. You also have the opportunity to serve discovery on the mortgage company.
You will be given 30 days to respond to the request for discovery. If you do not respond, the mortgage company will file a “motion to compel.”
A motion to compel is a request to the court to force you to comply with the discovery process.
During discovery, you may be sent a list of questions that you must answer. This is called an interrogatory. You can also send an interrogatory to the mortgage company.
You may also receive a request for production. This is a list of documents that the mortgage company requires you to present to them. You can also send a request for production to the mortgage company.
You may also receive a request for admissions. This is a list of statements that you must either admit or deny. Again, you may also send a request for admissions to the mortgage company.
The discovery process is the stage at which you will need to retain an attorney if you have not already. This step of the process is your opportunity to make your case and strengthen your case and your attorney will help you to do this with their legal experience and knowledge.
The Final Hearing
Once the discovery process is complete and the bank is confident that they can get the final foreclosure judgment, they will file a motion for summary judgment. This motion says that there is no evidence that would prevent the bank from legally foreclosing on your home.
During the hearing, if the mortgage company makes its case successfully, the court will set the foreclosure sale date. This date is usually set at 35 to 120 days from the foreclosure ruling. If the bank is not able to make their case fully, they will request an extended sale date.
Selling the Foreclosed Home
When the sale date for your home comes up, you will be allowed to bid on your home.
There is a possibility to cancel the sale but this happens very seldomly. It is done by filing a motion to cancel the sale with the court and the court must agree to cancel the sale date. The motion to cancel the sale must be made within 10 days of the home selling.
If you make no argument against the sale within ten days of the certificate of sale being filed, a certificate of title will be issued to the buyer of your house.
Taking Ownership
If a new owner has been issued the title of your home, the next step in the foreclosure process is for them to take ownership.
If you are still living in your home after the certificate of title is issued, you will receive a certified letter from the new homeowner requesting that you vacate the property. If you do not respond to this letter, the new homeowner may then file a Motion for Writ of Possession with the court. This is a motion to take possession of the home.
A hearing will then be set.
At the hearing, the judge will enter an order demanding that the clerk sign the writ of possession. If you do not comply and vacate your home after this write has been signed, you are most likely to be removed by local authorities.
Are You Facing Becoming One of the Many Florida Foreclosure Homes?
If you are facing foreclosure and need legal representation in the state of Florida, Weidner Law can help. Call us today at 727-954-8752 and set up a consultation to see how we can help you with your current situation.