The foreclosure process can be a little confusing. And one small article is not sufficient to completely explain it. However, we want to give you a very brief summary description of the foreclosure process with some foreclosure information. Banks, or any lender for that matter, decide to initiate foreclose proceedings on a property when the monthly payments are not being timely made on the mortgage loan. Most mortgage loan agreements allow for a ‘grace period’ of around 30. That means that the loan is not in default during that time. After the grace period, the loan becomes in default. Most banks still will not initiate the foreclosure proceedings at this point. They prefer to give the home owner/borrower at least 90 days to get payments current or to work out some sort of payment plan. This gives the borrower some time to recover if a temporary financial hardship has happened, and it also convinces the bank that foreclosure is likely inevitable. Banks only like to start foreclosures as a last resort.
When the bank finally decides that they need to start the foreclosure the first thing they normally do is file a document with the local court called a Lis Pendens. From this point, it could take up to a year or more before the court orders that the home be sold and that the home owner needs to move out. During this time, the home owner still retains all rights of ownership to the property and they can stay in the home.
Once the court orders the sale, the foreclosure auction is normally held in a public place, such as the steps in front of the courthouse in the county where the property is located. A notice of auction is usually placed in some public place, such as on the property or in a local newspaper. Delays in the auction are fairly common, but when an auction is held, either a third party bidder or the lender will be the new property owner at the end of the auction.
If the bank is the buyer of the property, they may or may not perform needed repairs. On the other hand, homes purchased by independent third parties are usually repaired and brought to marketable condition before being resold to another buyer. For more foreclosure information we recommend that you speak to a qualified real estate agent or attorney. To see a complete list of foreclosure properties in the Orlando and Central Florida area please visit YourOrlandoRealty.com.
