Oct
21
Nick Adama
It is usually after about three missed mortgage payments that the bank will file the foreclosure lawsuit on a home. Soon after this point, homeowners will be served with the paperwork via certified mail or a sheriff’s deputy leaving a copy of the complaint at the property. But the foreclosure process is full of complicated legal procedures and a lot of different factors can influence these to change when borrowers would receive the notice of the bank’s lawsuit against their home.
First of all, federal and state foreclosure law has a huge role to play in determining how the bank pursues the foreclosure on the house. There may even be a period before the suit can be filed in which the bank has to work with the homeowners, which causes the bank to wait extra months before filing the suit. Also, local notice requirements may force the bank to publish the impending foreclosure in local papers for weeks before they begin the legal process in the county court.
Second, homeowners’ efforts to defend their home will also greatly influence how quickly the bank files the foreclosure lawsuit. If they are keeping in contact with the lender and attempting to qualify for a loan modification, forbearance agreement or other solution with the lender or another company, the bank may be willing to give the borrowers more time to save their house. In this case, the lender may wait several extra months before turning the case over to their attorneys for the lawsuit to move ahead and notice to be served on the defendants.
Homeowners can also simply ask the lender to give them more time before it begins lawsuit proceedings to take the house back. Borrowers can just call the mortgage company, explain the situation that put them behind in payments, ask for additional time, and put their request in writing to the bank via fax or certified mail. More often than homeowners would believe, the bank will just hold off on filing foreclosure against the home to give the borrowers more time to come up with a solution on their own.
Third, the bank’s own resources and competence level will influence how quickly it files the lawsuit. If homeowners are dealing with a huge, national bank that is attempting to handle a large amount of foreclosures, the company may be way behind on everything. This is a mixed blessing, of course, as the lender will be behind on filing the lawsuit, but it may also be difficult to get hold of if the borrowers do have a solution and need information from the mortgage company (such as payoff figures) to complete it.
Borrowers should also remember that simply defending the lawsuit in court can drag out the foreclosure process by several months or even years if the case goes to a trial. But homeowners could file a few motions before filing their formal answer to the bank’s complaint and give themselves an extra half a year to stay in the house mortgage-free while they either negotiate with the bank or find other solutions. Receiving notice of a foreclosure lawsuit or the lawsuit itself can be delayed for long periods of time while the bank has to accept not being paid and the borrowers can work on other solutions.
It is usually after about three missed mortgage payments that the bank will file the foreclosure lawsuit on a home. Soon after this point, homeowners will be served with the paperwork via certified mail or a sheriff’s deputy leaving a copy of the complaint at the property. But the foreclosure process is full of complicated legal procedures and a lot of different factors can influence these to change when borrowers would receive the notice of the bank’s lawsuit against their home.
First of all, federal and state foreclosure law has a huge role to play in determining how the bank pursues the foreclosure on the house. There may even be a period before the suit can be filed in which the bank has to work with the homeowners, which causes the bank to wait extra months before filing the suit. Also, local notice requirements may force the bank to publish the impending foreclosure in local papers for weeks before they begin the legal process in the county court.
Second, homeowners’ efforts to defend their home will also greatly influence how quickly the bank files the foreclosure lawsuit. If they are keeping in contact with the lender and attempting to qualify for a loan modification, forbearance agreement or other solution with the lender or another company, the bank may be willing to give the borrowers more time to save their house. In this case, the lender may wait several extra months before turning the case over to their attorneys for the lawsuit to move ahead and notice to be served on the defendants.
Homeowners can also simply ask the lender to give them more time before it begins lawsuit proceedings to take the house back. Borrowers can just call the mortgage company, explain the situation that put them behind in payments, ask for additional time, and put their request in writing to the bank via fax or certified mail. More often than homeowners would believe, the bank will just hold off on filing foreclosure against the home to give the borrowers more time to come up with a solution on their own.
Third, the bank’s own resources and competence level will influence how quickly it files the lawsuit. If homeowners are dealing with a huge, national bank that is attempting to handle a large amount of foreclosures, the company may be way behind on everything. This is a mixed blessing, of course, as the lender will be behind on filing the lawsuit, but it may also be difficult to get hold of if the borrowers do have a solution and need information from the mortgage company (such as payoff figures) to complete it.
Borrowers should also remember that simply defending the lawsuit in court can drag out the foreclosure process by several months or even years if the case goes to a trial. But homeowners could file a few motions before filing their formal answer to the bank’s complaint and give themselves an extra half a year to stay in the house mortgage-free while they either negotiate with the bank or find other solutions. Receiving notice of a foreclosure lawsuit or the lawsuit itself can be delayed for long periods of time while the bank has to accept not being paid and the borrowers can work on other solutions.