Timothy E. Lockhart - YOU HAVE OPTIONS: YOUR GUIDE TO AVOIDING FORECLOSURE

While the paperwork is winding its way through, you don’t have to move out, but when the process is complete, you’ll receive a notice to vacate. (In most states, you have between five and 30 days to leave.) You’ll also receive a “Notice of Sale,” which states that the property will be sold at auction, and it lists the date, time, and location of the auction. The lender publishes the Notice of Sale in a newspaper in the county where the home is located for three consecutive weeks prior to the auction date.

NONJUDICIAL FORECLOSURE

Some states, allow lenders to foreclose and repossess your property without the necessity of obtaining a court order. The California Department of Real Estate’s Homeowner’s Guide: The Foreclosure in California defines this judicial foreclosure as, “a privately conducted but publicly held sale.” The trustee is not obligated to obtain a court order before foreclosing and repossessing your home. This streamlines the process in a way that favors the lender. Your only recourse to stall the foreclosure auction might be to file suit against the lender, giving you an opportunity to “make your case” for a postponement. Most states’ laws (31 states, plus Washington, D.C.) permit nonjudicial foreclosure: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Washington, D.C., Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico (sometimes), North Carolina, Oklahoma (unless the homeowner requests judicial foreclosure), Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, (unless the homeowner requests judicial foreclosure), Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

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