Regardless of which kind of foreclosure process your state mandates, unless you respond, the chances are excellent that the foreclosure will go through. The court will issue a default judgment that authorizes the lender to sell the home. If the borrower responds, a hearing is scheduled in which the borrower can tell a judge why foreclosure shouldn’t be permitted. The better the defense, the longer the process will drag out. If the court decides in the lender’s favor, it will enter a judgment ordering the sale of the home to satisfy the debt. If the property is not sold at the foreclosure sale, ownership goes to the lender. Even when the borrower loses ownership of the home, most state laws don’t require moving out immediately. Typically, the tenant can remain in the home, payment-free, until receiving an official, written eviction notice. It’s often more practical to move out prior to eviction.
EMOTIONAL COMPONENTS
In the Introduction to this book, we touched on the fact that facing the prospect of foreclosure can affect our mood and thinking process. Foreclosure can seem overwhelming, and when we’re overwhelmed, it’s hard to think productively. You might have read or heard about the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. This model was created to demonstrate the emotional states that terminally ill patients experience after a diagnosis. Since then, it’s been loosely applied to everything from a bad breakup to the death of a loved one.
It’s natural for individuals and families faced with the prospect of
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