Foreclosure Eviction

[Siegfried]

We bought a house in Orlando, Florida in 2006 for $350K knowing that we were not going to live there permanently because in order to afford the mortgage payments we had to continually have roommates. Three years later we decided that it was time to move out because we no longer wanted roommates, and we both lost our jobs. Since April(2009) we stopped making payments on the house, and we have been in contact with the mortgage company to find out about our loan modification options. The amount of the loan modification that they offered was not low enough to where we could live in the house without roommates, so we declined the modification. In August of 2009 they filed foreclosure against us. We did not respond with an answer within the 20 day period because we can’t afford to keep the house. We finally received a hearing date for Feb. 2010. From what we understand, the purpose of the hearing is to come up with a foreclosure sale date so that the house can be sold at the courthouse. We are not planning on attending the hearing because we heard that the only reason you should go is if you wanted to keep the house. Here are our questions: 1.   After the foreclosure courthouse sale takes place, how many days/months are we allowed to continue living in the house?  Also, if there is no buyer at the courthouse and the house returns to the bank, then how many days/months do we have until the bank asks us to leave? And also, how many days until they evict us, if we don’t leave when they ask? 2.   What options do we have? Can they just come and evict us immediately after the sale date or do they have to notify us and give us a certain number of days to leave? Can they lock us out of the house without us being able to get our stuff? Thank you very much for helping us!

[Dereck]

Each state, and often each county, even city, will have eviction procedures that they must follow.  Technically who ever wins the bid at the Sheriff sale/auction is the new owner.  They can start the eviction process almost immediately.

What I would do first is contact the local county Sheriff Department and ask just how the eviction process is done in that area.  They should be able to give you a timetable.

While my experience is in my own area(Twin Cities, Minnesota, eviction proceedings follow a specific process.  You should be notified and given a timeframe to leave the property.  I don't believe that the new owner can just lock you out without proper notice.  And if you are, they usually have to give you the opportunity to get personal belongings.

But be proactive on this and get information on proper proceedings as soon as you can.  Check with the Sheriff as soon as possible.  They will be doing the eviction so they will have this information.  Just a note, usually foreclosures are handled by the Civil department(as opposed to criminal).  So when you call make sure you are talking to the right people.

Best of luck.  You should have a timeframe in which to move.  What I have seen is a variance of anywhere from a few days to a month.

Steele