Foreclosed Home Auctions

Foreclosure Homes, Jacksonville, FL 

Pre foreclosures in Florida can take more time because they are carried out through court by default. The entire foreclosure period could last up to five months, and this is the least amount taken for a legal foreclosure across the United States.  

A foreclosure is initiated when the lender files the “lis pendens” with the court, reporting that the borrower has defaulted on the payments. Lis pendens is a law suit, and in an out of court process, there is no need for a lis pendens, because the power of sale clause will be mentioned in the mortgage agreement.  

The borrower is notified by the court of the lis pendens, and is asked to clear the dues with immediate effect. The borrower is given a specific turn around time by the court, and in case the borrower failed to respond, then the court rules against him. This would mean that the date of auction can be issued by the court.  

 Because the court is ruling the process of foreclosure here, the lender is not required to notify the borrower about the foreclosure process. However, the borrower has until the date of auction to clear the dues and reclaim the property.  

The date of auction will typically be 20 to 25 days after the court has ruled. The clerk of court will be issuing the date, time and place of auction. The mortgage company will publish the notice of sale two times in local newspapers and in two consecutive weeks. There will be at least five days between the first ad and the second ad. The clerk will oversee the entire proceedings of the auction.  

All auctions take place in the court, usually at 11 AM on the date of sale. The winning bidder in the auction gets the property. The winning bidder must pay at least 5% of the total amount as a deposit and thereafter he gets time for the rest of the day to pay the entire amount. 

However, the deal must be closed on the same day of the auction by paying the entire amount to the court. After the whole amount has been paid, the clerk issues a certificate of sale to the winning bidder which is the proof that he or she has bought the property until all the legalities are completed.  It takes at least 10 days after the sale has been completed for the legalities to finish, and the property to be completely transferred to the winning bidder.  

In these 10 days time no one should dispute the sale including the borrower. However, after the certificate of sale has been issued, the borrower loses his entire rights to redeem the property even by paying the entire loan amount. Disputes may occur due to several other reasons like the defective judgment for example.  

In Florida the court is known to function very fast and all legal proceedings are acted upon pretty quickly. Florida still follows the old book rules though many other states have incorporated the power of sale clause in mortgage agreements.