Foreclosure Laws in Florida
If you are in fear of losing your home, whether you have already received a notice of foreclosure from the bank or you are merely struggling to keep up with your mortgage payments, you can improve your chances of successfully handling the situation by taking the time now to understand the basics of Florida foreclosure laws. Foreclosure is a complex and involved legal process, but a Jacksonville foreclosure defense attorney from The Law Offices of Justin McMurray, P.A. can guide you through every step of the way and fight to obtain a favorable outcome. Read through this brief overview and then contact us for a free case evaluation.
Judicial Foreclosure
In many ways, Florida state law favors the homeowner over the mortgage lender. One of the principle examples of this is the fact that the law requires the lender to carry out a judicial foreclosure. What this means to you is that the bank cannot simply foreclose on the property and evict you from your home. Instead, they must sue you in court and prove that the case is valid before you can lose your house. Under the 20-day rule, you have 20 days after you have been served with a summons and lis pendens (Latin for “pending lawsuit”) from the bank to hire legal representation to begin working on a strategy for defending your home from foreclosure. Your lawyer's job is to make it difficult or even impossible to prove that you are actually in default or that the bank even owns the mortgage and has the right to foreclose.
If at any time before the foreclosure sale you can come up with the necessary funds to satisfy the default amount, you can stop the foreclosure by paying this amount to the bank. This is referred to as your “right of redemption,” and it is one of your most important rights when fighting a foreclosure. It expires at the moment that the property is sold to another party, but even then you may still be able to turn the situation around. By proving – within 10 days – that the bank made errors in carrying out the instructions contained in the court order for foreclosure, you may be able to reclaim the property from the bank. To learn more about the process and to take action on a defense strategy, contact us now.