Florida Foreclosure Law

Florida foreclosure law requires that all foreclosures be carried out under the judicial system, which means a court hands down the final ruling. The timeline for this process is generally 180 days, and proceeds as follows:

First the lender must file a Lis Pendens (lawsuit against the borrower). This type of foreclosure claim is tried in court without the need for a jury. All borrowers are notified concerning the Lis Pendens, and given time to reply. If no response is made, the court will generally issue a judgment against the borrower, and state a time and date for the sale of the property at auction. The date set for the sale is traditionally 30 days from the date of judgment.

If no response is made, a Notice of Sale is issued that states the following:

• Address of the property
• Legal description of the property
• Description of any improvements made to the property
• Time and place of sale
• Date of judgment, case title and number, and court where foreclosure was filed
• Terms of the sale
• All contact information (name, address and telephone number) for the person to contact about the property.

The notice of sale is by Florida law required to be published 3 weeks in a row, with the last publication falling at least 5 days before the date of sale. The homeowner can redeem the property at any time before the date of sale. Florida home foreclosure sales are auctions held on the front steps of the county courthouse or on the front lawn of the property (location is decided on a case by case basis). Assuming the publication of the notice of sale was properly carried out, this generally takes place 30 days after the judgment in accordance with the date set at that time.

The winning bidder at the sale is required to submit 5% down immediately and the balance is due by the end of the day. Once payment in full is submitted, a Certificate of Sale is presented to the purchaser. Once this certificate is issued, the buyer has no rights of redemption. There is a ten day review period within which parties may object to the sale if they feel there was collusion between bidders or other unfair practice - if this is found to be true, another sale date is set.

Florida foreclosure law allows the lender to seek a deficiency judgment against the borrower if the house sells for less than the amount owed. This makes avoiding foreclosure and sale of a home important if there is an upside down mortgage or the home is not expected to sell for it's true worth. The best option is to act before a foreclosure suit is filed with the courts, and to attempt to resolve the matter in another way that will not result in a deficiency judgment.

Alternatives to foreclosure include refinancing, home loan modification, short sale of the home, or agreeing with the lender to hand off the home prior to foreclosure in exchange for a cancelling of the debt. Consult a lawyer to find out which options are open for you.

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