When Do You Have to Leave Your Home When It's in Foreclosure?

In some instances, panicked homeowners move out after falling behind on their mortgage bills or once a foreclosure starts. But you don't have to leave your home simply because you miss a couple of mortgage payments.

Foreclosure procedures can take a few months or, in some cases, as long as a year or more. And during this time, you probably don't have to make any payments.

What Happens When You Miss a Mortgage Payment?

You won't face a foreclosure because of a single missed mortgage payment. In most cases, federal law requires the servicer to wait until you're 120 days delinquent before starting a foreclosure.

So, if you miss one or two payments, your lender or loan servicer will likely call you and send you a few letters asking you to get current on the debt and letting you know about potential loss mitigation options.

You'll Probably Get a Notice Telling You to Cure the Default

After your payment is around 90 days overdue, the lender or servicer will probably send you a notice informing you that your loan is in default and that you need to bring it current. The letter will inform you that foreclosure proceedings will begin if you don't cure the default by paying the amount specified in the letter by a specific time, usually within 30 days.

How Many Mortgage Payments Can I Miss Preforeclosure?

In most cases, the servicer will officially start the foreclosure process after 120 days if you don't cure the default by paying the amount specified in the breach letter.

Then, you have the legal right to remain in your home until the foreclosure process is completed.

How Long Does Foreclosure Take?

Depending on state law and the circumstances, the foreclosure will be either judicial or nonjudicial. With both judicial and nonjudicial foreclosures, you'll have some time between notification of the foreclosure and the sale.

You may remain in the home during this time, typically a few months to a year (sometimes more). Judicial foreclosures usually take longer than nonjudicial ones.

How Judicial Foreclosures Work

Judicial foreclosures go through the state court system. You'll receive a complaint and summons informing you that a foreclosure lawsuit has been filed against you. You will have a certain number of days to respond, frequently 20 or 30. If you don't file an answer to the lawsuit, you'll automatically lose the case, and the court will issue the lender a default judgment permitting it to proceed with a foreclosure sale.

With judicial foreclosures, a court is involved in all parts of the foreclosure. Judges' schedules, hearings, and required paperwork all contribute to a lengthy process. In some states, judicial foreclosures can take several years to complete.

How Nonjudicial Foreclosures Work

In a nonjudicial foreclosure, the lender doesn't have to go through court to foreclose. In a nonjudicial foreclosure, you'll receive (depending on state law):

• a notice of default followed by a notice of sale
• a combined notice of default and sale
• a notice of sale stating that the property will be sold on a specific date or
• notice by publication in a newspaper and posting on the property or someplace public.

Nonjudicial foreclosures are generally much shorter than judicial ones.

How Long Can I Stay in My Home After a Foreclosure Sale?

While the judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure process continues, you can stay in the home. You own your property until the title goes to a new owner, usually the foreclosing lender, resulting from a foreclosure sale. You generally may continue living in the home until then.

In some states, you may stay in the property through the expiration of a post-sale redemption period (if state law provides one) or until some other action, such as ratification of the sale, occurs. Talk to a local lawyer to find out exactly when you have to leave your home during the foreclosure process in your state and get advice specific to your circumstances.

Also, keep in mind that you might be able to delay the sale and extend the amount of time that you can live in your home by:

• applying for a loss mitigation option (be sure to apply before any deadline under state law or federal law expires)
• filling for bankruptcy or
• entering into an official foreclosure avoidance mediation program if your state has one.

You might also have the option to reinstate the loan and stop the sale altogether.

What Is The Eviction Process After A Foreclosure Sale?

Once your legal right to stay in the home ends, if you don't vacate the property, the new owner (again, often the lender) will start eviction proceedings to remove you from the property. Depending on your state's laws and the circumstances of your case, the lender might have the option of initiating the eviction as part of the foreclosure action.

Other times, it might have to file a separate eviction action with the court. Sometimes, in certain states and under some circumstances, the lender must send you a notice before commencing the eviction. Commonly called a "Notice to Quit," this notice will give you a specific amount of time, like three days, to vacate the property. Generally, it's best to leave the property by this deadline before a formal eviction action starts.

One Reason Not to Move Out Too Soon: Zombie Foreclosures

Now and then, the lender doesn't finish the foreclosure process. For some reason, the foreclosure is canceled, a foreclosure sale is never held, or ownership is never officially transferred to a new person or entity.

Meanwhile, the house languishes, and the property's ownership (title) remains in the absent homeowner's name. This type of situation is commonly called a "zombie foreclosure" and can lead to some pretty horrifying consequences for a homeowner who's already moved out.

How Zombie Foreclosures Cause Homeowners to Suffer

In a zombie foreclosure, because the home's title isn't transferred out of the homeowner's name, the homeowner still has the legal obligation to pay certain debts and expenses like property taxes, HOA dues, and maintenance on the property. The following things, among others, could happen months or even years later.

• The tax collector might come looking to collect back property taxes.
• An HOA could file a lawsuit to recover unpaid assessments.
• The local government might send you a bill for yard maintenance, repairs, trash removal, or graffiti scrubbing.
• You might be charged fines for not complying with housing codes and municipal ordinances. For example, one homeowner in ­Dune­din, Florida, faced fines of over $100,000 for overgrown vegetation and a stagnant swimming pool at a house she had already vacated. Because her name was still on the home's title in the property records while her foreclosure was finalized, the city continued fining her.

Debts associated with these responsibilities can go unpaid for years and then come back to haunt people who have no idea that the foreclosure process was never completed. The lender might not even be legally required to inform the homeowner that the foreclosure has stopped, or it might be unable to locate someone who has moved out.

Zombie Foreclosures Also Harm Neighborhoods

When vacant properties show obvious neglect, it can drag down the entire neighborhood's value. These unattended homes are also susceptible to vandalism, squatters, and crime.

Where and Why Do Zombie Foreclosures Happen?

Often, zombie foreclosures occur in low-income areas where the lender isn't anxious to assume responsibility for the upkeep of the property and wants to save on taxes and other costs. Other times, the process stalls due to servicer error or another reason. For instance, if squatters occupy the property or it falls into severe disrepair, the lender might wash its hands of the property.

Or a lender might have other reasons for not following through with a foreclosure, like it already has too much inventory, the costs of foreclosing don't justify completing the foreclosure, or in some cases, the foreclosure paperwork was simply lost.

An Improved Housing Market Means Fewer Zombie Foreclosures

During the foreclosure crisis, which peaked in 2010, multitudes of properties went into foreclosure, with thousands being zombie foreclosures. At one point, RealtyTrac reported at least 300,000 zombie properties in the United States. However, the actual number might have been considerably higher because a conservative methodology was used to develop this data.

But in the second quarter of 2024, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, just 6,945 abandoned residential properties were facing possible foreclosure—although some states (and particular zip codes) still have relatively large numbers of zombie homes, like New York, Florida, Massachusetts, and Illinois.

Avoiding a Zombie Foreclosure Problem

So, the possibility of a zombie foreclosure provides another reason for you to remain in your home for as long as possible during a foreclosure. You're much more likely to avoid becoming the victim of a zombie foreclosure if you stay through the entire process and wait for an official notice to vacate before moving out.

To make sure you aren't the victim of a zombie foreclosure, it's a good idea to confirm that title has been transferred out of your name following a foreclosure sale. Don't leave the property until that happens.

Go to the county recorder's office where the property is located to ensure a new deed has been recorded. You can also check your local county recorder's website; an online search tool might be available for finding this information.

If you need help finding out the status of a foreclosure, consider talking to a local foreclosure lawyer.

Zombie Mortgages Also Sometimes Chase Homeowners

Leading up to the foreclosure crisis, many lenders offered "piggyback" or "80/20" mortgages. With an 80/20 mortgage setup, a first mortgage covered 80% of the purchase price, and a second mortgage covered the remaining 20%. Also, because mortgage loans were easy to get, some people took out second mortgages after getting a first mortgage loan.

Then, during the foreclosure crisis, many people stopped making payments on their second mortgages. However, lenders often didn't foreclose because there wasn't enough equity in the properties to justify the costs of foreclosing. Instead, lenders charged off the defaulted loans and sold them to debt collectors and debt buyers, usually for pennies on the dollar. The debt collectors and debt buyers who bought the loans also held off on trying to collect the debts or foreclosing, knowing that people didn't have a lot of equity in their homes.

Homeowners with these second mortgages often forgot about them. In many cases, homeowners thought the debts were part of a first mortgage modification, were included in a bankruptcy, or had been forgiven. Unfortunately, years later, and often without any notices or periodic statements from the loan owners in the interim, these second mortgage holders (again, usually debt collectors) began demanding the mortgage balances, plus years of interest and fees, and threatening foreclosures if homeowners didn't pay. These mortgages are called "silent second mortgages" or "zombie mortgages." If a debt collector contacts you about a mortgage you haven't heard about in years, that's a zombie mortgage.

Defenses to a Zombie Second Mortgage Foreclosure

You might have a defense if you're facing a zombie second mortgage foreclosure. For example:

• the statute of limitations has expired
• the foreclosing party doesn't have standing (the right to foreclose)
• the foreclosing party violated state foreclosure laws
• the foreclosing party violated the federal Fair Debt Settlement Practice Act
• the foreclosing party violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) (Regulation X) or the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) (Regulation Z), such as by failing to send periodic statements, or
• the foreclosing party violated state unfair and deceptive practices laws.

You could also consider filing for bankruptcy or applying for a loss mitigation option, such as a payment plan, to resolve a delinquent second mortgage.

Talk to a Foreclosure Attorney

Talk to a local foreclosure attorney for more information about foreclosure timelines, procedures, and evictions in your state and particular situation.