Sell House Before Foreclosures

The foreclosure process in Florida is judicial, which means it goes through the court system. The lender must file a lawsuit against you and serve you with a notice of impending lawsuit (lis pendens) and a summons. You have 20 days to respond to the lawsuit or risk losing by default. If you respond, the case may go to trial or be resolved by summary judgment or settlement. If the lender wins, the court will issue a final judgment of foreclosure and schedule a foreclosure sale.

Yes, you can sell a property before foreclosure in Florida if you can find a buyer who is willing to pay enough to satisfy your mortgage debt and any other liens on your property. You can also sell your property before foreclosure in Florida through a short sale, which is when you sell your property for less than what you owe on your mortgage, with the lender’s approval. The lender agrees to accept less than the full amount of the debt and forgive the remaining balance.

The amount of notice required for foreclosure in Florida depends on the stage of the foreclosure process. Before initiating a foreclosure, the lender must send you a pre-foreclosure breach letter that gives you at least 30 days to cure your default by paying all past-due amounts. (Fla. Stat. § 702.11). After initiating a foreclosure, the lender must serve you with a notice of impending lawsuit (lis pendens) and a summons that gives you 20 days to respond to the lawsuit. (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.070). Before conducting a foreclosure sale, the lender must publish a notice of sale in a newspaper once a week for two consecutive weeks, with the second publication at least five days before the sale date. (Fla. Stat. § 45.031).

The timeline can vary, but ideally, it’s best to sell before the foreclosure auction, which typically occurs 120-180 days after the initial foreclosure filing in Florida.

It is too late to sell your home during the foreclosure process after the foreclosure sale takes place. The foreclosure sale is when the lender sells the property at a public auction to recover the debt. The sale date is usually 20 to 35 days after the court issues a final judgment of foreclosure. (Fla. Stat. § 45.031). After the sale, the lender will get a certificate of title and become the new owner of the property.