A letter or warning typically includes the timeline residents have to vacate the property – usually 3 – 30 days. A lender contacts a homeowner to inform them of their delinquency and notify them about the possibility of foreclosure. The lender and homeowner explore options to keep the loan current. If the homeowner can’t bring their mortgage up to date, the lender may proceed with foreclosure.
Contract law and general rules of civil procedure are a borrower’s main forms of recourse in the event of a wrongful foreclosure. Some homeowners have successfully challenged a foreclosure by showing that the party trying to foreclose lacked standing to do so. Others have demonstrated that a mortgage holder violated the terms of the deed of trust, or that he or she was not in default at the time of foreclosure. In some cases, the borrower’s willingness and ability to fight back was enough …