When you signed your mortgage at closing, you may not have understood many of the details. Most people do not. They rely on their realtor, lawyer, title company or lender to explain the terms. It is often a surprise to people to learn that their bank or mortgage lender has the right to begin foreclosure proceedings after just one missed payment.
How Does Mortgage Foreclosure Work?
Mortgage foreclosure is the legal right of a mortgage holder/lender or third-party lien holder to gain ownership of the property and/or the right to sell the property if the property owner defaults. The lender/lien holder may use the proceeds from the sale to satisfy the balance of the mortgage. Typically, the lender can begin foreclosure any time after a default on the mortgage.
In Illinois, property usually undergoes foreclosure by judicial sale. The court supervises the sale of the foreclosed property. All proper parties must be notified of the foreclosure. Both sides have an opportunity to present their cases and there will be a trial. If the judge issues a judgment of foreclosure, the property will be sold, with the proceeds going to the lender with the first mortgage, then to other lien holders and, if possible, to the mortgagor.
There is also a process of foreclosure by power of sale. In these cases, the sale of the property by the mortgage holder is not supervised by the court. The proceeds of the sale are distributed in the same order as the judicial sale process, however.
Facing Foreclosure? You Have Options.
Have you missed a couple of mortgage payments? Are you worried that your lender may foreclose on your home or commercial property? You are not alone. Property owners across the country are in the same situation. The best thing you can do is to take action immediately and learn how to protect your rights.
We believe that foreclosure relief is possible for many property owners. Depending on the circumstances of the foreclosure and the terms of your mortgage, there may be legitimate defense strategies we can use to contest the foreclosure. In our experience, as many as 80 percent of foreclosures are handled incorrectly by the lender or lien holder. If your lender violated the law when closing the mortgage or during the foreclosure process, we can assert a defense to the foreclosure.
If keeping the property is not possible, we can help you understand your options, and assist you with short sales, deeds in lieu of foreclosure or walking away from your mortgage. If you choose these options, it is critical to ensure that you do so in a way that will not create additional problems in the future. We help people address these concerns.
Many people, and unfortunately many, many lawyers, believe that the only options available for foreclosure are payment of the mortgage or filing bankruptcy. At EV Has, LLC, We will help you understand your options for foreclosure relief, including why we believe bankruptcy is not a good choice for foreclosure defense. We will also explain steps to avoid foreclosure and what you can expect during the foreclosure process. We provide aggressive foreclosure defense representation to residential and commercial property owners in Illinois. Call us at (312) 775-0980 today for a free evaluation.
