Can You Sell A House In Foreclosure in FL?

Foreclosure occurs when a homeowner is unable to make their mortgage payments on time and has no way to catch up on the missed payments. Because a mortgage is a legal agreement between you and your lender, once you’ve defaulted on the loan, the lender can auction off the property to cover any outstanding debts, leaving you homeless and with terrible credit.

No one wants to receive a notice of foreclosure. Yet, in a nationwide study, nearly 1 million Americans were afraid of losing their homes (U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, fielded from July 27 to Aug. 8, 2022). Foreclosure can occur from a number of reasons, including:

• Job loss and loss of income
• Divorce or death of a spouse or partner
• Mounting debt, including medical and credit cards
• Moving without being able to sell the home
• Natural disaster

Future Generation Homes is a local company operating in FL that has built their business by buying distressed houses and properties in the area for cash. They promise competitive cash offers without the hassle of dealing with real estate agents, title companies, traditional bank financing, and more!

What is Foreclosure?

Let’s say you or your spouse recently lost your job, and now you’re behind on bills but still gotta deal with that mortgage payment. No matter how hard you try to find another job, the debt just keeps piling up, and before you know it, you’re drowning in it. So, what happens now? Even if you get another job, the money you owe might be too much to catch up on anytime soon. That’s when the bank starts talking about foreclosure.

Foreclosure is what happens when you stop paying your mortgage, and the bank comes in to take the property back. In Miami, it doesn’t take long for the bank to start the process, and if you don’t act fast, it can cost you your home. Once you miss a few payments, the bank start filing motions quickly and attorney fees increase your payoff. You don’t want to wait too long because once foreclosure starts, you don’t have much time to work things out. By this time homeowners think its to late and do not know they can you sell a house in foreclosure, but that isn’t the case.

How Long Do You Have To Get Out of Your House After Foreclosure?

The steps for pre foreclosure process in FL are missed payments, lis pendens, which lead to a public notice. Once its been determined by a judge the necessary steps have been taken by the lender, a typical process is auction, and eviction. The amount of time the court process takes varies by your situation BUT you could have anywhere from 120 days to nine months before the bank can foreclose using either a judicial or non-judicial foreclosure. During this time, your lender will reach out to you by phone, mail, and email to let you know about the process. Once the property is sold at a foreclosure auction, the new owner must legally obtain possession of the property. If you remain in the home after the sale, the new owner must initiate an eviction process. In Florida, this involves serving you with a notice to vacate, followed by filing an eviction lawsuit if you do not leave voluntarily. The entire eviction process can take an additional 30 to 60 days, depending on court schedules and whether you contest the eviction.

The Different Types of Foreclosure

There are two different types of foreclosure you may experience: nonjudicial foreclosure or judicial foreclosure.

Can I Sell My House BEFORE Foreclosure in FL?

Can you sell a house in foreclosure quick? Here are different options, depending on your time frame and situation:

Hire A Foreclosure Specialist

The first step most Americans think of when selling a house or property is to reach out to a local real estate agent. But there are pros and cons to this option when you are in a difficult situation such as foreclosure. Sure, a good real estate agent can list your property on the MLS and help you get it ready for open houses and daily showings, but they do all of this work so that at the end of the closing process a large chunk of your money from the sale of your house goes to them in the form of the agent’s commission. When you’re already suffering from a mountain of debt and need every penny to pay back your lender, a commission of 3% to 6% of your final sale price may be too hefty an amount to give up.

Plus, there’s the additional fear of not knowing when your house will actually close. Realtors may promise a lot, but at the end of the day you’ll still need to find the right buyer and wait 30+ days for a traditional close. For some homeowners who are facing auction and eviction, even waiting one month might be too long.

Short Sale

If you owe more on your house than it’s worth, the process required is called a short sale. A short sale is necessary when you owe more on your house than the property is currently worth. For example:  if you owe $400,000 on your house but its current market value is only worth $300,000, you must deal with a short sale. Though it may seem like a good option, it won’t be fast or a definite solution. However, you can you sell a house in foreclosure with this process.

To start off, you’ll first need to get your lender’s approval. To qualify for a short sale, you must prove financial hardship using documentation such as W-2s, medical bills, etc. For a situation such as loss of income, the lender will require that you prove that the loss of income is long-term and unlikely to turn around in your favor. If the lender approves the short sale, you will need to find a real estate agent and attorney that specialize in short sales, and they will still charge you the same amount as they would if you were selling your house with a traditional home sale.

If your foreclosure hasn’t dragged on for too long and you’ve maintained contact with your lender, it’s likely that they will approve the short sale. This allows them to avoid the time and expense of trying to foreclose on your property, while still recouping some of the loss from the missed mortgage payments. But for the regular American homeowner, the short sale will follow them for the next 5 to 7 years. 

You may have sold the house and been able to pay off some of your debt, but the short sale can damage your credit the same as if you had declared bankruptcy. The credit unions include the delinquency on your mortgage(s) to your lenders and the short sale on their records, making it nearly impossible for previous homeowners to get a credit card, buy a car, or move into a new house or property for the same amount of time as a bankruptcy.

Sell Your House AS-IS to A Cash Buyer

If you’re under a strict time restraint to sell your house before a foreclosure progresses to auction and eviction, you do have options! You can try to sell your property with a real estate agent, work with your lender to complete a short sale, or – best of all – turn to a trusted foreclosure investor in Florida to help you with your situation.

Some of the benefits of selling to a direct cash investor include:

• A quick and pain-free closing process.
• Avoid paying any commissions or fees.
• You won’t have to worry about marketing your house and waiting for a buyer.
• No need to clean-up or complete any repairs!

When you sell your home as-is to a direct cash buyer, you not only can avoid losing your home to an auction, but you also may be able to sell the property for enough money to get out of financial debt. Moving on with your life without the burden of a monthly mortgage payment and debt hanging over your head is one of the best gifts you can give yourself! YES! You can you sell a house in foreclosure!

Can You Sell A House In Foreclosure Once it Starts?

Sell Your House Fast to a Cash Buyer 

Are you ready to sell your house but don’t have the time to wait 30+ days for a traditional close? Does a short sale seem like a fast way to ruin your credit? Prefer to pay off all your debt at once and get the bank off your back fast? A direct home buyer and cash investor might be exactly the solution you’ve been searching for! When you work with a trusted and reliable investor with a great reputation in your area, you’ll find a helpful company with cash on hand that is ready to purchase your home from your as-is. With a cash buyer, you can skip the lengthy foreclosure process in Florida, avoid evictions, and going to auction. Within a matter of days you can close any foreclosure proceedings and save your credit score from any further damage! If you’re property hasn’t been sold in auction yet.. Yes you can you sell a house in foreclosure proceedings!

You may not get full market value for your house or property when you sell to a trusted cash investor, but the timeliness of a fast closing, and the lack of fees, required inspections, and commissions often balance this out at close. Best of all, because an investor can close fast, you can often close before the bank is able to auction off your property! Make the informed decision. This means you can sell the property in foreclosure for the amount that benefits you versus the pennies to the dollar price the bank will often try to sell your house for on auction just to get it off the books.