Every state has foreclosure laws . There are two types of foreclosure laws, the judicial and a non-judicial. A few states allow both Judicial and Non-Judicial foreclosures depending on the loan documents. The length of time from commencement of the legal action to the legal sale of the property varies greatly from State to State. See below. This is broken down into the time it takes to process the documents through the legal system and the number of days notice one must give of the sale by publication.

When homeowners fall behind on mortgage payments, a foreclosure may occur. A foreclosure is a process in which a financial institution repossesses or sells a piece of property because of a loan default. Mortgage lenders usually consider a mortgage to be in default when payments haven’t been made in three months. When a mortgage loan is in default, the mortgage lender can start the foreclosure proceedings of the property.

Buying foreclosures at the auction is a great way to purchase a property under market value. Most properties are auctioned on the courthouse steps. The property is auctioned off to the public and the highest bidder walks away with the property. See the foreclosure state laws below.