When Do I Have To Leave My House?
As a Bankruptcy and Foreclosure Defense Lawyer, I meet quite a few people everyday. Some of the most common questions I hear from clients who are surrendering their homes through a bankruptcy proceeding is, “How do I know when I have to move out? Can they just show up at my door one day and tell me to leave? How much notice will I have?”. The confusion is completely understandable, but I hope to clear things up for you here.
First of all, the main thing to remember is that the house is still yours until the deed is transferred to someone else (see my previous article about short sales for a detailed explanation of what that means), and no one can legally kick you out of a house that belongs to you. That does not change just because you file bankruptcy and tell the judge you intent to surrender the home. In order to take your home from you, your lender must file a foreclosure complaint against you, get a judgment, and have the property sold at a foreclosure sale. Until that foreclosure sale is complete (or you voluntarily give up your rights through a deed in lieu or similar conveyance), you have every right to remain in that home.
So how much notice will you get? I look at it as having at least 60 days notice, if you count the notice you will receive of the final judgment hearing. You will get around 30 days notice of that hearing, and then the sale will be set about 30 days after the hearing if the lender is granted its judgment – that equals about 60 days notice total. Sometimes, the Court will grant a 60 day sale date. This means that you will have 60 days from the date of the Summary Judgment hearing. If you attend the hearing, which I always advise individuals to do, you can ask the Judge for that kind of time or more depending upon your individual circumstances.
The important thing is that you read all of your mail promptly so that you know what is going on. If you don’t pay attention to your mail, then I suppose it is possible for you to be surprised one day when you come home to a notice on your door that says you have to be out in 24 hours. But again, the only way that should happen is if you don’t read your mail. The law intends for you to have plenty of time to find another place to live as long, as you pay attention.
Hopefully, this blog clears up some confusion about the process taken by the Courts in Southwest Florida in a foreclosure case.
This blog was written by Holly McFall, Esq.of The Dellutri Law Group, P.A.. Mrs. McFall practices Bankruptcy Law and Foreclosure Defense Law.
