Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage company can obtain legal ownership of a property. It relinquishes a homeowner from any and all right to the property and evicts the homeowner from the premises. To help you better understand how to stop the foreclosure process, you should have some knowledge on how the process works. The following is a quick overview of a typically scenario:

Most lenders will initiate foreclosure after you have missed approximately 3 monthly payments. This is the point your "file" will be turned over to their attorneys for processing. These attorneys handle the legal aspect of the foreclosure, and are usually not much help in stopping a foreclosure in process. Your file may also be turned over to your lender's loss mitigation department. Once a loss mitigation expert is assigned to your case, they may attempt to contact you in an effort to resolve the delinquency through various repayment options.

Many homeowners may discover that while negotiating a repayment option with this loss mitigation expert (who's incented to get you paid back to current as soon as possible), the pressure to stop the foreclosure causes them to agree to something they can't really afford and really won't be able to do anyway. This is caused by the homeowner making promises which usually overextend their financial capability - "robbing Peter to pay Paul".

There may be liveable and possible alternative repayment options that you actually can manage. These are determined by the type of loan you have, how long you have had the loan, your lender, your financial position and many other factors.

When a home owner is unable to make the monthly mortgage payment on his or her house, resulting in a default against the mortgage, a lender will foreclosure on the home in order to sell it at a public auction to recover the money owed by the loan. If any money remains after the loan is paid off, the remainder is applied towards any junior liens and encumbrances in the order of their priority. Any further excess would be paid to the owner.

In many states, there are at least two types of foreclosure options available to a lender:

1. Foreclosure on a Deed of Trust (often referred to as a non-judicial foreclosure)
2. Foreclosure on a mortgage (referred to as a judicial foreclosure).

Deeds of Trust (also referred to as a Trust Deeds) are security documents that are used to transfer "bare" or "naked" title (because of its limited rights) from the borrower (known as the trustor) to a third party, known as a trustee. The trustee holds title for the benefit of the lender (known as a beneficiary) until the borrower pays off the note or lien against the property. The deed of trust is recorded with the county and shows that there is a lien against the home. Lenders prefer deeds of trust because foreclosure is swift and easy due to the lack of judicial proceedings that must take place to repossess the home.

Mortgages are security documents that, in a majority of the states, allow the borrower (referred to as the mortgagor) to retain title of the property while using the property as security for a loan by placing a lien on the property by the lender (referred to as the mortgagee). When the borrower pays off the loan, the lender gives the borrower a satisfaction of mortgage that, when recorded, removes the lien. A mortgage deed can only be foreclosed through court action. Since most homes have a deed of trust against the property (versus a mortgage), the non-judicial foreclosure is often the most common foreclosure process.

• Judicial Foreclosure only: From personal experience, we know that lawyers are very involved in the real estate process. A lender has to go through the court to foreclose on a property in Florida. The borrower is sued by the lender. The borrower has the right to defend themselves in court, while the lender will attempt to prove the borrowers are in default. Once the lender prevails, the court will order the property sold.
• Deficiency Judgments: The lender may pursue the borrower for up to four years to collect a deficiency judgment.
• Redemption: There is no right of redemption after the court confirms the sale.