Business & Finance Renting & Real Estate

What Is the Pre-Foreclosure Process?

Pre-foreclosure is the period of time between when a lender files a complaint against a property and when the property is actually foreclosed on and sold.
A lender will generally file a Notice of Default against a property once a homeowner has failed to make payments for 90 days to six months.
The homeowner then has three months to make up any missed payments or the lender will then file a Notice of Sale, after which the home will be sold by the lender.
The pre-foreclosure process basically serves as warning to homeowners that have gotten behind on their mortgage payments.
Homeowners should take this warning as a sign that they will be foreclosed upon if they do not take the necessary steps to fix their financial situation and reinstate their loan.
Homeowners that find themselves facing foreclosure still own their home and are able to refinance their loan, sell their home, or modify their loan if they qualify with a lender.
However, many homeowners find themselves in difficult financial situations that do not allow them to qualify for a refinance or simply run out of time to reinstate their loan.
While this is bad news for the homeowner, potential home buyers can actually use the pre-foreclosure process to their advantage when searching for a foreclosed home to purchase.
Why Should Home Buyers Search for Pre-Foreclosures? When looking for foreclosure listings, buyers may also want to look for homes that are in pre-foreclosure.
Foreclosure listings are viewed by thousands of people each day.
This can make it difficult for potential buyers to place a winning bid or offer on the home of their choice.
By becoming aware of pre-foreclosures, potential buyers can stay up to date on the status of a home, and if a home does go into foreclosure, they can be one of the first people to make an offer on the home.
Finding pre-foreclosure listings can be a little more difficult than finding foreclosed homes that are already for sale.
Buyers can contact their Country Recorders Office and access the homes that have been issued a Notice of Default.
Additionally, there are a variety of online services that allow users to search through homes that are in the pre-foreclosure process.
Generally, these services require their users to sign up for a membership, which includes a week long free trial membership, after which a user can decide to keep or cancel the service.
However, no matter how a home buyer finds pre-foreclosure listings, these listings are a great way to remain a step ahead of other buyers and make the best investment possible.


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