How Late Must You Be On Your Mortgage Payments Before A Bank Will Start Foreclosure Proceedings?

This length of time varies from bank to bank, but the rule of thumb that you can probably rely on is three months. Banks are required to wait a minimum of one month before they start foreclosure proceedings, and to give you certain opportunities along the way, so that you have as much time as possible in which you can save your home. However, if you wish to take advantage of any of these, you should do so quickly, though. The lender is not required to keep any of them available after 60 days. So, if you don't want to do anything about it, you have 90 days, probably, but if you do want to do something about it, you only have 60 days.

Once foreclosure is under way, the amount of time that you have varies widely based on your state. You can have foreclosure that is either of the power of sale type or judicial sale. The difference between these is that power of sale allows the mortgage company to immediately sell the home, with very little judicial oversight, whereas judicial sale requires broad judicial oversight and permission from a judge before the mortgage company can foreclose. It is not terribly likely that your mortgage falls under the category of power of sale though, as for a company to do this, there needs to be a power of sale clause in the mortgage and it needs to be legal in your state. Obviously, power of sale foreclosures will go through far faster than will judicial sale foreclosures.

If you wish to keep your home, you need to use the available time as wisely as possible. It is possible to save your home pretty much up to the moment that it is sold, but if you want to, you have to do it as quickly as possible. A great first step is to hire a foreclosure assistance company, who will, for much cheaper than a lawyer, do much of the work that is essential in saving your home. They will help you through whatever process that you choose, be it refinancing, short selling, or to allow your home to be foreclosed upon, to save yourself money later.