Florida Foreclosure Law
Florida carries out foreclosures through court proceedings.
The foreclosure process in Florida takes about five months.
Pre-foreclosure Period
A foreclosure in Florida begins when a lender files court
action and records a notice of a pending lawsuit (Lis Pendens)
against the borrower. The lender notifies the borrower and any
other affected parties in person or in some cases by mail or
publication. If the borrower does not respond to the court
action within a specified amount of time, the county clerk can
find the borrower in default and the lender can ask the court to
make a final ruling. If the court rules against the borrower,
the ruling will include the total amount owed to the lender and
the foreclosure sale date. The lender is not required by state
law to notify the borrower before initiating the foreclosure
process, but individual mortgages or deeds of trust might call
for this. The borrower can stop the foreclosure up until the
date of the sale by paying the total amount owed to the lender.
Notice of Sale / Auction
The sale date is typically 20-35 days after the court ruling,
but this may vary depending on the individual court. The clerk
of court issues a notice of sale containing the location, date,
and time of the sale. The notice is published once a week for
two weeks, with the second notice appearing at least five days
before the sale. The clerk usually oversees the sale, which
ordinarily occurs at the county courthouse at 11:00 a.m. on the
sale date. The winning bidder must provide a 5 percent deposit
and pay the remaining balance by the end of the day or a new
sale is scheduled a minimum of 20 days later. After a successful
sale, the clerk gives a certificate of sale to the winning
bidder Within 10 days of the sale, the clerk transfers ownership
to the winning bidder if no one disputes the sale. In most
instances, a borrower has no right of redemption after the
certificate of sale is issued.
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