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West Virginia Foreclosure Law
West Virginia foreclosures can be handled either in court or
out of court.
Pre-foreclosure Period
In West Virginia, an out-of-court foreclosure process is most
common. Before initiating the foreclosure process, the lender
sends a letter to notify the borrower of the impending
foreclosure. This letter also serves to inform the borrower of
the option to pay off the default and stop the foreclosure
proceedings. According to state code, the lender can’t
accelerate the loan (make the full loan balance due immediately)
or take action to possess the property until 10 days following
the letter to the borrower, although if a borrower has been
notified of a default three or more times, he or she may not be
able to stop the foreclosure by simply paying off the default
amount. The borrower can pay off the entire loan balance and any
applicable fees at any time prior to the pending sale of the
property, causing the foreclosure process to terminate and the
sale to be cancelled.
Notice of Sale / Auction
If the borrower doesn’t pay off the default amount during the
pre-foreclosure period, the lender can schedule a public
auction. The minimum requirement for an out-of-court foreclosure
is that there be a publication of the sale notice once a week
for two weeks, but sometimes the trust deed may require
publication of up to four weeks. A minimum of 20 days before the
scheduled auction, a copy of the notice of sale must be mailed
to the borrower and junior lien holders. Foreclosure sales in
West Virginia are conducted as public auctions, and bids are
usually a minimum of two thirds to three fourths of the
estimated value of the property. The property is sold to the
highest bidder at the auction, and a trustee's deed transferring
ownership to the purchaser is usually recorded within 30 days.
The state of West Virginia provides for no redemption period,
but lenders may allow for a redemption period voluntarily.
According to federal law, the IRS as a lien holder has a
post-sale redemption period of 120 days.
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