If Served With A Foreclosure Summons, How Long Do I Have As A Homeowner To Respond?

In Arizona, we don’t do foreclosure summons. It’s a trustee sale, which entails a different process. It’s not judicial, and it’s a non-judicial trustee sale. If you haven’t paid for a certain amount of time, your lienholder will, at some point, file the trustee sale proceedings, for which they’re required to give you a 90-day notice. So they will file a document that says, “If you don’t pay us, they’ll catch up your payment, and we’re going to sell your home at auction on this date at this place.” And you typically will have 90 days to work with your lender to get caught up or get your loan modified so they don’t hold the trustee sale.

Can I Delay Or Stop A Foreclosure From Going Forward?

You can either catch up with the payment or work with your lender to do a loan modification, which most people will do. Bankruptcy also stops the foreclosure process temporarily if you wish to prevent a foreclosure from moving forward.

What Is Loan Modification, How Does It Work, And Who Is It Best For?

The loan modification process will differ depending on your lender because it’s different for every bank and what they require you to do. But it is typically a process they’re going to go through, probably not as thorough as they did when you bought the house, but a requalification in which they will look to ensure that you can afford the new payments they want to set for you. Modifications typically leave everything the same, but they’ll tack on the past due amount that you owe for your mortgage to the end of the loan, and they’ll modify it that way so that way you can catch back up without having to pay them a chunk of money. It is intended for any person who needs that help who has missed their payments. I would suggest they work with their lender first to see if they can do a loan modification before seeking foreclosure assistance or short-sale assistance.

What Are The Alternatives To Foreclosure Or Ways Of Avoiding Foreclosure?

The best way to avoid or postpone foreclosure is to reach out to your lender and see if they’ll work a loan modification for you. Many times, especially recently, they’ll do a moratorium on your payments for a couple of months, and then they’ll tack those payments onto the end of your loan and have you sign a modification. That will give you a break, and then you pick back up where you started without owing a past due balance. That’s probably the best workaround for a foreclosure.

The other options would be to contact us and contact the bank and see if we can work out a loan modification or a short sale. Another alternative is bankruptcy, obviously, but bankruptcy only delays the foreclosure for approximately 60 to 90 days. But, still, many times, if people have waited until the last minute, that gives them the 60 to 90 days that they need to work out an arrangement with the mortgage company.

What Exactly Is A Short Sale Under Arizona Law?

A short sale is if you owe more on your house than its market value. So a short sale would be asking the bank to take the home back or allow you to sell the house to somebody else for less than the amount you owe the bank.

Is A Short Sale Right For Everyone?

Short sales are not suitable for everyone. But I would say it’s a good option for somebody who is heavily underwater on their house because, if the bank agrees, it allows them to get out of it without having a credit hit or owing the bank any money.

Is There Anything Else Specific That’s Important?

Short sales in Arizona might not be easily explained to somebody just perusing a website. Still, Arizona has what’s called an Anti-Deficiency Statute. It applies in foreclosure or short sales, and it protects the homeowners so that if you have two loans, your second loan was used to purchase your home. If you short sale or foreclosure and that second lien doesn’t get paid, that bank can’t come back and sue you afterward. So there is protection written into the law for the consumers in Arizona.

For more information on Foreclosures & Short Sales Law In Arizona, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (623) 526-5597 today.