Real Estate Foreclosure Divorce

Jack Rynell
4 min readJan 17, 2021

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Divorce and real estate foreclosure may take place for several reasons. The most common is that one spouse doesn’t like the other enough to make the marriage work. And, in the event of a divorce, one spouse doesn’t want the other to have a home or apartment any longer. Another reason when real estate foreclosure during divorce happens is when one spouse becomes permanently disabled. Although this situation can often be remedied through appropriate medical treatment. But a financial solution may be sought by one or both spouses through the process of divorce and following real estate foreclosure.

Divorce and Foreclosure Process

Every state has its own unique divorce laws, so it’s important to be aware of the specifics of your specific jurisdiction. Most states require some type of prenuptial agreement to be signed before a divorce can be finalized, and these agreements can impact your property rights once the divorce is final. Understanding your state’s laws can help you prepare for the proceedings of your divorce and to protect your most valuable assets.

Many people are unfamiliar with real estate foreclosure divorce proceedings, so they assume that their divorce will be simple and quick. They fail to realize that the court can still take months to hand down a decision and a judge can rule in a manner that is much more beneficial to the party in debt. This can mean a messy and expensive legal process for one party or an even more time-consuming and expensive process for the other party. In fact, the legal proceedings of a real estate foreclosure divorce can take months longer than most other types of divorces! If you or your spouse has filed for bankruptcy and cannot come to an agreement regarding your divorce, the court can issue a default judgment which means that you and your spouse must go to trial.

Foreclosure Sale During Divorce

The sale of your home will usually be preceded by a Notice of Default. This is sent to your agent and you must comply with all of the terms set forth in this document. Failure to do so will cause a suspension of the foreclosure sale, and you will likely have a very limited period during which you can attempt to reschedule the foreclosure sale.

Once you and your spouse have been unable to agree on terms regarding the sale of your home, a “District Court Order of Default and Post Adjudication” (DSO) is issued. This is a court order that allows the lender to sell your home without holding a foreclosure auction.

Once this happens, it becomes “judicial foreclosure.” At this point, the court cannot hold a foreclosure auction and your home is at risk of being sold to the highest bidder. The DSO will either be an auction or a lease with the local government. A foreclosure sale can be initiated during and after divorce, so it’s the best way to get rid of divorce foreclosure real estate issues.

Since the sale of your house has no chance of occurring if the foreclosure process has already started, you will need to obtain financing to purchase the property. Most people who are facing foreclosure have credit card debt, which makes it extremely difficult to secure financing from traditional lenders. However, there are companies out there that specialize in real estate foreclosure sales, and they often have financing options available to their clients.

Final Step — Court Auction

This is where the process will formally begin. You will be required to provide your homeowner's insurance to prove that you are insured under the policy. Once this is completed, the court will then notify you of the date and time of the auction. From there, it will become your responsibility to find alternative accommodation (i.e. rent), until the auction date.

In order to prevent your home from being sold to the highest bidder, you must employ an aggressive strategy when trying to save your home from foreclosure. Even if you are not able to stop the process with your first move, there are ways to prevent it from proceeding. For instance, you should try to contact your lender before the auction date and try to negotiate a reasonable payment plan. If you can do these things and avoid the real estate foreclosure sale, you will definitely have better luck in retaining your house. Also, if you want to keep your home, contact a law firm. Professionals will take care of your real estate divorce foreclosure process and do legal proceedings all to save your house.

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