Foreclosure

Foreclosure?

You will lose important rights if you delay. In a non-judicial foreclosure, a petition for mediation assistance must be filed with the District Court no later than 30 days from the date the Notice of Default and Election to Sell was mailed to you (this is not the date you received or signed for the letter, but the date of mailing). You will lose this valuable right if you miss the deadline. The Lowrey Law Firm can act quickly to file the petition and preserve your rights. The Lowrey Law Firm can stop foreclosure, negotiate a short sale and foreclosure refiancing and loan modifications. Call for an appointment today.

Let us help to Save Your Home

• Foreclosure Mediation
• Loan Modification
• Short Sale
• Chapter 13 Bankruptcy (Is it right for you?)

A Lender has Two Ways to Foreclose

In Nevada, the law allows a lender one of two options when it seeks to foreclose on real property. The lender may pursue either a "Judicial Foreclosure" or a "Non-judicial Foreclosure", but not both.

Judicial Foreclosure

The lender may choose a “judicial” foreclosure, meaning that the lender must file a lawsuit in the District Court. When a judgment of foreclosure is entered, the lender can then sell your property to the highest bidder at an auction. After the sale, the borrower has one year (12 months) after the sale to redeem the property. To take advantage of redemption, the borrower must pay off the mortgage plus accumulated interest and costs incurred by the lender in, bringing the foreclosure action.

Non-Judicial Foreclosure

In Las Vegas almost every home sale is financed using a “Deed of Trust”. Within the Deed of Trust is a “Power of Sale”. With this power, a lender may foreclose on property without having to go to Court.

Sale Pre-authorized by Borrower (Power of Sale)

When you signed the Deed of trust at the purchase of your home, you pre-authorized the lender to sell your property to pay off a delinquent loan. The lender can delegate the power of sale to its representative called the “Trustee”. Often real estate financing notes are sold to other entities and may become packaged in a securities portfolio. Each of the subsequent purchasers also has a right to exercise the power of sale so long as the proper documentation has been obtained, usually an assignment of the Note and the Deed of Trust.

How soon can I be foreclosed?

Theoretically, a foreclosure sale can be completed as soon as 120 days after a proper notice (see below) has been mailed. In reality the foreclosure sale of the property seldom happens that quickly.

You must be given Proper Notice

In Order to exercise the power of sale, a lender or its representative (remember, the representative is called the Trustee) must send you of a “Notice of Default and Election to Sell”. There are certain technical requirements that the lender must satisfy which you may think of generally as sending the notice to you by certified mail at your last known address.

The notice is recorded in the office of the County Recorder. From the date of recording you have anywhere from 15 to 35 days to cure the default by paying the delinquent amount of the loan, called a “Right to Cure”. As you might expect, there are technical requirements that must be satisfied to exercise the right to cure. Generally this involves filing an “intent to Cure” with the Public Trustee’s office at least 15 days prior to the date of the scheduled foreclosure sale and then paying everything that is necessary to bring the loan current by noon on the day before the foreclosure sale is scheduled. To bring the loan current you must pay all delinquent amounts, interest and costs incurred by your lender.

Foreclosure Sale

The foreclosure sale will be held at the place, date and time specified in the notice. As in a Judicial foreclosure, property is sold at auction to the highest bidder.

No Right of Redemption in Non-Judicial Foreclosure

Unlike a Judicial foreclosure, the owner has no right of redemption when the property is foreclosed under the Deed of Trust, power of sale, provision.

You can be sued for any Unpaid Balance (Deficiency Judgment)

In Nevada, and particularly in Las Vegas, the amount owed on the property may be more than its value. Because the property is sold at auction, the amount bid may be significantly less in the amount owed. This means that there is a large difference between what the lender receives from the foreclosure sale and what the owner/borrower owes on the Note. In Nevada, the lender has 6 months after the sale to file a lawsuit to obtain a deficiency judgment against the borrower to recover this difference. A deficiency suit can be barred (prohibited) if the property is sold by a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure. The law in this area is technical but there are substantial defenses. If you are sued for a deficiency, The Lowrey Law Firm can defend and may be able to defeat the deficiency claim in a Court hearing.

The Lowrey Law Firm can Help you Obtain a Loan Modification

The foregoing is a greatly condensed and simplified explanation of the foreclosure process in Nevada. The Lowrey Law Firm can assist you through this minefield and help you avoid the, pitfalls and consequences of a foreclosure. Perhaps more importantly, we can help you to obtain mortgage relief and a loan modification with a payment that you can afford.