The Foreclosure Process - When to Call Sharkey “The Mitigation Man”

Brian Sharkey can be reached at All Florida Realty Services Inc. at 772-335-1995 ext. 192 or via email Brian@BrianSharkeyRealEstate.com

The Foreclosure Process - When to Call Sharkey "The Mitigation Man"

When a homeowner falls behind on his or her mortgage payments, lenders generally follow the same process, which is made up of the following four steps:

1. Grace Period
2. Default Period
3. Acceleration/Redemption Period
4. Foreclosure Period

The Grace period is typically the 15-day period that a homeowner has to make a payment after it's due without the payment being considered late.

The Default period can be anywhere from 45 days up to 12 months, in some cases depending on how aggressive that mortgage lender becomes. Acceleration and foreclosure proceedings can happen after the first missed payment, while others might wait much longer.

The next stage is the Acceleration Period, also called the Redemption Period. This stage begins when the homeowner receives a notice stating that the entire amount of the mortgage is due in 30 days or the lender will begin foreclosure proceedings.

During this period, it is still possible to negotiate a Short Sale, but the homeowner needs to be aware that time is running out and results are dramatically reduced.

The homeowner's default has now been made public, investors, lenders, attorneys, and agents, many of whom may not have the homeowner's best interests in mind, will offer to bail them out.

The Foreclosure Processand the homeowner's property will be sold. At this point, a Short Sale may be very difficult to negotiate because the homeowner's file is already with a foreclosure attorney, and the bank is already incuring the costs of initiating the process.

Many homeowners delay taking any action to avoid a foreclosure until they receive their Foreclosure Notice.

The earlier a homeowner takes control of their situation and calls the more likely we can avoid a foreclosure.

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