Florida Foreclosure Litigation Lawyer

Do You Have to Go to Court for Florida Foreclosure Litigation?

Technically, you do not have to respond to a foreclosure lawsuit filed by the lender who issued your mortgage. But if you don’t respond, the lender will likely seek a judgment against you, which will allow them to begin the foreclosure sale process by default. While foreclosure litigation can take a long time to reach a resolution, an experienced foreclosure defense lawyer can handle the bulk of the legal work for you.

The basic timeline of the Florida judicial foreclosure process is as follows:

• The lender files the foreclosure lawsuit – A foreclosure lawsuit consists of three main components: the complaint, summons, and notice of lis pendens. To begin foreclosure, the complaint outlines the claims the lender is making in the lawsuit. The summons goes to each borrower and has instructions for responding. You have 20 days from when the summons was served to respond. The notice of lis pendens is filed with the county clerk and informs anyone with an interest in the property that a foreclosure lawsuit is pending.

• You respond to the lawsuit – If you ignore the summons, the lender will likely obtain a default judgment against you and begin the foreclosure sale process. Alternatively, you can respond to the summons and contest the lawsuit. Lenders often count on homeowners being too overwhelmed to respond to foreclosure lawsuits and expect an easy judgment in their favor. But a foreclosure defense lawyer may be able to help you keep your home, depending on your circumstances.

• Litigation begins – If you contest the lawsuit, your lawyer must convince the court that you should be allowed to keep your home. Your attorney can ask the lender to produce the promissory note showing that they actually hold your mortgage. If the lender cannot do this, they have no grounds for a lawsuit. Your lawyer may also try to show how the lender violated Florida foreclosure laws, in which case the suit should be dismissed. If your lawyer cannot get the lawsuit dismissed, they can attempt to negotiate with the lender to let you keep your home.

• The court issues a judgment – If the court rules in favor of the lender, the lender will initiate a foreclosure sale. If the value of your home is not enough to cover your outstanding debt, the lender can ask the court for a deficiency judgment against you, meaning you might have to sell additional assets to cover your debts. If the court rules in your favor, the foreclosure process is over, and you get to keep your home.