Why You Should Never Ignore a Foreclosure Lawsuit

Going through the foreclosure process is something that everyone hopes they’ll never have to face. The prospect of losing your home can significantly disrupt your life and dramatically impact your future and the future of those who depend on you.

In the face of such hardship, it can be tempting to ignore a foreclosure lawsuit because facing it seems overwhelming.

However, ignoring a foreclosure lawsuit won’t make it go away. If anything, ignoring it minimizes your ability to do anything about it and leaves you with fewer options. Homeowners facing foreclosure shouldn’t panic. Instead, they should speak to a qualified and experienced foreclosure defense attorney.

The foreclosure defense, debt defense, and bankruptcy lawyers at Loan Lawyers have been fighting for Florida families for more than a decade. During that time, we’ve helped thousands of clients keep their homes, reduce their debts by hundreds of thousands of dollars, and stave off bankruptcy.

No matter how bad your financial situation may seem, we can provide the legal guidance you’re looking for and give you the best possible chance of saving your home. To learn more about how we can help distressed homeowners, call us or visit our contact page.

Here are just a few reasons to speak to a Florida foreclosure defense attorney if you’re sued for foreclosure.

You Can Get a Default Judgment

A foreclosure lawsuit is the second step in the Florida foreclosure process. Before you can be sued for foreclosure by your lender, they’re required to send you a notice of default.

In many cases, lenders will send out these notices once your mortgage payments are 30, 60, and 90 days past due. Once these notices have been sent, your lender can file a lawsuit to advance the foreclosure process. Should your lender fail to give you the required notices, you can use that as a defense to stall the foreclosure process.

If you ignore a foreclosure lawsuit after you’ve received a notice of default, though, you give up any chance to contest the lawsuit.

There are two components to any foreclosure suit:

• The complaint, which outlines the lender’s case against you
• The summons, details your responsibility to respond to the lawsuit.

If you do not respond, the judge overseeing the foreclosure case will assume the Complaint’s facts are correct and will issue a judgment that you are in default on your mortgage. A default judgment fast-tracks your foreclosure case and leaves you with fewer options to potentially save your home.

You only have 20 days from the date that you are served with the lawsuit to respond to your lender, so it’s essential to speak with a foreclosure defense lawyer as soon as you can.

You Can Lose Defenses If a Loan Modification Is Denied

Even after your lender has filed a foreclosure suit against you, you still own your home until the foreclosure process is complete, and the bank sells the property in a foreclosure sale. Therefore, it’s in your interest to keep working with your lender to see if you can get a loan modification. You can even apply for a loan modification multiple times, depending on who your lender is and your loan conditions.

However, even if your lender refuses to grant you a loan modification, you still have legal options if you’re sued for foreclosure. For example, if your lender does not follow the correct judicial procedures for obtaining a foreclosure judgment, you may be able to buy yourself more time or have the case thrown out entirely. But these defenses are invalid if you do not respond to the foreclosure lawsuit within the 20-day window. If you wait too long or ignore the lawsuit, the judge in your case will side with your lender and fast-track your foreclosure, as we’ve previously discussed.

Giving Up the Right to Discovery

In a civil suit, discovery is the phase of the case where both sides are allowed to look at what evidence the other party has and will be using as part of their case. This may not sound that important, but the discovery process is crucial if you want the best possible shot at keeping your home.

During discovery, your lender must provide whatever evidence they have showing that they own your mortgage, that you’ve fallen behind on your payments, and that they’ve followed the correct procedures to obtain a foreclosure judgment.

This process offers knowledgeable foreclosure defense attorneys an opportunity to poke holes in their evidence and argument. If you and your lawyer can undermine your lender’s legal argument, you may be able to buy more time to sort out your finances or possibly have the case against you dismissed.

If you ignore the foreclosure lawsuit, you give up the right to see what evidence your lender has against you. This will likely result in a default judgment against you and your home being foreclosed upon.

Contact an Experienced Foreclosure Defense Attorney at Loan Lawyers

As you can see, the foreclosure process in Florida is complicated, and the stakes are high. To give yourself the best possible chance at keeping your home, contact the compassionate and dedicated attorneys at Loan Lawyers today.

Foreclosure, bankruptcy, and debt relief are the core areas of our practice, giving us more knowledge and experience than most other Florida law firms. Our foreclosure defense lawyers know the ins and outs of Florida foreclosures. We can provide high-quality legal defense for those facing the loss of their homes. We’re proud of our many success stories during our time in practice, and we’ll do whatever we can to prevent you and your family from losing your home. To get started, call our office today to schedule your free initial consultation, or you can visit our contact page.