How Can I Stall a Foreclosure After the Redemption Period?
Until the redemption period expires in foreclosure, you have the right to avoid foreclosure by redeeming the mortgage, which means paying the mortgage off in full. Redeeming allows you to keep your home by avoiding foreclosure on the mortgage. After the redemption period expires, however, you do not have the right to prevent foreclosure by paying off the mortgage. But, you can take certain steps to stall, or even prevent, foreclosure even after the redemption period expires.
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Instructions
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Contact the lender to attempt to negotiate a delay in the foreclosure process. Foreclosure is a contract right given to the mortgage lender under your mortgage loan. As such, the right is always subject to further negotiations between you and the lender. You may even be able to work out a permanent mortgage modification or deed in lieu of foreclosure in order to permanently prevent foreclosure.
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File an injunction lawsuit. An injunction is an order signed by a judge requiring the mortgage lender to refrain from, or delay, carrying out foreclosure. Obtaining an injunction against the mortgage lender requires proof that you are likely to succeed on an underlying legal claim at trial, such as a claim that the lender violated state foreclosure laws or was somehow fraudulent with you.
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File a quiet title lawsuit on your property. In a quiet title action, anyone claiming an interest in the property must appear in the lawsuit and defend his interests. If the mortgage lender does not appear to defend the mortgage lien, the mortgage lien can be eliminated, which in turn eliminates the lender's right to foreclose.
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File bankruptcy. The most certain way to stall foreclosure is to file for bankruptcy. The automatic stay in bankruptcy prohibits your mortgage lender from continuing with foreclosure while your bankruptcy case remains open.
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Contact a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development-Approved Housing Counselor. HUD Counselors can help you discover workout, modification, or other foreclosure avoidance options that may be available under state or federal law.
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Tips & Warnings
If your only option to stall foreclosure is to file a lawsuit, whether for bankruptcy, an injunction, or a quiet title, consider investing some time and money in a consultation with a local real estate attorney. The attorney's fees will be an investment in your efforts to keep your home.
Filing bankruptcy will probably not permanently prevent foreclosure. Bankruptcy will most likely buy you several months in delay, but even when you file bankruptcy, a mortgage lender can obtain permission from the bankruptcy court to continue carrying out foreclosure.
