Foreclosure Laws in West Virginia
West Virginia foreclosure laws detail the procedures a lender is required to follow when seeking to repossess a home from a defaulted borrower. These laws provide some recourse for a borrower to repay debt and bring her mortgage current before entering a courtroom for a foreclosure hearing. Once a home is foreclosed on, West Virginia law allows very little room for a homeowner to get the house back.
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Judicial Foreclosure
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In the absence of a "power of sale" clause in your mortgage or deed of trust, a bank or other lending institution in West Virginia is required to file a civil suit against you to foreclose on your home. You are required to receive written notice 30 days prior to the scheduled court hearing. This 30-day window provides with time to prepare for the court hearing or to make payments on the account and avoid the foreclosure hearing altogether. During the hearing all your lender is required to prove is your delinquency and inability to repay the mortgage or deed of trust. Upon foreclosure, the home is scheduled for public auction.
Public Auction
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In West Virginia, a foreclosed home must be advertised for sale for two to four weeks before the public auction in at least three places frequented by the public. A copy of the notice of sale is sent to the foreclosed borrower 20 days prior to the actual public auction. The borrower is required to vacate the premises before the date of the public auction.
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Non-Judicial Foreclosure
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Some mortgages or deeds of trust include provisions for non-judicial foreclosure or power of sale. This is an agreement between the borrower and the lender as to what happens to the home if the borrower defaults on his loan. The borrower does not have to sue you to retake possession of the property, and you have no means of suing them unless you have been making timely payments and the foreclosure is being forced in error. Advertisement requirements for this type of foreclosure are the same as judicial foreclosure.
Right of Redemption
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West Virginia law allows no right of redemption for borrowers who lose a home to foreclosure. This means that once the home is sold at public auction, it's gone and there's no getting it back. The only exception to this law pertains to property seized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS maintains a redemption period of 120 days after the public auction of a foreclosed home. During this period, if you repay all your back debt pertaining to the home, you may retake possession of it.
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