Mortgage Foreclosure Process in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania foreclosure process is a relatively simple one. If you're struggling to make your monthly mortgage payments, you will receive ample notice of a pending foreclosure in the state. You might also qualify for a foreclosure-prevention program that Pennsylvania operates. The key to protecting yourself during a foreclosure, and perhaps preventing one, is to know the state laws mandating how the process works.
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Missed Payments
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You can expect your lender to begin the foreclosure process after you've failed to pay your mortgage bill for one or more months. If you fail to pay, your lender will eventually--the time it takes varies from lender to lender, and often depends on how many other late-payers your mortgage company is dealing with at the time--send you a Notice of Intent to Foreclose, also known in Pennsylvania as an Act 6 Notice.
Your lender might also send you an Act 91 notice. This refers homeowners to the Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (see References), an emergency loan fund unique to Pennsylvania that provides funds for homeowners who are struggling to pay their monthly mortgage loans. It's one way that the state helps lower its foreclosure rate.
Courthouse Complaint
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If homeowners fail to respond to their Act 6 or Act 91 notices, their mortgage lender will enlist the services of a foreclosure attorney. The attorney will file a complaint at a Pennsylvania county courthouse. A copy of the complaint will be sent to the homeowners.
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Default Judgment
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If the homeowners again fail to respond, the court will issue a default judgment against them. This judgment, essentially, is a ruling that the lender is justified in its complaint, and clears the way for a foreclosure sale set up by the local sheriff's office. Once the sheriff sets this date, a notice of the foreclosure sale is sent to each person whose name is on the defaulting mortgage.
Sheriff's Sale
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During the sheriff's sale, title passes to the purchaser of the foreclosed property. If no one purchases the property at the sale, the title of the home that passes on to the lender. If the original mortgage holders have not yet vacated the property, the sheriff's office will then begin the eviction process.
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References
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