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The Attorney General has developed this website to provide information on mortgages and foreclosures in Georgia. This page also contains phone numbers and links to websites where you can find help and additional information. The promissory note and the debt security deed will be canceled on the day you repay your loan. Until then, those two documents detail the rights and responsibilities that you owe to your lender and that your lender owes to you.
Make sure you know where your copies are and read them. In the past, you applied for a mortgage loan from a bank, and that bank held your note and deed to guarantee the debt until the day the loan was finally repaid in full. However, it is common for banks to buy and sell mortgage loans. Your promissory note and deed can be sold, transferred, or transferred at any time to someone other than the bank that granted you the loan.
It could be another bank, or even an institutional investor. If you're not sure, under federal law, you have the right to write and request the name, address, and contact information of the company that currently holds your mortgage. At the bottom of this web page, you will find model letters that you can modify to fit your particular request. Some lenders allow homeowners to participate in a trial modification program while their application for permanent modification is being considered.
Keep in mind that if your request for permanent modification is denied, the lender may require you to pay the difference between your original monthly payments and trial program payments. In addition, if the homeowner fails to make payments under the judgment modification program, the request for permanent modification will almost certainly be denied. Many lenders have their own loan modification programs, with their own formulas and requirements. The federal government's Affordable Housing Modification Program (“HAMP”) is designed to help homeowners who are experiencing financial difficulties.
If you are determined to be eligible for HAMP, your loan can be modified so that your monthly mortgage payment does not exceed 31% of your gross monthly income. For more information on HAMP eligibility and requirements, visit www, makinghomeaffordable, gov. For more information on these programs, visit the Federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, 12 U, S, C. Section 2605 (e) gives you the right to request information about your mortgage account.
It also gives you the right to demand that your account be corrected if you believe that the lender or managing entity has made a mistake. At the bottom of this web page are examples of letters that you can use to request information or to request that the managing entity correct your account. Be sure to clearly identify the borrower's name as it appears in the managing entity's records, the account number and the property address. Federal law requires the lender or servicing entity to recognize your letter within twenty days and respond to it within sixty days.
Foreclosure begins with a default under the terms of the original promissory note or deed to secure the debt. Usually, default is your failure to make the required loan payments. A default can also occur because of things like not keeping property insurance or paying your property taxes. The owner of their mortgage must publish a notice of foreclosure in the official county newspaper to publish public advertisements containing the real property for four consecutive weeks before the scheduled foreclosure.
If you haven't already done so, your mortgage holder must submit proof that you own the security instrument related to the real property with the clerk of the superior court of the county in which the real property is located, before the start of the foreclosure sale. This test usually takes the form of an assignment of the promissory note and the deed to guarantee the debt. Since mortgages are often sold or transferred, this requirement can help the borrower identify the current holder of their mortgage. A valid foreclosure eliminates the borrower's right to live in the house.
The new owner of the property can file an expossession action to evict the borrower from the home. Some lenders have a “money for keys” program, in which they will pay landlords a small amount to voluntarily leave the property. In most cases, the mortgage holder accepts the property as payment on the loan, and foreclosure marks the end of legal proceedings against the borrower. However, the mortgage holder can file a lawsuit against the borrower to recover any difference between the amount paid for the property in foreclosure and the amount remaining on the promissory note.
This is called the deficiency procedure. If this occurs, the matter will go to court. The options available or appropriate for the landlord will depend on the particular facts of the case. While the law prohibits our office from providing you with legal advice, a private lawyer or a HUD-certified housing counselor can help you.
Some of these options are explained in more detail below. However, in all cases, you must act immediately after receiving notice of a foreclosure. A short sale occurs when you sell your home for less than the remaining balance of your mortgage. It's important to understand that a short sale must be pre-approved by your lender.
If approved, your mortgage holder agrees to accept the proceeds of the sale and to cancel the mortgage. You may also be eligible to participate in the federal government's Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (“HAFA”), which offers short selling and writing options instead of deed. For more information on the HAFA eligibility requirements, visit www, makinghomeaffordable, gov. A deed in lieu of a foreclosure is a legal document signed by the landlord to voluntarily transfer ownership of the property to the lender in exchange for a loan exemption.
This is sometimes referred to as “returning property to the bank.”. This option is only available if the lender accepts the deed and the cancellation of the mortgage. In some situations, if your mortgage is owned by Fannie Mae, you may be able to lease your home after signing a deed instead of a foreclosure. Even if your loan isn't owned by Fannie Mae, your lender may offer a similar lease option.
Under federal law, the valid filing of a bankruptcy petition acts as a “suspension” of legal proceedings against the debtor, including a non-judicial foreclosure. Such a petition will suspend the foreclosure process if properly filed with the Secretary of the U. Bankruptcy Court before the property is sold on the courthouse steps. However, in some cases, the mortgage holder may request permission from the bankruptcy judge to resume foreclosure proceedings.
In addition, if you want to keep your home, you'll have to continue paying your mortgage during the bankruptcy proceedings. Filing a bankruptcy petition has serious consequences. You should seek legal advice before making that decision to ensure that it is in your best interest overall. In Georgia, most foreclosures occur without a court hearing.
Before the foreclosure sale, the Bank must send you a foreclosure notice and publish the notice of the sale in the local newspaper. The house is then sold on the courthouse steps. After the foreclosure sale, the bank can file an expossession action in court requesting that it be removed. The expossession hearing is not an opportunity for you to argue that the foreclosure was wrong.
The lender must announce the foreclosure sale in a newspaper for four weeks before the scheduled sale date. The sale is an auction open to all bidders. The lender bids on the property using a credit offer instead of making a cash offer. With a credit offer, the lender obtains a loan up to the amount of the borrower's debt.
Sometimes the lender offers the full amount of the debt; sometimes, it offers less. The highest bidder on the sale becomes the new owner of the property. Some states have a law that gives the foreclosed owner time after the foreclosure sale to exchange the property. However, in Georgia, you don't get a post-sale refund immediately after a non-judicial foreclosure.
Under federal law, a mortgage company must wait 120 days BEFORE issuing the first official notice or filing for foreclosure. Once the bank completes these steps, it can continue with the foreclosure process, sell the house at a foreclosure auction, and homeowners will go through a foreclosure eviction. It takes months to sell your house with a real estate agent and you only have a few months to sell it before you lose it in the foreclosure auction in Georgia. The servicing entity will notify the lender and the lender will send the homebuyer a Foreclosure Notice (sometimes called a Notice of Intention to Foreclosure).
But if you decide to defend the foreclosure lawsuit, the court will review the evidence and determine the winner. While the Making Home Affordable (MHA) initiative programs have expired, the MHA website still contains useful information for homeowners facing foreclosure. In the Atlanta metropolitan area, the Atlanta Metropolitan Area Consumer Credit Counseling Service, the Fannie Mae Foundation, the Foundation for the Preservation of Homeowners, NeighborWorks America and United Way have come together to provide free counseling to Georgia homeowners to provide consumer education and preventing foreclosures. Loan servicers collect and process payments from homeowners, in addition to managing loss mitigation requests and foreclosures for delinquent loans.
Some possible ways to stop a foreclosure include reinstating the loan, redeeming the property before the sale, or filing for bankruptcy. In the non-judicial foreclosure process or in the foreclosure process of the trust deed, a lender can initiate foreclosure without going to court if there is a power of sale clause in the loan agreement. The borrower will not receive much notice: Georgia law requires that the notice be sent at least 30 days before the date of the proposed foreclosure sale. Under Georgia law, lenders can follow one of two foreclosure processes: judicial foreclosure and non-judicial foreclosure (also known as a trust deed).
The hotline is staffed 24 hours a day by counselors who provide free, confidential advice to those facing foreclosure. In Georgia, the lender must mail the borrower a notice of their intention to foreclose at least 30 days before the foreclosure sale. . .
