How to Stop Foreclosure On Your House in Ohio and Kentucky

Foreclosure is the result of a homeowner neglecting to pay their mortgage. In doing so, the home owner forfeits all of their rights, and if the property owner does not catch up the outstanding balance, then the property goes into a foreclosure auction. 

There are usually six stages that take place in order to result in a foreclosure…

1 - Payment Default

Hard times, economy, job loss, family tragedy and many other circumstances are typically the cause of missed mortgage payments. Once you have missed one payment on your mortgage you can be considered into payment default. Each lender varies in terms of their definition of default, and usually if you only missed one payment they 

2 - Public Notice is Served

A public notice is usually issued after 3-6 months of missed payments. The lender will record a public notice to the county recorder's office indicating that the borrower has defaulted on their mortgage. This is also referred to as a NOD or Notice of Default.

3 - Pre-Foreclosure

After receiving a NOD (Notice of Default) from the lender, the homeowner enters a grace period known as pre-foreclosure. During this time, the homeowner has the opportunity to catch up on payments or make another arrangement. In the states of Ohio and Kentucky, this grace period lasts 120 days. In other states, this timeline can be anywhere from 30-120 days. Again, this process will vary from lender to lender in terms of how it’s handled. 

4- Notice of Sale

The process for initiating foreclosure varies state to state. In the state of Ohio and Kentucky, it follows the Judicial Foreclosure procedure. 

Here are the two kinds of foreclosures…

Non-Judicial Foreclosures can be done and they only require filing paperwork with the necessary court to start the process. This method can allow the foreclosure to take place fairly quickly. 

Judicial Foreclosures, which require court approval for each step—meaning the process takes a bit longer. This foreclosure process is handled completely  through the local court system. The court appoints a referee to conduct the foreclosure auction on the courthouse steps.

5 - Property Goes to Auction

Once you have been notified and your grace period has ended, your property is now placed up for public auction. The property will be sold to the highest bidder who meets all of the requirements. The lender the home is under (or firm representing the lender) will calculate an opening bid based on the value of the outstanding loan, any liens, unpaid taxes, and costs associated with the sale. Once the bidding is over, the sales process will begin for the new purchaser through the bank/lender.

6 - Eviction

Once the auction is complete. The new owner will be named. If the property did not sell, then the property will default to the lender. The homeowner will be issued an order to evacuate if they are still living in the property. This eviction notice demands that any persons living in the house vacate the premises immediately.