Fight Your Foreclosure in Court

If you’re in a state that requires foreclosures to go through court (see our Summary of State Foreclosure Laws to find out if you live in a judicial foreclosure state), you’ll have the right to present your objections to the foreclosure to a judge for review. If you’re in a nonjudicial foreclosure

Should You Fight Your Foreclosure in Court?

If it’s clear that the foreclosing party failed to follow the law and that as a result, you were deprived of an important right, it may be worth it to go to court and contest the foreclosure. After all, if you could get the foreclosure lawsuit dismissed or significantly delayed, you may be able to

How to Fight a Foreclosure in Court: Nonjudicial Foreclosure

How hard it is to fight a foreclosure depends to a great extent on where you live.

Fighting Foreclosure in Court Without an Attorney

If you want to successfully defend against a foreclosure, it is best to hire a lawyer. However, if this is not possible and you want to fight the foreclosure on your own (called representing yourself “pro se”), the way you go about it depends on whether the process is judicial or nonjudicial. Below

Do I have a right to trial by jury in a foreclosure case?

Question I’m about to go through a foreclosure, but I don’t think it’s fair. I feel like other homeowners might be more sympathetic to my story than a judge. Do I have a right to a jury trial in a foreclosure? Answer Maybe, though it's not likely. It depends on a couple of factors. First, you’ll

Fighting Your Foreclosure in Court: How Long Can You Delay the Sale of Your House?

As you might expect, contesting a foreclosure in a judicial foreclosure state is very different than doing so in a nonjudicial foreclosure state. (If you don’t know which kind of foreclosure you’re likely to come up against, see our Summary of State Foreclosure Laws.) And the amount of delay you’re

Setting Aside a Foreclosure Sale

Sometimes homeowners are not aware that a foreclosure sale has been scheduled until after it has already been completed. Even if your home has been sold, there are some instances where you may be able to have the foreclosure sale invalidated, though this is uncommon. Read on to learn how to set aside

How to Fight a Foreclosure in Court: Judicial Foreclosure

How hard it is to fight a foreclosure depends to a great extent on where you live. If your state requires the foreclosing party to sue you (this is called judicial foreclosure), then it’s easier (and less expensive) to jump into the existing lawsuit. If, in your state, foreclosures proceed without

Defenses to Foreclosure

Until recently, successful defenses against foreclosure were relatively rare. But now more homeowners are successfully challenging foreclosure actions. Defenses range from arguing that the terms of the mortgage were unconscionable to challenging the foreclosure based on a federal statute violation. If you are facing foreclosure, learn about the most common defenses.

The Statute of Limitations in Foreclosure Actions

If there is a significant time lapse between when you stop making mortgage payments and when the lender initiates a foreclosure, the foreclosure might violate the statute of limitations.

Challenging Late & Other Fees in Foreclosure

Mortgage contracts generally allow a loan servicer to charge late fees, inspection fees, foreclosure costs, and other default-related fees to your account under certain circumstances, such as when

Foreclosure Defenses: The Lender's Failure to Comply With HAMP

If you applied for a mortgage modification through

False Affidavits in Foreclosures: What the Robo-Signing Mess Means for Homeowners

Recently the media and courts have slammed the mortgage lending industry for using false affidavits in thousands of foreclosure cases. Because of the "robo-signing" scandal, several large banks have temporarily frozen all pending foreclosures. For some homeowners, the robo-signing mess may create opportunities to challenge their foreclosures in court or negotiate with lenders to avoid foreclosure.

"Produce the Note" Defense in Foreclosure

If you are a homeowner facing foreclosure and you think that the foreclosing party does not actually own your loan, you may be able to use the produce the note defense to fight the foreclosure.

Fair Debt Collection Claims in Foreclosure Cases

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is usually thought of as a law used to fight the abusive tactics of aggressive debt collection agencies, but homeowners in foreclosure are increasingly bringing FDCPA claims to fight foreclosure. Read on to learn more about the FDCPA and whether the FDCPA

National Bank Cannot Conduct Nonjudicial Foreclosures in Washington

Bank of America’s foreclosure trustee company, ReconTrust, is no longer conducting foreclosures in the state of Washington after settling a lawsuit with the state Attorney General's office.

State Law Determines Who Can Conduct Nonjudicial Foreclosures

If you are a struggling homeowner facing a nonjudicial foreclosure, state law often determines who can act as a trustee and conduct the foreclosure proceedings.

National Bank Cannot Conduct Nonjudicial Foreclosures in Utah

In a recent case, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that a national bank did not have authority to conduct foreclosures in the state because it did not meet the qualifications of a trustee under Utah la

Foreclosure Defenses: Was There a Proper Assignment of the Mortgage?

If you are a homeowner facing foreclosure and there has not been a proper assignment of mortgage, you may be able to challenge the foreclosure. Read on to learn more about assignments, why they are important, and find out what to do if you suspect there wasn’t a valid assignment of mortgage in your

Foreclosure Defenses: Defective Affidavits and Declarations

If you are in foreclosure, you may be able to fight back if the mortgage lender has used defective or faulty affidavits or declarations in its case against you. Generally, when people think of defective lender affidavits, the first thing that comes to mind is the robosigning scandal where lenders filed