For most people, being sued can be a frightening experience. The arrival of a thick envelope from a bank’s law firm, threatening to take your home, is enough to cause immense stress and fear. It’s a moment designed to make you feel powerless. We are here to tell you that you are not. You have rights, the fight is not over, and the bank does not automatically win.
The first question we often hear at Consumer Law Attorneys is how foreclosure works in Florida? Understanding this process is the first step to taking back control and fighting for your home.
How Does Foreclosure Work in Florida? A Lawsuit, Not a Final Notice
Florida is a judicial foreclosure state. This is a major advantage for homeowners. The bank cannot simply change the locks or kick you out. To take your home, they must file a formal lawsuit against you and prove their case to a judge. This means you have the right to respond, raise defenses, and hold them accountable.
The typical foreclosure process in Florida follows these steps:
- Default and notice: After several missed payments, the lender will send letters, known as a notice of default and intent to accelerate, demanding payment.
- The lawsuit is filed: If the default isn’t resolved, the lender’s attorneys will file a formal complaint with the court and record a lis pendens, a public notice that the property is under a lawsuit.
- You are served: A process server will deliver a copy of the lawsuit and a summons to you personally. This is official notice that you are being sued.
- The 20-day deadline: This is the most important date in the entire process. From the day you are served, you have only 20 days to file a formal, written answer with the court. Failing to respond can result in a default judgment against you, meaning you lose the case automatically without ever getting a chance to fight.
The entire process is governed by specific laws found in Chapter 702 of the Florida Statutes.
Your Rights and How to Stop a Foreclosure
When clients ask how to stop a foreclosure, the answer begins with a strong, timely legal defense by a foreclosure attorney. However, you have rights and options at every stage.
Federal rules often require lenders to wait until a mortgage is more than 120 days delinquent before they can even start the foreclosure process. These protections are enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Florida law also provides powerful protections. For instance, you have a “right of redemption,” which meansyou can stop the foreclosure sale by paying the full judgment amount before the certificate of sale is filed.
Additionally, Florida law protects homeowners from predatory “foreclosure-rescue” scams. It is illegal for a foreclosure rescue consultant to charge you a fee before they have completed all of their promised services in writing.
While loss mitigation options like a loan modification or short sale exist, they are best negotiated by an experienced foreclosure defense lawyer who can ensure you are not giving up important legal rights. The most powerful way to stop a foreclosure is by challenging the bank’s lawsuit directly.
Building Your Foreclosure Defense: How We Fight the Banks
This is where Consumer Law Attorneys commitment to aggressive, relentless advocacy comes in. A foreclosure defense is not just about delaying the inevitable; it’s about forcing the bank to prove they have the legal right to foreclose. Often, they can’t. The bank’s lawyers have the burden of proof, and our job is to ensure they meet it.
Some of the common foreclosure defense strategies our firm uses include:
- Lack of standing: We demand the bank prove it is the legitimate owner of your mortgage note at the exact time the lawsuit was filed. With mortgages being bought and sold constantly, this is a frequent point of failure for lenders.
- Failure to provide required notices: The mortgage agreement and federal law require the lender to send specific notices before they can sue. We scrutinize their records to ensure they complied with every condition precedent, as courts have repeatedly upheld this as a prerequisite to foreclosure.
- Challenging the amount owed: We audit the amount the bank claims you owe. We frequently find improper fees, inflated charges, and inaccurate escrow calculations that can be challenged in court.
- Violations of federal law: We investigate whether the lender violated consumer protection laws like the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) or the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), which can be used as powerful tools against them.
- Failure to produce the original promissory note: The bank’s lawsuit is based on a single, critical document: the original promissory note you signed. We demand that the lender produce this original “wet-ink” note, complete with a proper chain of endorsements (known as an allonge) that proves the note was legally transferred to them. If they cannot find the original note or if the chain of ownership is broken, they may not have the legal right to enforce it.
- Defective or “robo-signed” affidavits: To win their case, lenders rely heavily on sworn statements, or affidavits, from their employees. However, these are often “robo-signed,” meaning the person who signed them had no personal knowledge of your loan history and simply signed a stack of documents without verification. We can challenge these defective affidavits in court and even depose the person who signed them to prove they lack the personal knowledge required to make their statements credible.
- Statute of limitations has expired: Florida law imposes a five-year statute of limitations on foreclosure actions. While this can be a complicated issue, especially if there have been prior defaults or dismissed lawsuits, we thoroughly analyze the history of your loan and any previous legal actions. If the lender waited too long to file their claim based on a specific default date, the law may bar them from being able to foreclose.
Your Foreclosure Defense Starts Here
A foreclosure notice is the beginning of a legal fight, not the end of the road. It is a lawsuit filed by a powerful bank that has aggressive lawyers on its side. The single worst mistake you can make is to ignore the lawsuit and do nothing. You have significant rights and the opportunity to defend your home, but you must act quickly.
The banks have aggressive lawyers; you deserve to have them, too. At Consumer Law Attorneys, our commitment is to you, the consumer. If you are facing foreclosure, you need a law firm dedicated to foreclosure defense on your side. Call (877) 241-2200 now for a FREE, confidential consultation. An experienced foreclosure defense lawyer from our team will listen to your situation and provide an honest assessment of how we can fight to protect your home.
