Court proceedings are the usual way to carry out foreclosures in the State of Florida. The entire process of foreclosure takes up to five months in Florida.

Before filing for foreclosure, it's important to understand the foreclosure proceedings and how they take place in Florida State. When a lender in Florida, files a case against the borrower in the court of law and makes a report of an impending lawsuit (Lis Pendens), the foreclosure proceedings are initiated. The lender also sends notices to the borrower as well as any other affected party (parties) either in person or by mail or even via publication depending on the case in question. The borrower can be held in contempt, if he/she does not reply to the court notice within a specified period of time. The right to find the borrower guilty for unresponsive behavior lies with the county clerk, but the lender also has the right to request the court of law to make the final ruling against the borrower.

In a situation where the court rules in favor of the lender, the borrower will be required to pay the full amount due to the lender and the date of the foreclosure sale according to the ruling.

According to the foreclosure law of the Florida State, the lender does not have to inform the borrower before starting the process of foreclosure. However, if the lender is initiating individual mortgages or deeds of trust, then the lender will be required to notify the borrower about it. The borrower can prevent the foreclosure, till the date of the foreclosure sale, if he/she agrees to pay the full amount due to the lender.

The date of sale of the foreclosed property is generally decided around 25-30 days after the ruling has been made by the court. Nevertheless, this date can change depending on the specific court where the proceedings have been initiated. The procedure is simple. The court clerk sends a notice of sale with details such as location, date of auction/sale, and time of the auction/sale. The notice of sale is published for a period of two weeks, once each week, and the second and final notice is sent at least five days prior to the sale.

Once again, the proceedings of the sale of the foreclosed property are overseen by the clerk. Typically, these proceedings begin at 11:00 am at the courthouse of the particular county on the date of the sale. As per foreclosure laws, the winning bidder will need to deposit a 5% deposit by the end of the sale day, and pay the outstanding balance by the same day or within a stipulated period of a minimum of 20 days from the date of sale. Upon successful completion of sale, a certificate is given to the winning bidder by the clerk.

The clerk transfers the ownership of the foreclosed property within a period of 10 days from the sale if no one objects to the sale. Usually it is seen that the borrower loses of right of redemption once the certificate of foreclosed property sale has been issued.

If you need more information about Florida foreclosure laws, you should contact a foreclosure lawyer, or contact us so we can recommend one for you.