The law of the State of Virginia permits both judicial and non judicial foreclosures. The non-judicial (out-of-court) foreclosures are more common. The non-judicial foreclosure process would take not more than two months for completion.

In the judicial foreclosure process, which is rarely used, the foreclosure begins with the lender filing a court document to commence the process upon default of payment. An order from the court is issued specifying the various terms and related conditions for the Virginia foreclosures sale. The property will be auctioned as per the various conditions set by the Virginia county court, after the foreclosure is declared by the court.

The power-of-sale clause is commonly included in the mortgage and it permits the lender to go ahead and foreclose the property to recover the dues without having to file a complaint or notice in the Virginia courts for the foreclosure. This kind of foreclosure is very common in the State of Virginia. The lender starts this foreclosure by first scheduling a sale, after sending a notice for payment default to the borrower. The borrower shall be permitted a period of 30 days for paying off the entire default amount and halt the foreclosure process.

The lender, after scheduling the Virginia foreclosure sale, shall advertise publicly the sale and inform the borrower or the party involved through a notice. According to the terms mentioned in the trust deed or the statute of the State, the notice of sale publication dates will vary.

The court must first approve the newspaper in which the Virginia foreclosure sale notice is intended to be published. The court, before granting the approval, will ascertain if the circulation is sufficient or not within the county. The notice of sale shall include the complete legal description of the borrower's property, the various terms, the venue of the auction, the date and time of the foreclosure sale. The notice of sale should be received by the borrower, and the concerned parties, within a period not less than 14 days before the date of the Virginia foreclosure sale.

The foreclosure sale is typically conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the local courthouse, by the trustee. The opening bid shall be announced by the trustee and further bids shall be called by the members present. The highest bidder shall be awarded the sale. If there are no bids, the lender will retain possession of the property.

The transfer of ownership to the prized bidder shall be done by the trustee by completing the necessary documentation. The foreclosure cannot be postponed, but can however be canceled. In the event of cancellation of the sale, the trustee has to initiate the entire foreclosure process to schedule the new sale.

The borrower is not entitled to redemption of the property once the sale is final. However the lender may choose to cancel the foreclosure sale if the borrower opts to pay off the debts.

If the highest bid in the foreclosure sale is insufficient to pay off the due amount entirely, the lender has the option of filing for a deficiency judgment proceedings against the borrower.

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