Home Foreclosed On? Following is How Long You Have before You Really Have to Move

May 1, 2009 - PRLog -- If in spite of your best efforts, you have not been able to stop foreclosure, there is a tiny bright spot. In many cases, you have at least three months before you have to move. In some cases, you have upwards of a year.

This is time that can be used to either keep working towards a mortgage modification, home sale, short sale or refinance. Or, as a time to get your finances together to secure your next dwelling. How can this be? Here, we explain.

Pre-Foreclosure: What It Is & How It Can Work to Your Advantage

When you are initially contacted by your lender, you are sent a Notice of Default (an NOD). This notice puts the homeowner on notice that their mortgage is in default and that they need to take action to get current. At this juncture, the lender is either unable or unwilling to proceed with formal foreclosure proceedings.

In essence, pre-foreclosure is the beginning stage of the foreclosure process. There is still time to work with the lender. If you know that you won’t be able to, then it’s time that can be used to prepare to move.

The period between pre-foreclosure and formal foreclosure varies from state to state. In some states, it’s as little as 30 days; in others, it can be upwards of a year.

Following is a state-by-state Breakdown of How Long It Takes from the Time a NOD is issued to the Beginning of Formal Foreclosure Procedures

Alabama: 90 days

Alaska: 120 days

Arkansas: 90 days

Arizona: 90 days

California: 120 days

Colorado: 5 months

Connecticut: 6 months

Delaware: 7 months

District of Columbia (DC): 120 days

Florida: 6 months

Georgia: 90 days

Hawaii: 7 months

Idaho: 8 months

Illinois: 7 months

Indiana: 7 months

Iowa: 7 months

Kansas: 120 days

Kentucky: 7 months

Louisiana: 6 months

Maine: 8 months

Maryland: 5 months

Massachusetts: 5 months

Michigan: 90 days

Minnesota: 120 days

Mississippi: 120 days

Missouri: 90 days

Montana: 6 months

Nebraska: 120 days

Nevada: 120 days

New Hampshire: 90 days

New Jersey: 9 months

New Mexico: 5 months

New York: 10 months

North Carolina: 120 days

North Dakota: 120 days

Ohio: 8 months

Oklahoma: 7 months

Oregon: 5 months

Pennsylvania: 8 months

Rhode Island: : 90 days

South Carolina: 6 months

South Dakota: : 120 days

Tennessee: 90 days

Texas: 60 days

Utah: 5 months

Vermont: 9 months

Virginia: : 120 days

Washington: 5 months

West Virginia: 4 months

Wisconsin: 9 months

Wyoming: 90 days

Following are two things to keep in mind regarding these time frames:

(i) in this foreclosure crisis, it's taking lenders longer to foreclosure in most instances; and

(ii) the NOD (formal Notice of Default) is commonly filed 3-4 months after a mortgage holder is delinquent.

What this means, in essence, is that you add this time to the timeframes listed above.

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