The State of Florida details the rules and regulations governing foreclosure in the counties of the state in the Florida foreclosure law. Florida foreclosure law states that lenders have the right to initiate a judicial foreclosure in the event that a borrower defaults on their mortgage agreement and is unable to pay the balance of the mortgage loan. A foreclosure is the lender’s way of recouping the costs of the mortgage loan and the borrower’s way of making good on the loan when they cannot make the mortgage payments. The process of completing a foreclosure in the State of Florida typically takes around five months from beginning to end.

Florida Foreclosure Law Procedures

Under Florida foreclosure law, a foreclosure is begun when the lender files a lawsuit against the borrower suing for control of the property due to a default on the mortgage agreement. A copy of the lawsuit and a notice to appear in court to answer the charges is sent to the borrower, who has an obligation to appear at the court hearing to explain why the mortgage agreement has gone into default. If the borrower fails to appear at the court hearing, a judgment may be issued in favor of the lender allowing the borrower no recourse to stop the foreclosure on the property. The borrower must adhere to the rulings of the court, whether or not they were present at the hearing where the judgment was issued, according to Florida foreclosure law.

Florida foreclosure law does not require the lender to give the borrower prior notice of their intent to begin foreclosure proceedings against the borrower, unless the mortgage agreement or deed of trust specifies that personal prior notice of the intent to begin foreclosure must be given to the borrower within a specific period of time before the foreclosure process may begin. If personal notice is required, the lender must send the notice of intent via certified or registered mail. The lender is not required to notify all parties of their intent to file for foreclosure; they are only required to notify the primary borrower listed on the mortgage agreement.

Under Florida foreclosure law, once a court action and a notice of pending lawsuit is filed against the borrower, the foreclosure proceedings have begun. The borrower has the option of stopping the foreclosure at any point until the date of the foreclosure sale by paying off the entire balance owed to the lender, not just the amount that the borrower is in default. If the borrower cannot find the funds to pay off the balance of the loan, then the property will be sold at a foreclosure sale by the lender once they receive a foreclosure judgment in their favor by the Florida courts. Florida foreclosure law requires that the details of the foreclosure sale be listed in the foreclosure judgment and be adhered to throughout the foreclosure sale process.