Surrendering a house...how long?

[cosmicmama]

If I surrender a house under 13, how long is before I have to be out? Or does the bank still go through normal foreclosure procedures?

[debtinohio]

Best to check with your attorney, they will probably ask to have the stay lifted and then continue with foreclosure - it's often the best way for them to be assured a clean title to the property.

[sofarsogood2]

They have to get the stay lifted and then they could proceed thru normal foreclosure, or resume from the point they were at prior to your filing (at least that's how it works in my state). There's no short cut for them as far as I know. They may apply to lift the stay and then not do anything for months- esp. if your area is hard hit with foreclosures, you have no equity, and they haven't started foreclosure prior to the filing. If they had already began foreclosure proceedings prior to your filing, they could pick up where they left off once the stay is lifted.

It's a cr*p shoot as far as how long you have in the house, but you'll be notified via service or Fed Ex as to their intentions and court filings. I believe in most states it takes a least 90 days to foreclose, + the time to get the stay lifted, + the courts are backed up. You could be talking 6 mos- a year, or more. Or, if they are really aggressive- about 3 mos. after initiating foreclosure.

As always, your attorney can probably give you a better idea of the situation in your area and evaluate your individual circumstances.

Best wishes.

[cosmicmama]

Thank you very much!

[flower04]

I would love to answer this question and I would also love a true answer to this question. It varies so much that it is hard to truly gauge. We filed in July, stopped paying in June and haven't heard a word. Our attorney said that the "stay" would be lifted by Januray 2010 and that if they are on top of things, we'll be given notice in January and need to be out by March 2010 at the earliest. HTH