The foreclosure procedures in North Carolina and how to avoid it

In the first quarter of 2009 the country had a record amount of foreclosures, with over 800,000 total foreclosures.  This was due to several reasons:

 

1)      High levels of unemployment

2)      Low interest adjustable rate mortgages

3)      Down turn of the Real Estate market

4)      Banks making it harder to get a loan

 

With more and more home owners facing the prospect of foreclosure it is important that home owners know what the law says about foreclosure and how they may be able to avoid it.

 

Mortgage laws vary from state to state. The laws in North Carolina state the following:

 

In North Carolina, lenders may foreclose on deeds of trusts or mortgages in default using either a judicial or non-judicial foreclosure process.

Judicial Foreclosure

The judicial process of foreclosure, which involves filing a lawsuit to obtain a court order to foreclose, is used when no power of sale is present in the mortgage or deed of trust. Generally, after the court declares a foreclosure, your home will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Non-Judicial Foreclosure

The non-judicial process of foreclosure is used when a power of sale clause exists in a mortgage or deed of trust. A “power of sale” clause is the clause in a deed of trust or mortgage, in which the borrower pre-authorizes the sale of property to pay off the balance on a loan in the event of the their default. In deeds of trust or mortgages where a power of sale exists, the power given to the lender to sell the property may be executed by the lender or their representative, typically referred to as the trustee. Regulations for this type of foreclosure process are outlined below in the “Power of Sale Foreclosure Guidelines”.

Power of Sale Foreclosure Guidelines

If the deed of trust or mortgage contains a power of sale clause and specifies the time, place and terms of sale, then the specified procedure must be followed. However, in North Carolina, a preliminary hearing must be held before a power of sale foreclosure can take place.

After the preliminary notices have been issued, the clerk of the court will conduct a hearing to determine whether or not a foreclosure sale may take place. If and when the clerk issues a notice of sale, the foreclosure may proceed as follows:

A notice of sale must be:
mailed first class mail to the borrower at least twenty days before the sale
published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the property is located once a week for two successive weeks, with the last ad being published not less than ten days before the sale;

3    posted on the courthouse door for twenty (20) days prior to the foreclosure sale.

Said notice must name the borrowers, the lenders, provide a description of the property and state the date, time and place of sale.
The sale must be conducted at the courthouse in the county where the property is located between the hours of 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. The property will be sold to the highest bidder. Upset bids may be filed with the court clerk for a period of ten days after the foreclosure sale.
The sale may be postponed by announcing the need to postpone at the time and place the regular sale would have taken place. A notice of the postponement, stating the new date and time the foreclosure sale will be held, must be posted on the courthouse door.

 

How to possibly avoid foreclosure

A loan modification can in many cases be the answer to the problem. Like anything else there are benefits and disadvantages to a mortgage modification. We have compiled a list of the advantages and disadvantages for you to consider.

 

ADVANTAGES:
A successful Loan Modification will supply you with the following:
1. an interest rate reduction. Under President Obama’s current program this rate may be as low as 2%.
2. The advantage of having the reinstatement amount (total amount of late payments) deferred to the back end of the mortgage and added to the current principle.
3. A reduction in the actual principle balance of the loan
4. Have many of the same features of a refinance, without the high cost.

DISADVANTAGES:
1.You only get one shot at the Loan Modification so you need to get it right the first time. It is important that you make sure your mortgage modification sets up payment perimeters you can afford.

2. Your mortgage company does not earn money making you modifications so they will most likely offer you terms that are not actually helpful.

3. Due to the high rate of foreclosures there are an abundance of scams out there set up to take your money, that promise to help you with negotiations. To avoid these scams NEVER PAY A DOWNPAYMENT TO ANYONE OFFERING TO ASSIST IN A MORTGAGE MODIFICATION.

Discover how you can ethically modify your home mortgage loan and save as much as 47% off your current mortgage payment in as little as 60 days without refinancing? For your FREE CD, FREE e-book, and FREE coaching call with Mortgage Modification Expert and Business Man of the Year Billy Alvaro visit our website Saint Jude’s Mortgage Rescue

This entry was posted on Monday, January 17th, 2011 at 6:02 pm and is filed under Foreclosure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.