Summary of a Florida Foreclosure
Documents Needed to Begin Foreclosure
1. A copy of the RECORDED Deed of Trust
2. A copy of the Note
3. A copy of the RECORDED Assignments, if applicable
4. Breakdown of the Arrearages, i.e. date the delinquency started,
monthly payments, monthly late charges, and any other costs that
may have been paid, i.e. taxes, insurance, property inspections,
etc.
The only method of foreclosure in Florida is judicial.
The first step in a judicial foreclosure is to determine who are
the other interested parties in the property being foreclosed. This
is done by a foreclosure report from a title company. A notice of
the foreclosure lawsuit is filed in the real estate records. All
interested parties are served with a copy of the summons and complaint.
Generally, to serve an interested party means to give to him a copy
of the summons and complaint in any manner reasonably calculated,
under all of the circumstances, to apprise him of the existence
and pendency of the foreclosure lawsuit and to afford him a reasonable
opportunity to appear and assert his point of view. Personally serving
the party or his agent are the preferred methods of service and
permit the court to enter a personnel judgment, including a deficiency
judgment. Service by mail or publication generally allows the court
to order foreclosure, but not a personal judgment, including a deficiency
judgment.
If any interested party interposes objections to the foreclosure,
the court must resolve these objections. If no objections are filed
by any interested party, the court will enter a judgment of foreclosure
approximately forty-five (45) days (60 days if the U.S.A. is a party)
after all interested parties have been served.
The foreclosure sale is conducted by the Court Clerk rather than
the Sheriff. Florida has no redemption period. On the day of sale,
a Certificate of Sale is issued by the Court Clerk. After ten days,
if no objections are lodged with the court, a Certificate of Title
is issued by the court and the foreclosure is complete. |
