I'm behind on my payments, how long before the bank forecloses?

Great article! I think it's important for home owner's to know what the process is and also great to know what their options are to avoid foreclosure as well!

A little on topic side note, can't tell you how many people I hear about, including one that I know personally, who are getting past the 12 month mark in the process... taking banks forever these days.

This is a gret question and a great post. Nowadays, most of the homeowners are on pins and more pens... and asking this question

I thought that in the state of California that the lender was required to send a 30 day notice that they were about to file the NOD.  Is this still true?

In Florida, the  average is 500+ days (that is an average, each situation is different, consult a Real Estate Attorney for Legal Advice).

Florida Judges are now ruling against Banks that have committed Fraudulent Court Filings.  So that 500 days may get even longer.

Good question. No one answer. I have seen some drag out for two years.

Lori and Bruce - With all the mixed messages in the media ... it is small wonder that the consumer is confused!  What the lenders CAN do and what they WILL do no longer seem to be in tandem.  Thanks for the post and for the workshop ... the more people know the sooner we get this issue on a fast track to being over ... that's both the individual short sale ... and the economic mess!

We had an individual ask us to come list their home on a short sale.  What they failed to tell us until we arrived is they have not been paying their mortgage for over a year.

And unfortunately, if the press is right, we are going to have more and more of these during 2011, great post, suggested it for a feature.

I wish more people would get their heads out of the sand and stop denying they are in trouble. That said, the foreclosure process is different from state to state and how long a bank will give the borrower is different also. I guess it all depends on the bank and how busy they are. Most banks would rather have the homeowner and/or renter stay in the house until they are ready to take over. I've seen this. At this point the homeonwer/renter can stay without making payments.