What Is Judicial Foreclosure? Bankrate Caret RightMain Menu Mortgage Mortgages Financing a home purchase Refinancing your existing loan Finding the right lender Additional Resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Bank Banking Compare Accounts Use calculators Get advice Bank reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Credit Card Credit cards Compare by category Compare by credit needed Compare by issuer Get advice Looking for the perfect credit card? Narrow your search with CardMatch Caret RightMain Menu Loan Loans Personal Loans Student Loans Auto Loans Loan calculators Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Invest Investing Best of Brokerages and robo-advisors Learn the basics Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Home Equity Home equity Get the best rates Lender reviews Use calculators Knowledge base Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Loan Home Improvement Real estate Selling a home Buying a home Finding the right agent Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Insurance Insurance Car insurance Homeowners insurance Other insurance Company reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Retirement Retirement Retirement plans & accounts Learn the basics Retirement calculators Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Advertiser Disclosure
Advertiser Disclosure
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. How We Make Money
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. SHARE: On This Page
peterspiro/Getty Images October 06, 2022 Michele Petry is a senior editor for Bankrate, leading the site’s real estate content. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial decisions an individual will ever make. Our real estate reporters and editors focus on educating consumers about this life-changing transaction and how to navigate the complex and ever-changing housing market. From finding an agent to closing and beyond, our goal is to help you feel confident that you're making the best, and smartest, real estate deal possible. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers. Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. In troubled economic times, some homeowners may unfortunately fall behind on their mortgage payments. Someone who is on the brink of losing their home may find themselves in the midst of a judicial foreclosure, a legal process in which a home is reclaimed by the lender via the court system. Here’s everything you need to know about how judicial foreclosures work. Judicial foreclosure definition
In any , the lender takes back the property after the homeowner misses multiple mortgage payments. In a judicial foreclosure, this process is done through the courts — ie, the judicial system. Judicial foreclosure requires the lender to file a lawsuit against the borrower to satisfy the unpaid mortgage loan. Lenders typically cannot take this step until (in other words, ). If the court finds in favor of the lender, the lender will typically schedule an auction to sell off the property. This type of proceeding is permitted in all states, but it is actually required in about half. The are: Connecticut Delaware Florida Hawaii Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Nebraska New Jersey New Mexico New York North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Vermont Wisconsin Washington, D.C. Judicial vs non-judicial foreclosure
Judicial foreclosures are executed in the court system, meaning they involve a lawsuit. But more than half of states allow lenders to execute foreclosure proceedings without the supervision of the courts. This is known as non-judicial foreclosure. Even though the non-judicial foreclosure process is not supervised by the court system, the lender must still adhere to state law, and the process is subject to judicial review for validity and legality if necessary. How judicial foreclosure works
While the process varies by state, in general lenders pursue the following course of action to initiate a judicial foreclosure: Notice of intent: Once a mortgage is unpaid for 120 days, the lender informs the borrower by mail that foreclosure proceedings will begin. This is usually referred to as a “notice of intent to foreclose” or a “breach letter,” and will contain specific information about the mortgage. The borrower has 30 days to respond — ie, to pay the amount that’s owed. Court filing: If the amount owed is not paid off after 30 days, the lender files a complaint with the court where the property is located. A copy of the complaint is also mailed to the borrower, who has another 20 to 30 days to respond. In some states or counties, the borrower has the right to request mediation at this point. Foreclosure auction: If the complaint goes uncontested or mediation is unsuccessful, the judge will order and schedule a foreclosure auction, during which the home will be sold to a new owner. Some states offer a “redemption period” — a set amount of time, typically 30 days, in which the original owner may be allowed to buy back the property. If this does not happen, the court will approve and ratify the auction sale. The original owner must then vacate the property — or be evicted — so that the new owner can move in. One caveat: Things might proceed very differently if the borrower in default is an active member of the U.S. military. There are , which may change this timeline significantly. How long the process takes
The judicial foreclosure process is quite extensive and requires many court filings, procedures and waiting periods. The entire process, from first notice to completion, can take several years. According to , properties that were foreclosed in the second quarter of 2022 took an average of 948 days, or about two-and-a-half years, to be completed. Many of the states with the longest average foreclosure timelines were judicial-foreclosure states, including Hawaii (2,619 days), New Jersey (1,984 days) and Louisiana (1,901 days). Bottom line
A judicial foreclosure is a legal method by which a mortgage lender can recoup their losses if a borrower defaults on their loan. Facing one is a long and agonizing process for any homeowner. If you are in financial distress and receive a notice of intent to foreclose, do not ignore it — talk to your lender. The also offers housing counselors and programs that may be able to help. SHARE: Michele Petry is a senior editor for Bankrate, leading the site’s real estate content. Related Articles