Las Vegas Foreclosure Prevention Attorney

Behind On Your Mortgage Payments?

Are you a homeowner who is facing foreclosure? You’re not alone. Over 300,000 homes in America were involved in foreclosure proceedings in 2022. This includes homeowners who received official notification of the process, as well as the mortgage lender or bank reselling the property named in the defaulted loan. Whether you’re at risk of losing your home because of a serious illness, you’ve lost your job, or you are facing another unanticipated financial crisis, a Las Vegas foreclosure attorney at Randolph Law Firm can help.

When you hire our law firm to prevent or defend foreclosure proceedings, we will begin working on your case right away. Your attorney will listen to your story, review your financial situation, and help you find foreclosure alternatives that work for you. To find out more about how a foreclosure lawyer can help you keep your home, contact Randolph Law Firm for a free consultation.

What Is a Foreclosure?

Foreclosure is the legal process that begins when a loan has gone into default due to missed mortgage payments and the lender wishes to take back possession of the home. Foreclosure does not begin immediately after a missed payment. They begin after a borrower has surpassed the limit of missed payments allowed in the mortgage contract. You’ll likely receive a letter of demand or pre-foreclosure notice. If the default is not cured, a Notice of Default will set the foreclosure process in motion. These notices generally outline various options to prevent foreclosure.

If Nevada residents ignore the Notice of Default, cannot get current on their mortgage payments, or fail to utilize other foreclosure prevention options, lenders will proceed with foreclosure proceedings, eventually reselling the house.

Foreclosure Prevention Options

Various options may be available to help you save your home from foreclosure. Experienced foreclosure attorneys will evaluate your goals and whether you want to try to stay in your home, and then examine the alternatives that may be available to you to determine the best way to proceed. If you want to stay in your home, you may qualify for forbearance, a loan modification, a repayment plan, or other homeowner relief options. You may also be able to negotiate with your lender to find ways to help you get back on the right course. If you are not planning to keep your home, you may be able to complete a pre-foreclosure sale, a short sale, or a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Many homeowners consider the following options to avoid foreclosure in Las Vegas:

• Repayment Plan: Completing a repayment plan over the course of three, six, or nine months may help you get out of a default status. During the repayment plan, you’ll make up your missed payments while staying current on your upcoming payments.
• Loan Modification: Adjusting your mortgage terms with a loan modification may allow you to get back on track as well. Your loan modification might involve an extended loan term or reduced interest rates that result in payments that fit your budget.
•  Forbearance: A forbearance agreement may enable you to make reduced payments, or even pause payments for a set period of time. Forbearance may be a good option if your financial circumstances are temporary, and you expect improvement within the next few months.
• Loan Litigation: Loan litigation is a last resort that can be effective when other options fail or are not available. If your lender has committed some type of wrongdoing, including acts of bad faith, improper loan recording or securitization, or other violations that are related to the loan, Randolph Law Firm can help you file a lawsuit to resolve your situation.

Additional options might include filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or, if you have enough equity, refinancing your home before the foreclosure sale.

What Is the Foreclosure Process?

If you are a Las Vegas, Nevada homeowner who has fallen behind on your mortgage payments, understanding the foreclosure process and your rights as a borrower can help ensure you don’t get caught off guard.

Foreclosure does not begin immediately after a missed payment. In fact, most mortgage contracts include a grace period of 10 to 15 days before your payment is even considered late. And while there are steps your loan servicer must start to follow within just 36 days of your missed payment, Federal law prohibits servicers from officially beginning foreclosure until your payments are at least 120 days past due. Under Nevada law, servicers cannot start judicial foreclosure proceedings or issue a Notice of Default until at least 30 days have passed after a payment default. Nevada law also requires that homeowners have the opportunity to participate in a foreclosure mediation program if the property is owner-occupied. 

Steps in the foreclosure process generally include:

1. Thirty days after a missed payment, pre-foreclosure usually begins. 
2. By no later than thirty-six days, the mortgage company must try to make contact by phone or letter to see if an agreement can be negotiated.
3. After forty-five days, typically, the mortgage company must inform the homeowners of loss mitigation in writing.
4. A Notice of Default (NOD) will then be sent to explain the full amount owed, as well as a due date.
5. A Notice of Sale will be sent three months after the NOD has been sent, outlining the risk of the sale.
6. The process is concluded with the auction and the acceptance of a bid. If the borrower has not stayed involved with the process, he or she may miss out on any gain in equity if the bid at the auction was higher than the remaining balance.

Some of these notifications may not be sent if a bankruptcy has been filed or if the lender has been requested not to make contact.

If the auction does proceed and a third party buys the property for an amount that is above the amount owed, then the borrower will receive the excess money if there is equity left. However, the amount owed includes the amount of the loan, late fees, legal fees, and the inspection fee. A foreclosure lawyer can help to come up with a foreclosure defense that has the client’s best interests in mind.

Do You Lose Equity if Your Home Is Foreclosed On?

In the financial world, equity is the difference between how much the home is worth and how much is still owed. For example, when the down payment is made upon purchase that amount is not owed, and is equity. As the borrower continues to decrease the amount owed on his or her loan, the equity continues to grow as the gap between the two amounts gets larger.

When mortgages are taken, houses are appraised to determine their value. If at any point after the sale, the value of the home goes down with a new appraisal, then the equity will also decrease. This may cause the lender to accept a lower appraisal and offering amount to conclude the foreclosure at auction. However, if a higher bid than what is owed is accepted, then the borrower will receive the difference as equity funds. Foreclosure attorneys can explain how equity can be effected if a lower appraisal is given.

Equity cannot be outright taken away during a foreclosure, as it belongs to the borrower. However, the amount of equity can shrink throughout the foreclosure process, as additional charges such as late fees, inspection fees, and legal fees are added on to the original amount owed.

Judicial Foreclosures Vs. Non-Judicial Foreclosures

In Nevada, lenders have two foreclosure options when trying to recover a property for non-payment. They can use the judicial foreclosure or nonjudicial foreclosure process. Both of these foreclosures conclude with the sale of the property in question, but they are handled in slightly different ways and time frames. Both options follow foreclosure laws and require that the borrower be informed of all of his or her rights and the entire amount owed, with all additional charges outlined.

Judicial Foreclosure involves filing a lawsuit to go to court to after giving all the proper notifications to all parties involved. If the homeowner fails to file his or her written answer, then the mortgage company will automatically win the case. However, if the homeowner does file his or her answer, then it will be left up to the court to decide who wins. If the court falls on the side of the lender, then the house will be sold at auction.

Nonjudicial foreclosure avoids to going to court to resolve the issue of the non-payment. A trustee, or a third party, is selected to send out all the proper letters that notify the rights a borrower has in Nevada. Most lenders in Nevada choose this option because it is less expensive and time-consuming than going to court. In some instances, this process can take as little as 120 days from start to auction. A foreclosure defense lawyer can help with either process.

Contact Our Foreclosure Attorneys for Help With Your Case

If you have received notice that your lender is planning on foreclosing on your home, the foreclosure lawyers at Randolph Law Firm can help determine the best way to proceed to help you meet your goals.

Our foreclosure defense lawyers keep our active case load smaller than other firms, so that your case gets the proper attention it deserves, and a better chance at a successful outcome.