Foreclosure happens when homeowners fall behind on mortgage payments and have no viable way to catch up on their missed payments. Since a mortgage represents a legally binding agreement between you and your lender, once you’ve defaulted on the loan, the lender has the right to auction your property to recover outstanding debts—potentially leaving you without a home and with severely damaged credit.
Nobody wants to face foreclosure, yet according to a nationwide study, nearly 1 million Americans feared losing their homes (U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, fielded from July 27 to Aug. 8, 2022). Foreclosure can result from various circumstances, including:
- Unexpected job loss or income reduction
- Divorce or death of a spouse or partner
- Overwhelming debt, including medical bills and credit card balances
- Relocating without successfully selling your home
- Natural disaster damage
North Gate Equity is a trusted local investment firm in Oklahoma that specializes in purchasing distressed properties throughout the region for cash. We’ve built our reputation by offering competitive cash offers without the complications of real estate agents, title companies, traditional bank financing, and other typical hurdles!
What is Foreclosure?
Consider this scenario: you or your spouse recently lost your job. Your expenses remain unchanged, but unfortunately, you lack the funds to cover them, including your mortgage payment. What happens next? Even if you secure another position quickly, the accumulated debt during that period might be too substantial to eliminate within a reasonable timeframe. When this occurs, your bank initiates the foreclosure process.
How Long Do You Have To Get Out of Your House After Foreclosure?
The typical foreclosure process involves several stages: missed payments, public notice, foreclosure, auction, and eviction—though the timeline for each phase varies by state. You might have anywhere from 120 days to nine months before the bank can foreclose using either judicial or non-judicial methods. Throughout this period, your lender will contact you via phone, mail, and email to inform you about the process.
The Different Types of Foreclosure
There are two primary types of foreclosure you may encounter: nonjudicial foreclosure or judicial foreclosure.
What Is Non-Judicial Foreclosure?
Non-judicial foreclosure represents the quickest and most cost-effective approach for lenders to foreclose on your Oklahoma property. This method doesn’t require taking you to court and can proceed according to state regulations. In a non-judicial foreclosure, your lender repossesses your home to sell it and recover the outstanding debt using a “power-of-sale” clause in the deed of trust. Not all states permit this option, but when available, lenders typically prefer it to avoid court expenses.
What Is Judicial Foreclosure?
In states requiring judicial foreclosure, your lender must file a lawsuit requesting court authorization to sell the home. The lender must provide you with this notification. Whether you agree or not, you must respond to the notice, or the lender will automatically win the case and gain permission to place your home in a foreclosure sale. After the house sells, you remain responsible for paying the difference between your remaining mortgage balance and the amount the house sold for.
Foreclosure auctions differ significantly from standard home sales, and typically properties don’t sell for their market value. This means even if your house is in excellent condition and worth considerably more than your remaining mortgage, you could still owe tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for a house you no longer own! This is known as a deficiency judgment. It’s a costly and lengthy process for lenders seeking to recover their debt, which explains why most prefer non-judicial foreclosure.
Get an offer today, sell in a matter of days.
Get An Offer Today, Sell In A Matter Of Days
How to Sell Your House Before Foreclosure in Oklahoma
Let’s examine several ways to sell your house, depending on your timeline and circumstances:
Hire A Real Estate Agent
When most homeowners think about selling property, their first instinct is to contact a local real estate agent. However, this approach has both advantages and disadvantages when facing foreclosure. While a competent agent can list your property on the MLS and prepare it for open houses and showings, they perform these services expecting a substantial commission from your sale proceeds. When you’re already struggling with mounting debt and need every dollar to repay your lender, commissions ranging from 3% to 6% of your final sale price may be too significant to sacrifice.
Additionally, there’s the uncertainty of when your house will actually close. Agents may make promises, but ultimately you still need to find the right buyer and wait 30+ days for a traditional closing. For homeowners facing imminent auction and eviction, even a one-month timeline might be too lengthy.
Short Sale
If your mortgage balance exceeds your home’s value, your realtor may recommend a short sale. This option becomes necessary when you owe more than your property’s current market worth. For example: if you owe $200,000 on your house but in today’s market it’s only valued at $150,000, a short sale becomes necessary. Though it might seem like a good solution, the process is neither quick nor straightforward.
First, you’ll need your lender’s approval. To qualify for a short sale, you must demonstrate financial hardship with documentation such as W-2s, medical bills, etc. For situations like income loss, the lender will require proof that the financial setback is long-term with little likelihood of improvement. If the lender approves the short sale, you’ll need to find both a real estate agent and attorney specializing in short sales, who will charge the same fees as they would for a traditional home sale.
If your foreclosure hasn’t progressed too far and you’ve maintained communication with your lender, they’ll likely approve the short sale. This helps them avoid the time and expense of foreclosure while still recovering some of their losses from missed mortgage payments. However, for the average homeowner, the short sale will remain on their record for 5 to 7 years.
While you may have sold the house and settled some debt, a short sale can damage your credit just as severely as bankruptcy. Credit bureaus record both the mortgage delinquencies and the short sale itself, making it extremely difficult for former homeowners to obtain credit cards, finance vehicles, or secure housing for the same duration as a bankruptcy.
Sell Your House AS-IS to A Cash Buyer
If you’re under tight time constraints to sell your house before foreclosure advances to auction and eviction, you have several options! You can attempt selling with a real estate agent, work with your lender on a short sale, or—most effectively—partner with a trusted and reliable cash investor like North Gate Equity to resolve your situation quickly and efficiently.
Key benefits of selling to a direct cash investor include:
- A swift and straightforward closing process.
- No commissions or hidden fees to pay.
- Eliminate the stress of marketing your property and waiting for buyers.
- No cleaning or repairs required—we buy properties as-is!
When you sell your home as-is to a direct cash buyer like North Gate Equity, you not only avoid losing your property to auction, but you may also generate enough funds to eliminate your financial debt. Moving forward without the burden of monthly mortgage payments and looming debt can be one of the most liberating decisions you make!
Can You Stop Foreclosure Once it Starts?
Pay Off Your Loan & Fees
You’re facing a challenging financial situation. Your debts are accumulating while your income remains static. It’s time to take decisive action and explore ways to reduce your debt quickly. Do you have assets you could liquidate? Perhaps friends or family members could offer financial assistance until you regain stability. If you’re committed to reducing debt and preventing foreclosure, consulting with a financial professional might help restructure your budget effectively. Consider these solutions individually or combine them to tackle your mounting debt and reclaim your peace of mind.
Declare Bankruptcy
As a last resort, bankruptcy might halt your home’s foreclosure, but it comes with significant consequences. The bankruptcy process is complex and requires an attorney specializing in bankruptcy law. If the court approves your petition, you’ll enter a government-approved credit counseling program, and the bankruptcy will appear on your credit report for 7 years. This impacts all aspects of your life, including vehicle financing, credit card applications, bank account openings, and can disqualify you from future rental opportunities.
The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP)
If your debt exceeds your income, you might qualify for the Homeowner Affordability & Stability Plan (HASP). This loan modification program targets borrowers at risk of foreclosure due to insufficient income. Designed to help U.S. homeowners restructure monthly payments to accommodate limited budgets, this government initiative offers a potential lifeline. Apply for the program here to check your eligibility.
Sell Your House Fast to a Cash Buyer
Ready to sell your house but can’t wait 30+ days for a traditional closing? Concerned about a short sale damaging your credit? Prefer to eliminate all your debt at once and quickly remove the bank from your life? A direct home buyer and cash investor like North Gate Equity could be the solution you’ve been searching for! When partnering with our trusted investment firm with an established local reputation, you’ll find a responsive team with ready cash to purchase your home as-is. Our streamlined process allows you to avoid the lengthy foreclosure timeline, sidestep eviction and auction, and protect your credit—all within just days!
While you might not receive full market value when selling to a cash investor like North Gate Equity, the benefits of a rapid closing and the absence of fees, inspections, and commissions often balance this difference at closing. Most importantly, because we can close quickly, you can often complete the sale before the bank auctions your property! This means you can sell on terms that benefit you, rather than accepting the pennies-on-the-dollar price banks typically offer just to remove properties from their books.
We Buy Houses in Foreclosure & Pre-foreclosure–
Get Your Offer Today!
Does the prospect of finally walking away from your property without the dark cloud of foreclosure hanging over your head sound appealing? Contact our problem-solving team at North Gate Equity today to learn more and receive a fair cash offer for your property.