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How soon can you be evicted after the foreclosure sheriff’s sale?

Homeowners in foreclosure are legitimately concerned about not being able to save their homes and how quickly they will be evicted after the sheriff’s sale. Although the lender and various “experts” will threaten to have the sheriff show up the next day to violently evict them from the home, this is not the case in a foreclosure situation. The county sheriff and the eviction team will not show up the day after the sheriff’s sale, and homeowners must ignore the scaremongering that threatens this possibility.

However, homeowners should be aware of the auction foreclosure implications. The sheriff’s sale will transfer ownership of the property and foreclosure victims will not own the home after this point. But this does not mean that the eviction process will happen automatically immediately after the home auction, as there are more steps that the new owner will need to take.

The highest bidder at the auction will likely have to confirm the sheriff’s sale (this is not a specifically detailed step in all states). This can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks after the auction, depending on how quickly the courts and the new owner act. But generally, this is just a simple step in the post-sale foreclosure process that involves the bailiff and judge confirming that the auction was for a legal amount and that the deed has been granted to the new owner.

Most likely, the new owner is the original mortgage bank that the owners had been dealing with in the first place to stop the foreclosure. About 95% of foreclosures end up being purchased by the lender, rather than a third party.

To evict the former owners, the lender will have to petition the court for possession of the property and order the county sheriff to evict the remaining people or personal items and change the locks. However, this is a legal process. Homeowners need not fear that a group of government thugs with badges and weapons will show up at their home the day after the sheriff’s sale to evict them. Of course, this is exactly what happens, but at a later date if foreclosure victims don’t move out on time.

But the entire eviction process can take up to a month after the sale; kicking people out of their homes is not an easy process before or after a county auction. The court will have no problem ordering the eviction (unless the former owners go in and try to contest the sale, the eviction order, etc.), but the sheriff’s department will have to notify the imminent relocation. This can be as simple as placing a sheet of paper on the property three days in advance to move in. Therefore, after the sheriff’s sale, the former owners had better be prepared to go off on their own or find another solution.

People facing foreclosure shouldn’t worry too much about being kicked out of a home without warning. Not only will the sheriff appear the next day or a few hours after the sheriff’s sale, as there is still a legal process that must be followed in order for a bank to repossess a foreclosed property. Homeowners likely have at least two weeks to a month after the sheriff’s sale date to make arrangements to move to a new location.

In either case, homeowners are always encouraged to call the sheriff’s department to ask when the eviction will take place. Even more promising, they also usually ask for a few extra days or a week to get everything out and leave the house peacefully. There is still the possibility of negotiating with the local government for a longer time (courts and bailiff) so that the former owners are not caught off guard by the eviction.

So banks and government officials won’t evict foreclosure victims immediately after the auction, but there’s no time to waste either. Having a couple of weeks to move out can give people the opportunity to find a place and move at their own pace, but even a month-long eviction process will go by very quickly. When in doubt, landlords should contact local government officials and ask about the eviction; the courts or the bailiff may inform you of the date and try to find the most reasonable solution. They want as little trouble after foreclosure as former homeowners do.

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