My home went into foreclosure, and I have moved, but I still have things in the house and the garage?!?
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It depends how far along in the process they are. If the foreclosure sale has already taken place, the bank can legally remove your property and put it into storage. To get it back you'll need to pay their moving and storage expenses. They can also auction the items off, in which case you'd be entitled to the money, less the costs of the sale.
If the foreclosure sale has not yet taken place, then they probably changed the locks to secure the property because they believed you abandoned it. Contact your local county recorder. They will be able to help you locate the foreclosure notice that was recorded, on which will be the trustee's information. Contact the trustee and make arrangements to get keys.
you should have had a notice from the sheriffs department either posted to the house or sent to you. have you had your mail forwarded. if your lender has not notified you, you need an attorney. fyi if your house is empty when it sells, you only have a 30 day redemption period to get your items. you need to contact the local police to retrieve your items. another thing contact your city and find out if your name is still on the house. if it is, you still own it and are entitled to the stuff in the house.
There are a couple of stages in the foreclosure process. The first is when they serve you a "Notice of Intent" to foreclose. If you have vacated the house, and they can't find you, then they can serve your notice of intent in a local paper. That is when you have to get your stuff out of the house. Also, if you file for bankruptcy then, the bank has to put the foreclosure on hold. This part of the foreclosure process is anywhere from 2-12 months (varies by state).
Then, once your notice of intent expires, there is a foreclosure sale. Usually the bank will bid on your house at the foreclosure sale for the amount that you owe. The the house becomes REO. (Real Estate Owned). That is usually when they change the locks.
If you filed for bankruptcy before the foreclosure sale, find a lawyer, you may have a case. If not, I would still call the bank and tell them your property is in the house. You may be able to have a sheriff go with you and remove the property.
I do not think they have to provide personal served notice to change the locks. Your Landlord probably has a landlord's lien, which means he can sell your cars to pay off your deficit rent. He may have tried to personally serve you, but could not find you. If process servers cannot find you, they can provide notice through publication. That may be why your parents have seen it in the newspaper. Does the newspaper listing provide a hearing date or an answer due date. You need to call the clerk of the court listed in the newspaper and ask her what you are supposed to do. The good thing is that if you are in bankruptcy, you are protected by an automatic stay. That means your creditors cannot really do anything until the stay is lifted. If you are in bankruptcy, you are probably dealing with a lawyer or a trustee. They should be informed about what is going on and they can probably help you. You might be able to keep the car since it presumably helps you with your livelihood. Do something about this though because newspaper publication is sometimes sufficient notice.
When you moved out the bank probably concluded you abandoned the house & had the locks changed. Talk to your bankruptcy attorney. Have him talk to the bank's lawyer & get you permission to enter to remove your personal possessions.
Call the customer service number you used to use for your mortgage company and keep talking to operators until you get to someone who can tell you what to do.
The bank doesn't want your junk in there either, so if you can just get the right person on the phone you may be able to figure it out without a ton of trouble.
move your cars, get your stuff out of the house, and call a good attorney. wake up, grow up and make your payments.
They may have changed the locks if they thought that you had abandoned the property. The bank probably won't really know how to get ahold of the right person to let you back into the house.
You're far better off calling the local sheriff's department, since they are probably the ones who actually changed the locks. They'd be able to let you back into the property, or put you in touch with whoever is hanlding the case right now (possibly the lender's attorneys or trustee).
It sounds like the property is in a stage of foreclosure right now; especially if it is being advertised in the paper for sheriff sale. If the house was included in the bankruptcy, then your lender may have gotten a release on the house to be able to pursue the foreclosure. And if they served the papers to your previous address, they may have been returned as undeliverable, if you didn't provide a forwarding address.
They can also (sometimes) serve you by "announcement," by publishing their intent to foreclose and sell in the local paper. That might be the case here, since your parents have seen the property advertised for a series of weeks.
Good luck.
ForeclosureFish
http://www.foreclosurefish.com/...
Contact your local Sheriff's office. They will instruct you in the process of retrieving your personal items. We've helped people in similar situations do this.
Call your mortgage company's main number and ask for the foreclosure department. Find out if the home has been foreclosed upon or is in the process of being. If it is "in the process of", then you should remove the locks and empty the home of your items. It is important to do this quickly before papers are served upon you. NOTE, the more people you ask the more people you will be told to contact first.
The best of Luck to You.
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