How The Holidays Affect Foreclosure Evictions

The foreclosure process is not  kind to homeowners or tenants of rental properties. Both parties stand to lose and both may experience the undue stress of eviction. Whether you are a homeowner occupying a primary residence in foreclosure or you are a tenant of a rental property being foreclosed on, there are important things to know about how the evictions process works.

Notice To Vacate

The thing that is most tricky about the foreclosure process is the variable length of time it can take before each house is processed. Because state laws vary on how foreclosures are handled, the process can take anywhere from a few days to several months. This variability makes the level of uncertainty high, causing additional stress for the occupant of the home facing foreclosure.

Once a home is sold at a bank auction, the tenant must vacate the property immediately. Generally, people are given 30 days to vacate a foreclosed property. However, there have been cases in which people were given  as few as 24 hours to clear their belongings. For tenants of a rental property this may come as a surprise if they had no idea the homeowner defaulted on the mortgage, resulting in a foreclosure.  While many tenants have little access to information about the property they are paying to rent, homeowners and landlords should be courteous enough to properly inform tenants of impending foreclosures.

To make matters worse, eviction notices that falls on a holiday can greatly complicate things. If a foreclosure eviction notice falls on, or has a window that includes, a bank holiday the renter could face serious charges for not vacating in adequate time. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day are all  bank holidays that count towards the number of days given in the notice to vacate, which means there is no break given on evictions simply because it is a holiday.