One of the businesses that have been booming despite (or because of) the current economic downturn is cleaning out foreclosed homes. When banks purchase homes at auction, they usually begin eviction proceedings. After the eviction has been completed, any items remaining in the property will be thrown away. The lender or the county, depending on how evictions work locally, hire private companies to haul away the belongings.

Depending on how many foreclosures are affecting an area, this can be a significant source of income for small business owners in the real estate market. There is probably not a ton of money in cleaning out abandoned foreclosed homes, but the work might be pretty steady with a large inventory of homes that need to be cleaned out, and more coming on the market every week.

People looking to break into this type of market should contact either two places:

The first organization to contact is the county sheriff's department in the area that the business will be working in. The sheriff is responsible for carrying out eviction orders after foreclosure, changing locks, and cleaning out homes. Except for bringing the guns to intimidate people into leaving, the other services are usually contracted out -- sheriffs do not usually work as locksmiths or house cleaners. Others starting a new business may be able to do the cleaning by contracting with the county government.

Second, the cleaning business can try to contact the banks that purchase the foreclosures at the auction and attempt to get a contract with them to clean the homes. When banks purchase homes at auction, they hire local real estate brokers to list and sell the properties. It would not be out of the ordinary for them to hire a cleaning agency to clear out all the remaining property and keep the house in decent condition while it is empty.

The business will have at least a couple of concerns going either way. If they work for the government, the pay may be lower, as it is coming from a government with a decreasing tax base. And who knows how much red tape the business will have to cross to be a contractor with the county -- or if there is already a politically-connected company doing this work. With the bank, it just might not be interested in hiring a small company and spending even more money on homes it has already lost to foreclosure.

But there might be some counties and some banks that will be open to these types of services. As with all businesses, some people will see the value, and others will pass on the opportunity. Cleaning out foreclosed homes is a growing business, but like all real estate related businesses, it is all local. There will always be more money to make performing these services in areas with a large population, high foreclosure rate, and with government or banks open to hiring such companies.

Many homeowners do not want to move out of their property, even after a foreclosure lawsuit, judgment, and sheriff sale. Despite having six months to a year to live mortgage free, some borrowers are just not financially able to move when required by the courts and the purchaser at the auction. In these cases, the lender, which usually buys the home at the sale, will begin the eviction process.

Few homeowners, though, know exactly what the eviction process entails after the foreclosure has been completed. Many of them simply believe that the court will have the home sold, and a few days later, the county sheriff will show up unannounced to throw all of the people and belongings out into the street, changing the locks in the process. However, this is not how the typical eviction goes.

If the borrowers are successful in their attempts to set aside the sale, then there will be no eviction at all. In the vast majority of cases, though, once the auction has been conducted, it will have to be confirmed. Upon the confirmation of the sale, the former owners become tenants, and their rights to keep possession of the home terminate. If there is a redemption period under state foreclosure law, this will have to be passed before eviction can proceed.

Homeowners still remaining in the property after the confirmation and redemption period will have an eviction action brought against them by the purchaser. The steps of this process are determined by state law, as with many other aspects of the entire foreclosure.

It is important for former homeowners to research how their state treats occupants remaining after a foreclosure. Some states use the same procedures that are used to evict tenants from rental properties. Others, though, have special treatment for people living in a foreclosed home.

In either case, though, the lender or purchaser at auction must follow the correct procedures to evict the former owners. If the new owner attempts to use an eviction process that is not appropriate for former owners of a foreclosed property, the action may be thrown out of court until the correct steps are followed.

There have been several court cases decided against lenders that attempted to bring the wrong type of action against former homeowners. If there is a specific state statute that requires foreclosure victims to be treated differently in eviction proceedings, then any other type of legal action brought against the former borrowers should be defended. This can buy valuable time for the former homeowners to save up more money or look for a new place to rent.

Unfortunately, there are not many actions that former owners can take to save their home when it is this late. Even if irregularities in the conduct of the sale or predatory lending or other issues are discovered, it is unlikely the borrowers will get their home back. While they may be able to obtain monetary damages, or delay the eviction by a month or two, once the process has gone to the eviction stage, it is almost inevitable that the home will be lost.

If there is one bad idea for homeowners in foreclosure, it has to be what the community organization group ACORN has termed "homesteading." This is when the former owners, along with members of ACORN, break into the house so that the former owners can take back possession of the property. The video below is a newscast from WJZ.com on the story of one woman in Baltimore, Maryland losing and reclaiming her home.

The number of things wrong with this video are almost too many to count. First of all, the property is no longer the former owner's, but the home is also no longer owned by the bank that foreclosed. Breaking into a taxpayer-subsidized bank's foreclosed house to protest is much different than invading the private property of another person. It is doubtful that the woman profiled in the video would have been happy with another person breaking into her house when she owned it just because that other person thought he deserved a home.

Breaking into the home is illegal, as the ACORN representative freely admits, but that is of little concern here. The government and banks worked together to set up the housing market to fail by encouraging people to believe that homes rose in value by 20-40% a year. Banks are given the benefit of the doubt in 99.9% of foreclosure cases, while homeowners are railroaded through the legal system and forced out of their homes by judges and sheriff's departments for the benefit of the banks.

Despite this, however, homeowners should not, as a general rule, be breaking into their former properties. The risks of being arrested by a government/bank minion are too great, and the rewards too small. Protesting against the fact that the house was unjustly foreclosed (if this is what the former owners believe) can be done in more productive ways. Maybe dozens of former homeowners moving into the foreclosing judge's chambers at the courthouse, for instance.

Homesteading is a tactic that has been used to transfer title in some states, but it is quite rare. Typically, the people who move into a property must live there for nearly twenty years without the real owners making a claim to the house or attempting to have the squatters removed. It is unlikely that government-subsidized banks owning foreclosed homes will let them sit for that long. Invading the house of another private citizen is also wrong and will only engender more negative feelings towards former homeowners who lost properties to foreclosure.

In any event, there are far better ways to get a house back after foreclosure. If the woman was that interested in keeping her home, she could easily have kept up with who owned the property -- records of ownership and liens for this house are available online. She could have stayed for as long as possible when the bank owned the house, and she could have contacted the new private owner once it was sold and attempted to work out a lease. There are better options than trespassing.

Unfortunately, now the road to financial recovery will be even more difficult for this woman. Not only has her credit rating been destroyed by this foreclosure, she may end up with a criminal record for breaking and entering and trespassing on private property. These two items will show up in credit and background checks that landlords do on prospective renters, and she may find herself turned down for higher quality leasing options.

Use the district courts in self-defense against foreclosure for as long as possible. Then use the federal bankruptcy courts to discharge any other bank debt and prolong the legal process further. Negotiate with the bank or the new owner to get more time to move out and avoid eviction. Or negotiate with the new owner to buy the house back or rent it, if possible. But don't infringe on someone's private property rights just to make a stand against the banks -- this only hurts homeowners more than the lenders.

When homeowners lose a house to foreclosure, the last thing they want to focus on is being forcibly removed from the property by a group of county sheriff's deputies. The fact that the entire process of foreclosure seems to become much less clear after a sheriff sale can only add to the anxiety experienced by owners. However, there are four steps that the lender or new owner will typically follow in order to evict owners after an auction.

First, the original owners of the house will be given notice that they are no longer the owners and a deadline by which to move out or eviction proceedings will be initiated. If the borrowers do not leave, the new owners will go to court and file an eviction lawsuit (also known as an unlawful detainer or forcible entry and detainer action). The former owners of the house will need to be served with this paperwork, just as with any other type of lawsuit.

Next, the foreclosure victims will be given a certain length of time to respond to the complaint and summons by filing an answer with the courts. This involves filing a written response to the complaint in the eviction lawsuit stating the reasons why the new owners should not be given possession of the property. These reasons may involve failure to provide adequate notice, deficiencies in the foreclosure auction itself, or any other reason that is applicable. The former owners may also file a response simply asking for more time in which to move out of the house.

The third step will be a hearing before a judge in the case. The new owners and former owners will each be able to explain their side of the story and the judge will make a ruling. Typically, judgment for eviction will be given to the new owners, but it is also easy enough for the courts to grant the foreclosure victims a little extra time to move out of the home. But once the judge issues an eviction order, it can be given to the county sheriff to execute.

This is the last step in the process when the eviction order is given to the sheriff and an eviction crew arrives to remove the borrowers. Usually, a few days notice will be posted on the property before the eviction is conducted, and former owners can call their local county to find out exactly when they may be removed from the home if they have not received any notice. But there will be no negotiating with the sheriff to forestall the eviction -- they are just following orders from the court and will not postpone carrying out those orders.

As with almost all aspects of the process, state foreclosure laws can vary widely in terms of what a new owner must do after a sheriff sale in order to evict any occupants of the property. The former owners become tenants once the title is transferred by the auction and will have to be treated as such under the applicable laws. Foreclosure victims can not just be removed from the house without their rights being taken into consideration and being notified and given an opportunity to defend such an action in court, so homeowners currently facing foreclosure should not worry about being thrown out onto the street with no warning.

Question
I just read your useful article on taking appliances after a foreclosure. I have a question regarding your statement:

Fixtures can only be taken, but only if they are replaced with substitute items.

You said you can replace taken items with lower-end models, however, a lawyer stated that it should at least be a model that is as good as the model that would have came in the standard package. Which do you know to be fact?

Answer
It depends what the lawyer means by "standard package." That would depend on the type of fixture you and him are discussing.

Most people will want to remove a fixture because it has sentimental value or because it is brand new and better than what their new place to live has.

For example, if you have special doorknobs that have been in your family for generations, then you can replace them with lower quality knobs. The "standard" ones you could get at a Home Depot would work. You don't have to replace them with different "standard" quality ornamental antique knobs just to be able to take yours. Same with a fan, chandelier, or anything else.

Or, if you just bought a new high-end oven and you want to take it with you, you can replace it with the old oven or a lower-end oven. But just leaving the pipes and connections with nothing connected to it would not be allowed.

Unfortunately, I don't know exactly what type of fixture you and the lawyer are referring to, so it's hard to make an informed judgment. But any working lower end model that you get at a home improvement store or even buy slightly used from somewhere can usually replace a fixture you want to take with you.

As a last resort before beginning eviction proceedings, banks will often offer homeowners or leftover renters a cash for keys deal. Most of the time, though, these offers will be in the best interests of the bank, but will not help out the people living in the property very much.

Many banks will hire a real estate or property management agency to make the cash for keys offer. For example, t may be as little as $500 and two weeks to move out and turn over the home. Honestly, though, this is very little to a family who has just undergone a financial hardship.

Banks make these offers to persuade owners or tenants to leave a house without causing any damage. They reason that it costs less to pay people to move than to go through eviction proceedings in court and end up with a possibly severely damaged property.

So what is a homeowner or tenant to do if the cash for keys offer is ridiculously low? They should call the agency back and ask for more money and more time. Cash for keys deals are 100% negotiable, up to a certain reasonable point. Those who have been offered such a deal should keep in mind a few things about the situation.

First, if they destroy the property on their way out, because they are frustrated about the eviction, it will cost the bank a lot more to fix up the damage. Keeping previous owners and renters happy and the property in good condition is worth a bit of money to a mortgage company who has to sell that house later on the open market.

Second, if $500 isn't enough for a family, they need to determine how much really will help them. $750? $1,000? In any case, they probably should not expect to get much more than $2,000, if that. But $1,000 might pay for most moving expenses and help with a deposit on a new apartment. If they need more money, the people living in the property after foreclosure should ask for it and explain the situation to the agency.

Third, homeowners can probably get 21-30 days to move out, if they ask for it. Two weeks is a small amount of time, and probably not enough to get everything out and keep the property in great condition (hint, hint). But if the borrowers or tenants need more time than was originally offered, they can certainly ask for it and can probably get it easily.

Anyone who has been extended an offer should keep in mind that a cash for keys deal is negotiable with the agency that offered the money and the lender that owns the property now that it has been foreclosed. All of this is allowed (including extremely low offers), but negotiating for a better deal is also allowed.

The tenants should come up with what they want and need to move out peacefully, keeping the house in good condition. Then they can try and get it from the cash for keys agency. But it is important to be reasonable, as well. Any attempts to take advantage of the bank's financial resources will probably just result in the offer being rescinded and the eviction process started in court.

The lenders who own properties after foreclosure would rather pay the former owners or renters $1,000 and give them 3 weeks to move out to avoid damage to the house. But the banks would also rather evict and sell a damaged house than give foreclosure victims $5,000 and 6 months to get out. So people living in such properties need to figure out how much will help them move out and ask for a reasonable amount. They will probably be pleasantly surprised with what they can get.

There seem to be a lot of misconceptions about how long a foreclosure can stay on the credit report of former homeowners, how long the foreclosure affects their ability to borrow negatively, and how long they will be unable to purchase a new home. Some borrowers believe, mistakenly, that they will never be able to buy another house, qualify for a car loan, or even get a credit card at a decent interest rate just because they lost a house. While the foreclosure will have serious negative consequences, the myths surrounding the issue can be much worse than the actual effects.

The worst news is that a foreclosure will remain on a credit report for the full seven year reporting period. Although borrowers can request the bank to remove the record at any time and delete mention of the foreclosure, banks are rarely interested in doing this, and there is little that could force them to do so. Thus, former homeowners will most likely have to deal with having the negative mark on their credit report for nearly a decade, although its most damaging effects will be felt in the earliest years after the loss of the home.

This is because the longer in time the homeowners are removed from the initial foreclosure, the less of a drag it will be on their credit scores. Missed mortgage payments and then a foreclosure filing can instantly drop a FICO score into the low 500s or even the high 400s by the time the sheriff sale and eviction occur. But as time goes on, as long as the homeowners work on repairing their credit history by paying off any other debts, using borrowed money wisely in the future, and disputing negative or old information contained on the report, their score will begin to improve despite the foreclosure.

When borrowers would be able to qualify for a new mortgage after the loss of a house is almost entirely dependent on the effort they put into repairing their credit and establishing a new, on time payment history. They may be able to apply for a competitive loan within a couple of years after the foreclosure if they are able to show excellent credit since then. Saving up for a true down payment of 15-20% of the purchase price of the home is also important to the banks when considering whether or not to offer a housing loan. But homeowners who focus on credit repair may be able to qualify for a new loan within 2-3 years after foreclosure, while other borrowers may have to wait 4-5 before their credit repairs itself enough naturally.

Of course, if homeowners are able to stop foreclosure before the lawsuit, sheriff sale, and eviction have completely gone through, they will find it much easier to obtain any new credit later on. But, unfortunately, this may not be possible for some borrowers who have no other choice than to give up trying to save their home. The best they can do after this is to work on their credit report and make sure they get a fresh start after losing the property. Although it may take at least a few years to qualify for any new mortgage, this period of time should be used to pay off other debt, establish on time payment history, and save up for a down payment on a new home. While the effects of foreclosure can be severely negative, borrowers also have many options in mitigating the worst consequences to their ability to qualify for credit in the future.

As most homeowners should already know, going through a foreclosure will drastically effect their credit rating. Not only do the numerous missed payments themselves cause severely negative marks, but the status of the home in the courts, the judgment, and other legal problems leading up to the legal foreclosure filing can be enough to ruin your credit, even without the possibility of losing the home in a sheriff sale.

If you are a homeowner, then you probably have not rented an apartment in a while, but today, the vast majority of landlords will perform some sort of background check, which usually involves a credit check. The days of meeting someone and renting an apartment the same day are virtually gone.

Most landlords require a credit score exceeding 700 and income three times higher than the rent price. If you can not meet the credit score requirements, then a higher down payment for the security deposit may help, but most places simply will refuse to rent to you.

Most foreclosure victims have very little money to use as a down payment and have credit scores well below 600, which makes finding a rental very difficult, if not impossible. Even if you have the income requirements, saving money for a down payment will require time, and keeping your job is much easier with a home. It is a Catch-22 situation -- you can not get a home without a job and it is hard to keep a job without a home.

Here are a few tips for someone who has been through foreclosure, or is having problems renting:

1. Be honest with the person you are renting from. They will most likely run a credit check anyway, so do not try and hide the fact that you have been through a foreclosure. This can also save everyone from a lot of wasted time.

2. Rent from an individual, not a real estate agent or leasing company. Individuals will make a decision based on you as a person, not just your credit report. Even though an individual may still check your credit, if you are honest with them up front, you may still get the apartment.

3. Always provide proof of income and a list of references who can verify your ability to make the payments as agreed.

4. Negotiate the rental price to make it as affordable as possible. Also, do not assume that you have to get pushed around or forced into poor living conditions, just because your credit is not perfect.

5. If the down payment is too high, ask if they will allow you to pay the down payment over time, in addition to your payments. For example, if rent is $1,000 per month and there is a $1,000 deposit, you may ask if paying $1,250 for the first 4 months is acceptable.

If you have tried all the tips above and still can not find anyone to rent to you, then there is still one more option. There are many vacation rentals or temporary housing rentals available with no deposits and no credit checks. These rentals are available in almost every area of the country and can be found using local news papers, or the Internet. I have found many of these locations locally for our clients online well as local newspapers under vacation rentals. You can find homes, condos, and apartments advertised for people looking for a short term rental.

These places are usually advertised at a much higher rate than you will ever be able to afford, so you will need to negotiate with the owner to get the best possible rate. It is possible to run across some rentals that normally rent for $2,000 a week for $900 per month! The key is to find a place that is just sitting empty; the owner would rather get a little less money, rather than leave it essentially abandoned and generating no cash flow.

Obviously, any option to avoid foreclosure, even if it means selling your home, will be better for your credit report, but if your credit has already been affected, then hopefully you can uses the tips above to find an apartment, even if it is just short term, until you get back on your feet again.

Closely related to the question of if homeowners who lose a property to foreclosure will ever be able to qualify for a new loan again, is how soon they can apply for another mortgage. Thankfully, the answer to this question depends mainly on how much the homeowners are willing to work to repair their financial situation and how serious they are about establishing new, responsible credit histories. Borrowers who want to become homeowners again very quickly have resources at their disposal, while those who simply do not care can wait longer and pay more, but will still be able to get a new mortgage eventually.

How soon former homeowners can qualify for another mortgage after foreclosure will depend on many different variables, all of which relate to their financial condition following the loss of the home. In some cases, borrowers may escape foreclosure with their credit in somewhat decent shape, while other homeowners will have numerous charge-offs, collection accounts, and severe delinquencies that will make it much more difficult to qualify for any new credit for years. Much of this negative information, though, can be overcome either through a large down payment or through a serious program of credit repair.

The most important aspect of being able to get a mortgage after experiencing the loss of a house is for homeowners to begin a savings plan. With enough of a down payment, they will be able to qualify for any loan that they want, even for another home purchase within months of the original foreclosure. Of course, many banks will want at least a 35% down payment, but if the borrowers have the financial means to put down such a large amount, they will have a good chance of qualifying for a new loan despite poor credit and no efforts to improve their scores on their own. This may be the fastest way back to homeownership for most families, if they have the resources for it.

Realistically, however, putting down 35% when buying a home may not be in the realm of possibility for most borrowers. Savings, though, should be the first priority for any family after foreclosure, because the larger the amount they are able to put down, the better the interest rate will be and the more likely they will be to qualify for the loan in the first place. But while they are saving up for the next purchase, it is also important to work on the credit history and begin working to boost up their scores by removing negative information and adding positive credit use.

Credit repair and debt validation/consolidation programs can be started as soon as the owners have recovered from their financial hardship, and will have a positive impact on the ability to borrow money in the future. In fact, homeowners facing foreclosure should begin working on their credit as soon as they can, because the process can take from several months to over a year to remove some old inquiries and inaccurate or closed account information. The more accounts the owners have to resolve, the longer the process may take.

Although it will be difficult, if not impossible, to remove the actual foreclosure and defaulted mortgage payments from the credit report, former homeowners can focus on all of their other debts to create a more consistently positive record of credit use. Having numerous late payments, dozens of inquiries, and charged-off accounts assigned to collection agencies can drag down a score dramatically, but these may be the easiest records to remove. Even better, depending on the situation, if a lender or collection agency breaks the law, borrowers can often sue their creditors for at least $1,000 per violation, which can always be put towards the down payment savings plan.

But, if loan applicants have access to a 35% down payment, they can often qualify for a new mortgage anytime after foreclosure. The bank will not be so concerned with the credit history, as they are sure that they can sell the house for enough to make up any losses they would experience as a result of the homeowners defaulting. It is only when former homeowners do not have much money that they will need to work on credit repair or simply wait until they can get a new home purchase loan again.

With a serious effort at clearing up their credit histories, it may take from one year to 18 months for the repairs to make a significant difference, after which the borrowers can apply for a new loan. The terms may not be the best, and they may be required to put down a large part of the purchase price, but it will most likely be quite a bit less than 35%. Although it will cost a few hundred dollars of materials and postage to dispute and remove credit records, the savings on the new mortgage will far outweigh these small expenses.

However, if the foreclosure victims simply wait and do no credit repair, they may be able to qualify for a new mortgage within three years after the foreclosure. Again, they may be required to put down at least 15-20% of the purchase price, and the interest rate will be somewhat high, compared to if they had done more credit repair, but losing a home does not preclude borrowers from qualifying for a loan for the full 7-10 years a foreclosure stays on the credit report. Obviously, this is the easiest and least costly way to qualify for a new home again, but it takes the longest amount of time and the owners will be doing themselves no favors in terms of payment and interest terms.

The bad news is that it will be extremely difficult for former homeowners to qualify for a new mortgage within a year of facing foreclosure; their credit will just be too damaged and the loss of the home too recent. The good news, though, is that the more resources and work they put towards the effort, the quicker they will be able to purchase a new home and the better the terms will be. Foreclosure, as mentioned above, does not mean that a family will have to rent for the next decade -- with just a few months of work and a savings plan, it may be relatively simple to become homeowners again even after a foreclosure.

Besides the possibility of having nowhere to go after foreclosure and being publicly humiliated during an eviction, one reason homeowners may try and stay in a foreclosed house as long as possible is that they do not believe they will ever own a home again. After all, banks would never lend to foreclosure victims, right? Wrong -- and by keeping in mind a few simple principles and applying them for the first few years after losing a home, borrowers may find it quite painless to qualify for a new mortgage.

It is possible for homeowners to get a loan after foreclosure, but this is not to say it will be easy to qualify for a new mortgage right away. Banks may require at least a 35% down payment and offer interest rates above 10% if foreclosure victims try to qualify for a loan in the first months after the foreclosure. Thus, the best long-term strategy may be for former homeowners to work on improving the credit accounts they still have open, then taking out new small loans when appropriate, and finally starting a savings plan to work up to qualifying for a new home loan.

Just after a foreclosure, homeowners may have severely damaged credit, depending on how far behind they were in the mortgage and if they missed payments on other open credit lines. Borrowers who missed payments on credit cards, car loans, student loans, and other debt will have a more difficult time improving their credit than homeowners who fell behind only on their mortgage. This is because making on time payments on the other debt can serve to prop up a sinking credit score due to a late or defaulted mortgage.

There are numerous resources for homeowners to begin improving their credit scores, either through a third party that specializes in credit repair, or on their own through the use of self-help websites. A few common tips include keeping on time with all other bill payments, making small purchases every month and paying off nearly the entire balance (but carrying a small amount from month to month), and disputing directly with creditors or the credit reporting agencies old or inaccurate data that is still listed on the credit report.

It may take upwards of 1-2 years for debtors to improve their credit scores significantly after a foreclosure has taken place, even with the help of credit repair services. However, this period should not be focused on just increasing their score, but this time should also be used to begin a savings plan. When the time comes to apply for a new mortgage, it will be important to have some sort of down payment to offset the relatively recent foreclosure, and having an emergency fund with even a few hundred or thousand dollars in it can mean the difference between a small emergency and a full-blown financial hardship.

But another step former homeowners should take is to open up small lines of credit even after the foreclosure. Rates and payment terms may not be great (in fact, they may be downright lousy), but if they are able to keep these new lines open and make payments on time, this will reflect well on their credit histories. Of course, this is not to say that borrowers should take out dozens of loans just to show they can apply for credit and keep an account from being sent to collections, but paying off a few old accounts (whether charge-offs or just old closed accounts with remaining balances) and opening up new ones and keeping them up to date can positively impact the credit score.

Within a few years after the foreclosure, a family may be able to qualify for a new loan to purchase a home again. The most relevant factors will be how credit has been used since the financial hardship that led to the loss of the house, and how much the borrowers are willing to put down on their new home. In fact, banks may not loan anymore than 75-80% of the purchase price of the house with a foreclosure on the applicant's credit reports. So the savings plan may be the deciding factor and should not be overlooked when putting together a long-term plan to regain homeownership.

But a consistent plan of credit repair, maintaining a good history of credit use, and saving up for a down payment can have remarkably positive effects for people who faced foreclosure just a few years ago. A foreclosure does not indicate that it is impossible to get another mortgage, but it does mean that it will take more work than usual on the part of the borrowers to prove they are credit worthy and deserve a second chance to be given a loan to purchase a house. As well, the more they save up and put down on the new home, the more they own that home, and the more resources will be available to them in case they face another hardship in the future.

When homeowners move out of a foreclosure house after selling or losing the house at an auction, they often wonder what items they can take. Especially if they are moving into lower-quality housing or could use the extra cash selling some items may bring, they may consider removing essential items like water faucets, copper pipes, or even the furnace. Determining what can and can not be taken can be one of the more difficult aspects of dealing with a house after foreclosure.

There are a few general rules about what appliances and items may be taken out of a house when homeowners either sell or are foreclosed on. With the large number of homeowners facing foreclosure right now, news stories have been reporting that many former owners essentially strip their properties of anything useful or salable, including copper pipes, furnaces, kitchen sinks, ovens, and so on. But not all of these can be taken in not all circumstances, and to prevent lawsuits for damage to the property, homeowners should be aware of what they can and can not take.

The most general rule on what may be taken after a sale or foreclosure of a property involves the distinction between fixtures and personal property. In many cases, aspects of these types of items can overlap, making it somewhat difficult for homeowners to decide on if an item belongs to one or the other category. Especially for items with sentimental value that are affixed to the house, determining whether they can be moved or must remain is not a simple process.

However, if removing an item from the house would cause damage to the property or make it unlivable, then the item is most likely a fixture. Laundry machines are often just hooked up to a few vents and power outlets, making them personal items, for instance. They can safely be removed from the house. On the other hand, furnaces, ovens, air conditioners, and the like would make the house unlivable or cause damage to the property, and they are often considered to be fixtures.

The size of items or the work put into them do not automatically determine whether an item is a fixture, either. Just because an item is small or natural does not mean it can always be taken. The keys to the house, for example, as always considered fixtures, and trees or bushes can not be easily removed from a property without causing damage to the ground. Both are integrally related to the functioning or current use of the property and will most often count as fixtures.

A second issue in determining what can be taken after foreclosure is the original intent of an item: was it installed to be a permanent part of the house or not? Items installed as permanently attached to the property are most often considered fixtures, such as the furnace, copper pipes, faucets, doorknobs, and so on. A house without these items would not be livable without expenditures to repair or replace these items.

Related to both of these previous issues is if an item is attached to the property in some way. Items that are attached are often considered fixtures, whereas items not attached may be considered personal property. A bookcase built into the walls of the house, for instance, will most likely be considered an attached, permanent fixture; but a bookcase the owners purchase and put together themselves that is not attached or built in can easily be moved and counts as personal property. Similarly, pipes and faucets and some appliances will also count as fixtures, since they are attached to gas lines, water pipes, or other items that make the house livable.

Items that the homeowners deem to be fixtures must be left in the house, but these items can be replaced with ones of a similar or lesser value. If antique doorknobs were installed on the outside doors, these would count as fixtures, but the owners could replace these with cheaper (although working) knobs and take the ones they previously installed. If they put in a new oven but still have the old one, they can take the new one if they reattach the original. This gives homeowners some leeway in deciding what they would like to take, especially for items with sentimental value. The heirloom fan or chandelier may be taken if the damage to the property is repaired and other items are substituted.

Following these few general rules, homeowners moving after foreclosure should be able to determine most of what they can and can not take with them. The issues of damage if the item is removed, original intent of its installation, and attachment to the property should be used with any appliance or item located on the property that the owners are unsure whether they can keep. Leaving a house after selling it or losing it to foreclosure is complicated enough; worrying about a lawsuit for damage to fixtures should not be one more headache homeowners have to deal with when attempting to make a fresh start.

Banks are beginning to rely more and more on a unique method of bribing homeowners to leave a foreclosed property without causing damage to the house. For a few thousand dollars, banks attempt to persuade foreclosure victims to leave the house without having to be evicted, and without ripping out any of the fixtures or making the house unlivable. Homeowners with no other option to save their home may wish to consider this offer from the bank, which is called a cash for keys offer.

Local real estate agents or home inspectors are often the representatives that the banks hire to provide these kinds of offers to homeowners. They are not directly affiliated with the mortgage companies, and are not working for the owners, so they are inserted into the foreclosure process as a third-party which can help negotiate a deal. The homeowners will receive a small sum of money, which they can use for moving expenses or a security deposit on a new apartment or rental home, while the bank gets the property free of any undue damage or theft.

Banks are beginning to offer more of these kinds of deals in response to the "buyer's revenge" syndrome that some foreclosure victims engage in before being kicked out of a house. By the time the sheriff gets into the house and the bank has the locks changed, the former owners may have taken all the appliances, stripped the copper pipes to sell for scrap, damaged walls, dumped hazardous materials on the floors, ripped up carpets, or let pets and animals into the house to cause even more damage. Obviously, homes in this condition are nearly unsaleable, and will have to be listed on the market with the severe defects taken into account in the asking price.

Thus, banks have realized that it costs them more in lost sales revenue than it does simply to bribe the homeowners into leaving with no extra troubles. Houses in many markets will sit for months unoccupied, which will contribute to the deterioration of the building, even without extra destruction caused by soon to be evicted former homeowners. If the banks can put a few thousand dollars into the pockets of foreclosure victims in return for a house in as good of condition as possible, then all of the parties will benefit even slightly.

Destruction to a home after failing to stop foreclosure will not help the former owners or the bank. Homeowners are usually protected against the consequences of their actions, though, because banks rarely sue for the damage caused to the house. They know that foreclosure victims will not be able to pay off the judgments anyway, and they are finding that it costs less to offer a cash for keys deal to attempt to prevent any extra damage to their new REO property.

Of course, knowing that banks do not want damaged houses, homeowners are able to negotiate for a higher payout to leave the property in good condition. While most banks will offer a few hundred dollars, other pay more than a couple thousand to ensure that the home will be left undamaged. Obviously, homeowners should not be engaging in blackmail to the banks in order to get more money to leave, but a fair cash for keys deal can benefit both the banks and the owners. Pursuing the eviction process can be expensive and time-consuming; both banks and homeowners have something the other can bargain for. Banks want a clean property, and homeowners want an incentive not to take out their frustration on a property that is no longer theirs.

Having to face the inevitability of moving out after facing foreclosure can be one of the most disappointing and nerve-wracking experiences for homeowners. Especially in states where the time to leave the property is very short, there is a real possibility that foreclosure victims may feel as though they will not have enough time to leave their house before the sheriff shows up to evict them. But the eviction process is entirely set by state law and the courts, and homeowners can receive more time to move out, if necessary.

The actual time frame to eviction will depend on the state foreclosure laws to determine how soon the new owner can start the eviction process. If the laws allow for a redemption period after the sheriff sale, then the homeowners are guaranteed some extra time (from a few days to a year) to stay in the house under state law and not worry about eviction. They can use this time to save money for a security deposit on a new rental, pay down other debt, or find a way to save the current home by paying the redemption amount.

But if the state has no redemption period after the auction, then the eviction process will usually take about 2-4 weeks from the date of the sheriff sale. The high bidder at auction will have to have the sale confirmed with the court, which can take a few days to more than a week. Then, the owner requests that the court order the sheriff to conduct the eviction, which can take another week or two. Finally, the sheriff will schedule the eviction, give the foreclosure victims notice of the coming date, and then remove all of the people and personal items a few days later. This entire process can take as little as two weeks or as long as a couple of months, depending on the speed with which the new owner and government act in concert.

After the eviction is conducted by the county sheriff, the personal property is usually just put in the front lawn, or moved to a county warehouse and put in storage never to be seen again. Good luck getting it back, either way, as it will be almost impossible to regain the personal items. The most likely possibilities that will happen is that neighbors or members of the community will take whatever they want from the pile of items sitting in the front lawn, or the items will go into storage, never to be seen again and no bureaucrat will be able to track them down, despite numerous requests from the former homeowners. Even suing the county to get the property back will usually not work, as the former owners will have to sue the county in county court, where a hearing will be conducted before a county judge.

The best way to avoid either of these scenarios is for the homeowners to move out before the eviction, or request more time to stay in the property. They should call the sheriff's office or the new owner before the eviction is scheduled and ask for a extra few days to move everything out. The government and new owner can usually hold off on the eviction if the foreclosure victims are in the process of moving, as long as they are not asking for an extra month or longer to live there rent-free. It is easier to give the former owners a few extra days to move out all of their personal items and give up possession of the property peacefully. Otherwise, homes have been known to be severely damaged by foreclosure victims, with stoves and furnaces removed, copper piping sold, or windows broken and doors removed.

In any case, though, the new owner would not be able to charge homeowners a fine directly for moving their old stuff out of the house. We have occasionally witnessed new third-party owners attempting to charge rent or moving expenses to the former homeowners, despite redemption periods or the legal eviction process. But removing all of the people and property from a foreclosed house is the responsibility of the county sheriffs department, which is the one actually evicting the homeowners. They already get paid through property taxes to deal with evictions. Likewise, they would not be able to charge a driver more just because it was a lot of work pulling him over to give him a speeding ticket -- they need some justification for charging more, and "too much heavy lifting" isn't good enough to add more fees on top of the eviction process.

For many former homeowners, finally moving out of a house may feel like admitting a humiliating defeat to the world. Especially if they are forced to move into a smaller house, apartment, or in with family and friends for a while. But getting out of a bad situation with a mortgage company and leaving an expensive house can actually be much more liberating than staying. The lender may not have wanted to work with the owners, and the mortgage may have been tens of thousands of dollars more than the property was worth with an astronomical interest rate. Getting a fresh start and moving on from such a situation can often help homeowners learn some of the most important lessons about credit and living within their means from now on.

The process of taking a home through foreclosure, from beginning to end, is extremely different in every state. Depending on where a property is located, different types of foreclosure will be pursued, different terms will be used to describe a foreclosure auction, homeowners may receive many notices of the process or very few, and the time frames will range from a few months to over a year. One of the few relative constants in all of this, though, is the eviction process that is used after foreclosure to remove the homeowners from their property.

The eviction process usually lasts about 2-4 weeks, in most cases. It is a straight-forward legal mechanism where the new owner (usually the foreclosing bank) will prove that they now own the property and wish to take possession of it and remove any people and personal items still remaining. The bank will file a motion with the court asking that the sheriff be ordered to evict the former homeowners and their belongings. The bank will usually have no problem proving to the court that they now own the house, as the agents of the court ordered the granting of the foreclosure judgment, scheduled the sheriff sale, and signed off that the foreclosure auction was valid.

Once the order goes to the county sheriff, it can take just a few weeks for the sheriff to give the homeowners notice of the pending eviction and then they will show up a few days later to remove the people and property and change the locks. At this point, the homeowners should have moved out already, because it will be almost impossible to get more time to stay in the house, especially after missing numerous mortgage payments, working through various methods to stop foreclosure, and then enduring a lengthy foreclosure process. So the actual eviction process is relatively straight-forward with few possible outcomes, compared to all that goes on before it.

However, when this process starts at all varies widely by state. One of the first steps that homeowners should take in trying to save their homes is to look up their state foreclosure laws to find out if they have a redemption period either before or after the sheriff sale. Some states give them extra time to remain in the property after the auction, when the bank can not start the eviction process. This is a redemption period and it can not be denied to the homeowners by the bank or the court system, as it is guaranteed under state law. But the state law will also provide the time frame in which the homeowners will eventually find themselves put into the foreclosure process, and they should have a final plan for how to avoid this and get out of the house before being kicked out.

Some states grant foreclosure victims a 10 day redemption period, others have 6 months, and some even have a year after the sheriff sale that the homeowners can use to remain in the house and attempt to pay off the redemption amount. During all that time, the bank can not try to evict them by force, although they may offer a cash for keys deal or otherwise attempt to persuade the homeowners to leave the house prematurely. In this case, the bank may be able to take over the house early, to protect it from vandalism or damage. But, they can only start the eviction process once the redemption period has ended, regardless of whether or not the homeowners have some workable solution that would stop foreclosure in the end.

So the best way for homeowners to find out how much time they have before being evicted is to look up their state foreclosure laws to find out how much time the entire foreclosure process will take. Otherwise, there is a very real possibility that they might move out too soon or find out about the eviction too late. If they move out too soon, they will lose valuable time to save money for an emergency fund and repair your credit. If they do not hear about the eviction until a few days before the sheriff shows up to remove them, then they may not have anywhere to go. Either possibility should be avoided, if at all possible, and homeowners can protect against either with the right information.

Many homeowners seem to believe that they will have a very difficult time of buying a home after facing foreclosure, especially if the home went all the way through the process and was lost at a sheriff sale. However, this fear is, for the most part, unfounded, and previous foreclosure victims should be able to qualify for a new mortgage within a few years of the experience. There is at least one little-discussed method of qualifying for a new mortgage that home buyers should be more aware of, especially if they have recently gone through the process of losing a home to foreclosure.

In fact, a significant number of banks are often willing to loan money to former homeowners even just a few months after they have lost their homes. As surprising as it sounds homeowners are able to get a mortgage for nearly any property they want. And even more surprisingly, this can be done even with horrible credit scarred by foreclosure or bankruptcy. No cosigner may be required, as well.

Of course, this kind of loan is not advertised very heavily, because the practices that are required to qualify for it are not common financial habits, whether of previous foreclosure victims or consumers in general. The secret is having a large enough down payment so that the bank will loan the applicants the rest of the money with almost no questions asked. The amount of the home buyers' investment in the property secures the loan to such an extent that the bank is not as worried about the credit risk So, hopefully homeowners who have lost their homes to foreclosure, or are working on repairing their credit and would like to invest in the real estate market in the future have been saving up quite a bit of money for their next house purchase.

Otherwise, with a small down payment, the bank will have to look more carefully at the overall credit rating to determine the probability of the loan applicants making enough payments so that there is enough equity that the lender will make a profit if they have to foreclose in the future. They would like to see the mortgage applicants invest a significant amount of money in the property they are purchasing; if this is not the case, they will want to see that the buyers have established good financial habits of borrowing manageable amounts and paying them back on time. If the former foreclosure victims' credit is not good, and they are unable to come up with any money to put down, then there is a strong possibility that they will not get the mortgage to purchase the house.

Offering a lot of extra cash in the form of a down payment will pretty much get rid of any objections the bank has about the home buyers' credit. Making the loan will be worthwhile to them even in the rare case of the homeowners never making a payment, since they can foreclose, take the equity, and sell the house for a profit on the market. Of course, this is not what lenders want to do at all, since they would prefer to make money on the interest collected; most banks have no desire to manage property and have to split profits with real estate agents, title companies, and attorneys. But a large down payment will ensure the potential of reclaiming any large losses on the loan due to default.

Besides saving up for a down payment, foreclosure victims should also start immediately working on their credit after saving the home or having to move and make a fresh start. In either case, if they wish to qualify for better mortgage rates or purchase a home in the future, the two keys to success are having good credit and having money. But even if the home buyers are unable to repair their credit, many objections against lending them money will be overcome with a large amount of cash to put down on the purchase.

Foreclosure victims are almost universally worried about their ability to qualify for a new mortgage loan after filing bankruptcy or facing foreclosure. Because of the negative credit effects of both events, it may seem like it will be impossible to purchase a new home or refinance any time within in the next seven years. However, this is no reason to give up hope. In most cases, with a bit of hard work and dedication, homeowners can buy a home again after bankruptcy or foreclosure; it just will not be easy.

If the bankruptcy is used during the foreclosure as just a temporary solution, and homeowners are unsure of their ability to sell the house, it might be better just to take the foreclosure and avoid filing a Chapter 13. In either case, it is best for the homeowners to have an appraisal on the property done as soon as possible and find out if they owe more on the house than it is currently worth. It they are underwater, then a bankruptcy that they can not afford will not be an effective, long-term solution to the problem.

When bankruptcy to stop foreclosure is used to get more time to work on a longer-term resolution, it is important that homeowners know their chances of selling or refinancing. If the house is worth less than what is owed to the lender, finding any option to end the foreclosure for good will be much more difficult. Agreeing to an unmanageable bankruptcy payment plan may be acceptable for the very short term, but homeowners need a quick backup plan in order to avoid ending up with both a foreclosure and bankruptcy on their credit.

There is no mistaking the danger of this event: having a bankruptcy and a foreclosure in quick succession will look very bad to any potential future creditors. Even with just one of the two, the foreclosure victims will have to spend a lot of time working on cleaning up their credit report, getting old negative information removed, and establishing a positive history after foreclosure. With both showing up in a short period of time, getting the credit and financial situation back in shape will require even more dedication. This is not to say it can not be done, and there are numerous resources online to help consumers with credit problems, but it will take concentrated efforts by the homeowners.

Thankfully, nearly all foreclosure victims can avoid at least one extra judgment from showing up against them. The bank will probably not come after the former homeowners for a deficiency judgment after foreclosure, if that is something they are worried about (and most homeowners are worried about having assets repossessed or wages garnished ). But from the lender's perspective, they are not collecting anything currently from the mortgage or from the foreclosure, so there is no reason for them to spend the time and money to sue the homeowners again. In fact, the former owners probably do not even have the financial ability to pay tens of thousands of dollars in judgments after losing their homes, so why would the bank waste its time and money after taking a loss on the defaulted loan? In fact, it will not waste its time, instead focusing on selling the house on the open market.

It might take a few years to qualify for a mortgage after the foreclosure is done, but it can be done. Of course, former foreclosure victims should definitely not expect to get a 100% financed house. These loans simply do not exist any longer, even for consumers with excellent credit. Furthermore, they will need to show the lender that there is money for a significant down payment, plus a savings account to be used in case of emergency, plus stable income and employment. Honestly, though, without those three things in order anyway, no one should consider buying a house in the first place. A down payment, emergency fund, and stable income are absolutely necessary if a family decides to purchase a home, to make sure the possibility of losing that home to foreclosure is extremely remote.

The best idea for homeowners after filing bankruptcy or losing their home is to use the time after foreclosure to start repairing and improving their financial situation. In effect, that is the best they can do for now, and within a couple of years, there is a real possibility they can apply for a new mortgage and be approved, as long as they have saved up, shown wise use of credit, and maintained a stable financial condition since the end of the foreclosure process.

Some homeowners simply come to the conclusion that they can not keep their current house out of foreclosure. This may be for any number of reasons, not all of which are financial. While having changed jobs and not making the same level of income, or losing an income due to a medical disability may wreck the most damage to the ability to keep a home, some foreclosure victims decide that saving the home is just not worth the trouble. Dealing with threatening banks, waiting weeks for attorneys to answer a simple question, being pushed off from one department to the next, and being turned down for one solution after another are quite convincing in getting homeowners just to leave their homes. They would rather not deal with the extra stress than find a way to stop foreclosure.

Few homeowners, though, know exactly what will happen if they just up and leave the home. What will the ultimate fate of the house be? Will the lender go after both spouses' credit records if only one is on the mortgage? What about being sued or having wages garnished after the foreclosure is over? These are important questions homeowners need to ask themselves before giving up the fight and leaving the house.

If they decide to walk away from the house, the lender will immediately begin trying to collect their money, by making hourly phone calls and sending collection letters. After a few months with no response from the owners, they will hire local attorneys and sue for the foreclosure. Once the foreclosure judgment is awarded to the lender, the house will be sold at a scheduled county sheriff sale. And finally, after the house is sold, ownership will transfer to the high bidder at the auction and the eviction process will start in the courts. Within a few weeks to a couple of months, the county sheriff will be ordered to change the locks and remove any remaining people or property. The house will then be put up for sale by the bank, if they were the winner, or the new owners will move into the house.

Of course, if the homeowners have moved out prior to any of these events, this entire process will go ahead without their involvement or knowledge. The most dangerous part is the eviction, but the foreclosure victims will not be evicted if they have already moved into a new apartment or rental house and are no longer living in the original property anymore.

The bank could possible go after the spouse's credit because the husband and wife are married and therefore count as one "economic unit," so to speak. Whether the lender is able to do it or not depends on how much the bank knows about the spouse who is not on the loan. They need to have quite specific information in order to report negative information to the credit bureaus, or else anyone would be able to report unpaid debts about anyone else for any reason at all. Do they have a social security number? A birth date? Is there some document proving the marriage and that the spouse is responsible for the mortgage, even as a community property issue? If this information is not provided to the credit reporting agencies, it may be difficult for the lender to report the late payments and foreclosure.

The lender may be able to go after other assets and income after the foreclosure, if the state in which the property is located allows for deficiency judgments. Not all states allow this, so it is important that homeowners look up the applicable foreclosure laws. But banks almost never sue their former clients after foreclosure; they know that they could not make the mortgage payments to begin with, so there is little reason to assume that they can make payments on a judgment involving the mortgage. And it will cost the mortgage company more time and money to hire attorneys to sue the former owners again, when they have not collected a single cent from the original foreclosure lawsuit. In other words, it is just not worth their time.

Making the decision to give up on a house is never an easy one, and one that we do not ever recommend. There are always various methods that can be used to stop foreclosure, and homeowners should exhaust all of them before admitting defeat. But, not all circumstances allow homeowners to work vigorously on numerous options to save their homes. In these cases, knowing the potential consequences of simply leaving the home is vital for homeowners to make an informed decision and begin the process of starting over with no regrets or worries about the former home.

For homeowners facing the loss of their homes to foreclosure, the anxiety never seems to end. After months of being threatened by the lender's "customer service" department with being evicted, sued, and having their wages garnished, even the final foreclosure and sheriff sale does not end the problems. The time between the county auction and the eviction by the sheriff can be one of the most stressful times of the foreclosure process.

This is because, even after finding out they are unable to put together a realistic plan to save their homes and stop foreclosure, homeowners must then begin planning to leave the house. But they do not know, in most cases, even how much time they have to move out, when the sheriff will show up to throw them out, or if there is anything they can do to get more time.

In almost all foreclosure situations where the sheriff sale has already passed and the eviction process has begun, the homeowners should receive a notice from the county sheriff's department at least a few days before the scheduled eviction. This is a rule in almost every state and county, and is just a sign of good faith by the government that they will inform the former homeowners of how much time they have left to stay in the house and plan their future. However, it is also never a good idea to trust government bureaucrats, whether the county sheriff or the court system, to be efficient and follow their own rules, as this is one thing they rarely do if it is more expedient to ignore the laws.

There are numerous other ways for homeowners to find out how much time they have to get their lives in order before the eviction, other than trusting in someone from the sheriff's office to come and post a notice on the door. Also, notices can be blown off by the wind, taken off by nosy neighbors, or dropped in some place where the foreclosure victims are not likely to search for a notice.

To avoid being blindsided by the possibility of being evicted with no warning, homeowners should know the exact date when the county foreclosure auction took place. Knowing that will give them a good idea of when their ownership interest in the property was transferred to the high bidder at the auction.

Then, they should look up the state foreclosure laws to determine how much time they will have to stay in the home after the sheriff sale. Some states allow under the law for a redemption period where the foreclosure victims are given more time even after the sale in order to pay back the amount they owed on the house. Without searching the law, though, the homeowners may move out prematurely, eliminating a vital protection and opportunity to begin getting their finances back on track.

Redemption periods differ widely by state, with some having just a few weeks to others having up to a year after the foreclosure auction. Of course, other states do not have a redemption period at all, or they have it before the sheriff sale. Again, this is why it is essential to look up the state laws, so foreclosure victims do not move out the property too soon or too late.

But regardless of any other proceedings, the court, after the sheriff sale is over, should send the homeowners an order to appear before the judge for the eviction hearing. At this hearing, the bank will be given possession of the house and an order will be sent to the county sheriff to evict the former homeowners. Although this seems pretty bleak, the homeowners can take an important opportunity to take back some control over the foreclosure process. The most important reason to go to this hearing is simply to get more time to save the home or move out of the property.

The judge can grant the foreclosure victims a few extra days or weeks to obtain a new apartment and begin moving out of their former house. Just a few days can mean the difference between settling any last aspects of a new lease and moving out, or having to put items in storage and move in with a friend of family member for a few days. This opportunity to get extra time can not be taken, though, if no one shows up for the hearing in the first place. The lender will just be given possession and the order will go out to the sheriff to evict as soon as possible.

In a perfect world, homeowners will be given several notices of an impending eviction hearing and the eviction itself. However, this is trusting that county governments are efficient enough to communicate these important events to the foreclosure victims, and the homeowners receive the notices in a timely manner.

Obviously, it is rare enough that government bureaucrats are efficient, and even rarer that the average family will know enough of how the foreclosure process works to take some control over it. That is why homeowners need to get important foreclosure advice in order to understand how the foreclosure will proceed, both before and after a sheriff sale, and how they can negotiate with a lender or the court system for a more beneficial resolution to foreclosure.

With so many foreclosures across the country, banks are now beginning to own more and more of the available real estate in America. But, after the foreclosure process has ended, the banks often do nothing with these properties, leaving them to sit on the market for months or years. While the former homeowners are forced to find a new house or apartment to rent, the bank will hold onto an empty house that they take no care of. However, although the homeowners may wish to remain in their property and rent it while the bank attempts to sell it, lenders will not get into the property management business, preferring instead to let the empty house sit and bring down the quality of the surrounding community.

The bank will wait until they are able to sell the property on the open market, no matter how long this takes. All bank-owned real estate is sold in "As Is" condition, due to the fact that the bank will not manage the property or make any necessary repairs after the former homeowners move out. Even if all of the pipes are stripped of the house, or it has suffered water damage due to a sump pump breaking down during the bank's time or ownership, they will not do any repairs. But, if the bank gets a reasonable offer to purchase the home in this condition, they will be willing to consider it seriously. With the current conditions in the market, though, home buyers may be able to afford a new home in good condition, rather than potentially damaged goods that have undergone a recent foreclosure.

Even if the bank has a house in its inventory for a long period of time, they will always be reluctant to enter the property management business. This is due to one main reason: liability in case of damages. If a tenant is renting a house from a local landlord, and they incur some injury that is the owner's fault due to negligence or otherwise, the renter may be able to sue the landlord and win a judgment of several thousand or tens of thousands of dollars. This will depend on the injury suffered and how deep are the pockets of the landlord, but the tenants will not be able to get a judgment of millions of dollars, due to the fact that the landlord can not afford to pay such high damages, which will be viewed as excessive and not fitting the liability.

On the other hand, this situation could be quite different if the landlord was a large multinational bank. If the renters suffered damages, they may be able to sue for much higher amounts. For example, renters may be able to make a few rent payments of $2,000 total, and then suffer an injury which results in a $500,000 judgment against the bank. This judgment would not seem excessive, since the bank may have billions of dollars in assets. But this huge liability creates reluctance for banks to do anything with properties they own, and is one of the reasons all houses are sold on an "As Is" basis. They do not want such high potential liability when the homes may be worth far less that what they could eventually be responsible to pay.

Lenders would rather let their properties sit on the market for as long as it takes to find a buyer. They will not worry so much about broken windows due to vandalism, or newly homeless people moving into the neighborhoods and squatting in these properties. The eventual buyer will have to worry about such circumstances, and the bank does not want to have to spend any more money on these properties that they have already suffered losses on due to the foreclosure process. Letting an empty house sit, while they pay the property taxes is the most cost effective solution for lenders.

Although this situation is obviously bad for the community, it works out better for the bank (which may be based in New York, Dubai, or someplace else in the world), since they will not have to worry about being sued by tenants for millions of dollars due to justified or fraudulent lawsuits. In fact, the banks may not even have enough resources to combat all of the potential lawsuits, if they own many foreclosed homes. Thus, neighborhoods hit hard by the ongoing foreclosure crisis will experience increases in violent crime, drug trafficking, and homelessness, while current homeowners will watch the value of their houses stay low due to more run-down homes and empty properties subject to vandalism. The banks, though, will quietly wait until someone purchases these homes and avoid the legal liability of managing property. Again, it is up to the communities themselves to find ways to deal with the foreclosures, as they can not expect the lenders even to take care of the properties they now own, nor have an interest in improving the quality of live of residents living in the neighborhood.

Most homeowners facing the loss of their homes seek out any option possible to avoid foreclosure and start recovering financially. While many are able to save their homes, there are also a large number that, for whatever reason, decide that moving out and moving on is the best solution. The more distressing the foreclosure situation is and the more desperate the homeowners were to save their homes, the greater the danger of the house being damaged and stripped for every single useful item and appliance. However, many foreclosure victims would like to take certain appliances without damaging the property, and are unsure what, if anything, they can take, and what the ramifications are if they do take more appliances and items than allowed by law.

First of all, in any foreclosure situation, homeowners should work on various options for stretching out the foreclosure process for as long as possible. It might take some money and work on their part to do this, but they can get the bank to stop the sheriff sale numerous times while the foreclosure victims are working on a solution that will stop the foreclosure entirely. Even if they know they have no intention to keep the house, there is no prohibition against trying options that will likely fail, on the off chance that they will be successful, as long as working on these solutions persuades the bank to give them more time. This might involve stopping the sheriff sale, or just getting more time to move out, but homeowners should use every tactic they can to gain more time to put their own lives in order and even begin a savings plan or work on getting out of debt.

In regards to the appliances and what foreclosure victims can take from the house when they move out and what must be left, it depends on what appliances are being discussed. The general rule is that homeowners can take any personal belongings, but must leave all fixtures related to the property. Determining what a fixture is can be one of the difficult questions about moving, whether it is a foreclosure situation or not. Especially because many items in a house hold sentimental value, as well as functional value, homeowners need to carefully evaluate what might be considered personal property and what needs to stay with the house as real property.

There are a few questions homeowners should ask themselves to figure out which appliances are fixtures and which are not. First, will removing it cause damage to the property or make it unlivable ? Thus, unplugging the dryer and washing machine and moving them will probably not cause any damage. Taking out the furnace and outside air conditioner, on the other hand, may cause damage, not to mention this will make the house difficult to live in without any source of heat. The same goes for ceiling fans and light fixtures. Homeowners can also not take the antique front door or any doorknobs, as these count as fixtures. But big items like the refrigerator can be unplugged and easily moved out. The keys to the house also count as fixtures, because they are integrally related to the property, and not having keys to doors will make the house difficult to enter, and make the doorknob fixtures useless, necessitating expenditures by the new owners to change all of the locks.

Foreclosure victims also need to ask the question of what was the original intent of the item: as a permanent item or something to be moved easily? Permanent items like the furnace and sink faucets and copper pipes should stay. So should the glass in the cabinet doors. However, if the homeowners moved into the property and the previous owners left a desk in the basement or a microwave they did not take with them, the homeowners have every right to take those items, since they were probably meant to be personal property. Just the fact of being left in a property after a transfer of ownership does not automatically make the items fixtures.

The last question homeowners need to consider when moving out of a house after foreclosure is if the item is attached to the property in some way. They are free to remove bookshelves that they built on their own after purchasing kits from Wal-Mart. However, the built-in library should probably stay, as it is attached to the property and removing it would case damage and a loss of value. The grill with propane tank can be moved and is not attached, but the huge propane tank attached to the outside of the house to provide heat in winter and the hot water heater are attached firmly to the piping and integral to the functioning of the property. Thus, they must stay, along with the items that make them work, such as pipes, gauges, and other minor items used with the larger fixture.

Foreclosure victims moving on with their lives should evaluate any items they have a question about. Again, any personal property can be taken, and the new owners, the bank, and the county have no legal right to seize these. Fixtures can only be taken, but only if they are replaced with substitute items. If the homeowners would like to take the doorknobs they installed, then they can take them but should replace the knobs with cheaper versions. Another example would be to replace the new stove they just bought with an older model that they pick up for free on Craigslist. If they are buying items to use in a new house or apartment, they can purchase lower-end models now and use those to replace fixtures in the foreclosed house, while taking the higher-end models they now use and can not take from the property because removing a fixture and not replacing it is not allowed.

Leaving a house after foreclosure is often the most difficult part of the entire process. Homeowners are often disappointed that they will not be able to keep their home, and some attempt to take revenge on the bank by stripping the property of everything useful. This is not a positive action, though, and serves no lasting purpose other than lashing out at a bank that foreclosed on one's property. But foreclosure victims do still have rights to their own property located in the house, and can take anything that is personal. Fixtures that are attached to the property and considered real property are the most likely targets of being removed from the house and causing damage. While homeowners do not have a right to remove fixtures and leave nothing in their places, they can provide substitute fixtures while taking the items that hold sentimental or financial value to them.

There seems to be a lack of understanding among homeowners of what happens once the foreclosure process is over and the eviction process has begun. Most homeowners mistakenly believe that the sheriff may show up to evict them within hours or days after the sheriff sale. However, this is simply untrue, as the eviction process can take even longer than the foreclosure process itself, depending on state law. If a family is unable to stop foreclosure to save their home, there may be legal protections in place to give foreclosure victims a chance to begin repairing the damage caused by foreclosure.

The process that the bank must follow after the foreclosure is determined by that state's foreclosure laws. This is one of the main reasons that it is recommended that homeowners look up the relevant laws, in order to determine how the foreclosure process will be conducted and how much time they have to save their home or stay in the home after the foreclosure auction. Certain states offer foreclosure victims a redemption period after the sale, which is a period of time after they have lost the home that they can continue living in the property.

Once the eviction process itself begins, though, homeowners will not just be randomly kicked out to the street. They will be sent paperwork by the bank's attorneys or the court system indicating that the lender has entered in a request for possession of the property. To gain possession the bank will show that is purchased the house at the sheriff sale and is now the legal owner of the property. They will ask the court to order the county sheriff to evict any persons or belongings that are still occupying the property.

Also, in most cases the sheriff will post a notice of eviction on the property itself, indicating the specific date that the locks will be changed and all people and property will be removed. This may be a five- or three-day notice, again depending on the specific state foreclosure laws and the county's own procedures. However, a notice being posted on the property is not always guaranteed, so it is important to check with the state or county to find out the exact procedures before the eviction happens.

Homeowners who are currently worried about being evicted at any time should take back control of the situation and find out how much actual time they have left. The best place to begin asking questions is with the county sheriffs department. They will be able to inform the foreclosure victims of any pending orders for possession of the house, or if the court has not yet ordered the eviction. If there is no scheduled eviction, homeowners should call the county courthouse to determine if there is a hearing coming up, what the process will be after the sheriff sale, and how much time they have left to find a new place to live.

Not knowing when or if an eviction is scheduled is often much worse than knowing exactly when the sheriff will be there to evict everyone. The simple fact of knowing when to be out of the property gives homeowners a better framework for planning the future of their families after foreclosure.

Many homeowners are under the mistaken belief that, once the sheriff sale of the property has been conducted, they have lost every chance to stop foreclosure. However, there are legal mechanisms in place to prevent foreclosure victims from being randomly evicted at the whims of the foreclosing bank. Homeowners should not be taken in by fear-mongering, self-proclaimed foreclosure experts who threaten them with the possibility of the sheriff showing up unannounced to throw them out of the house. Even the county sheriff is a human being and the sheriffs department will know exactly when the eviction will be conducted. They would rather avoid forcefully removing anyone from the property if the homeowners are conscientiously working towards a plan to move out of the property and have it cleaned up and empty when the sheriff does show up.

One of the most important issues that foreclosure victims are not informed about is what happens after the foreclosure trustee sale of their home. It would seem like a simple matter that, when the home is sold, the former homeowners would have to begin locating a new place to live and move out very shortly. However, with such widely divergent laws governing the foreclosure process in the states, there is no simple answer. Homeowners may have more opportunities at this point to stop foreclosure and actually keep their homes, although it is vitally important for them to begin the process of researching what options they may have.

The actual process followed after the home is sold at sheriff sale will depend on what state the property is located in. Foreclosure laws vary from state to state, but the trustee sale is usually the end of the line, or at least it is the time when ownership of the property is transferred to the high bidder at the foreclosure auction. There are a number of ways that homeowners can postpone or stop the sheriff sale altogether, but unless they come up with a solution to avoid foreclosure, the home will eventually be auctioned off. At this point, state law takes dictates the timeline for moving out of the house or being evicted by the county sheriff.

Some states, though, allow for a redemption period. A redemption period is time that foreclosure victims can use after the sheriff sale to stay in the home and find some solution to keep it, or pay off the amount owed and sell it. During this period, they can even try refinancing, selling, or any other potential solution, in order to cure the foreclosure. If saving the home is not possible, they can just remain living in the property, save money for an emergency fund, pay down other debts, and get their financial life back on track. Either way, the bank is unable to evict them out of the property until after the redemption period, as they are guaranteed the right to redeem by state law.

Various timelines are given by states for the redemption period, another reason why homeowners need to gather some relevant foreclosure information on their own to put together their plan for the future of their families. Some states have the redemption period before the sale, while others have it after the sale, and some have no redemption period at all. The important thing is to look up the state foreclosure laws and find out what a foreclosure victim's rights are after the property is sold at the foreclosure auction. Then they can plan for their future, either to stop foreclosure from leading to eviction, or moving out of the house before being forcefully removed, or utilizing the redemption period to begin the process of financial recovery.

Of course, if any homeowners are worried about being evicted, they should make a call to their local sheriffs office. The county sheriff conducts the eventual eviction, so they will know if a particular property has been ordered to be cleaned out and have the locks changed. If they do not know anything about the eviction yet, then it is probably safe to assume that is has not yet been scheduled through the courts. The actual eviction process will have to go through the county court system, with the new owner of the property being granted possession and an order given to the sheriff to remove all people and personal belongings from the property. Until the eviction is actually scheduled, homeowners can continue seeking out foreclosure advice and examining various options that may help them save their home or mitigate the more devastating consequences of foreclosure.

In many cases, homeowners, for one reason or another, are unable to save their homes or find a solution that will stop foreclosure. Unfortunately, many simply wait until the last minute, hoping against hope for a mortgage broker who will come through with a new foreclosure loan, only to be left hanging at the end with nothing besides a rejection. In such cases, lenders may be unwilling to continue to postpone a sheriff sale, and the foreclosure victims will find that they must find a new place to live. How long the eviction takes, though, and the state foreclosure laws will determine what a homeowners next steps should be in planning their lives after foreclosure.

In general, the bank will not start the foreclosure process until the homeowners are 3-6 months behind on payments. They can start as soon as you the loan is in default (31 days late), but most lenders will give their clients the time to get caught up and give them the benefit of the doubt, rather than starting foreclosure right away. Mortgage companies know that some people just have a one-month or short-term financial hardship that causes them to fall behind for a short period, but are then able to recover quickly and begin paying the mortgage on time again and avoid foreclosure completely.

Also, if the homeowners are working with the bank for a repayment plan or mortgage modification, they the lender will be much more willing to postpone the foreclosure filing for a few extra months. Once foreclosure starts, costs go way up, so they may be willing to get the homeowners qualified for a workout program before the situation gets out of control. Even without the actual filing of the foreclosure lawsuit, though, late fees and interest will begin to accumulate, so it is in the best interests of the homeowners to begin saving as much money as possible once they fall behind, as well as contact the lender for options to stop foreclosure.

The time period for the actual foreclosure process will vary from state to state, once the paperwork is filed. The house will be sold at sheriff sale, and then the redemption period begins, if one is offered in the state in which the property is located. For example, some states have no redemption period, while others have a one-year redemption period under the state's foreclosure laws in order for the homeowners to stay in the property and look for some way to save it. Refinancing, selling, or paying the redemption amount in full can all be done while the foreclosure victims continue to live in the property for the length of the redemption period.

After the end of redemption, though, the eviction process will start. Eviction can usually take 2-4 weeks, depending on how quickly the lender starts the process and how quickly the sheriff can come out to the property and conduct the actual physical eviction. Once that happens, though, the homeowners will be set out on the street and the locks will be changed. It will be better to be out by this point than be evicted, of course, but it is also better to find a solution before the situation reaches this point, as well.

Time periods for foreclosure and the eviction process vary wildly from state to state. Some even have the redemption period before the sheriff sale, while most others have a redemption period after the sale. This is why is important for homeowners to gain the foreclosure information necessary to understand how foreclosure works, and how much time they will have to put together a plan designed to stop foreclosure. One of the best places to start researching is the state foreclosure laws, and the best time to start researching is as soon as possible. Waiting too long to learn how foreclosure works and then not putting together a plan to save the home is almost a sure-fire way to end up homeless and evicted.

This post is for those homeowners who have decided that they can not keep their current home and are seeking to move on, instead of trying to stop foreclosure. This may be due to a new job in another state that requires a move, a precipitous drop in income, or other circumstances. Because of their poor credit from the foreclosure, however, these homeowners may have a difficult time being able to rent an apartment. New landlords will not want to discover the fact that the homeowners are currently behind on their mortgage payments. That will indicate to them that they do not take their housing payment obligations very seriously. The foreclosure victims will have to find a way around the credit check somehow.

One way they can do that is to find a landlord that they know, or talk to someone (friends/family) in the area that they will be living in, and ask if they know of anyone that would allows apartment rentals without a credit check. The key is for the homeowners to let them know that their credit is not great at the present time, and that they are not willing to damage it even further with more inquiries, but that they want to have an opportunity to start recovering their financial situation. A lot of landlords will be reasonable if the situation is explained to them very clearly.

If they foreclosure victims do not know any friendly contacts in the area, though, they will have to offer the landlord an incentive to decide not to pull their credit histories. For this purpose, they can offer an extra amount as a security deposit, or offer to pay an extra 2-3 months rent up-front, in exchange for the landlord not conducting a credit check. If they need a "cover story," they can use the one in the paragraph above, or simply inform the landlord that they are very private and do not want to give out their social security number and financial information to anyone, since they have been a victim of identity theft in the past. Extra cash in the form of a security deposit or extra rent will usually help the landlord see things from the foreclosure victims' perspective.

The important point is to concentrate on the desire for personal and financial privacy, or the homeowners' intention to begin repairing their credit because of recent, unavoidable financial hardships. As well, it helps to offer the landlord a reason to trust them at their word. These tactics should take care of many of the problems for foreclosure victims attempting to rent an apartment, although they may have to speak with several different landlords who will lend an understanding ear in this situation. Money talks, though, and most landlords, for the right price, can be persuaded not to pull a credit report on applicants.

It is unfortunate that not all homeowners are able to save their homes from foreclosure, but each situation is different and needs to be dealt with in the homeowners' best interests. When there are no options left to prevent the foreclosure, or the foreclosure victims do not want not keep the property but can not unload it, adding another level of problems in trying to rent a new apartment just continues the humiliation and rejection that so define foreclosure situations. But even in these cases, with a small amount of planning and a financial incentive, the homeowners can get a fresh start and gain some control back over their financial lives.

A great number of homeowners are simply unable to stop foreclosure on their homes by the time of the sheriff sale of the property. When they are unable to find some way to postpone the foreclosure auction, state foreclosure law will take over to determine the next steps in the foreclosure process and how much longer the foreclosure victims have to stay in their homes. In some cases they will have to be out of the home within a few weeks, while other states allow for a period of time in which they can put together the funds to pay off the house, thereby redeeming it and maintaining the right of ownership of the property.

When the the sheriff sale occurs, the homeowners will no longer be the owners of the house that has been foreclosed. The winning bidder at auction becomes the new owner and will be able to proceed with the eviction, once the sale is confirmed. Confirming a sale can take from just a few days up to a few weeks, depending on state foreclosure law. But the confirmation process merely determines if the sale took place fairly and was in compliance with all other rules and regulations. Unless there are any major problems, the sale will be confirmed and the foreclosure process completed. The next step will be the eviction process for many homes.

The eviction process begins when the new owners of the property demonstrate to the courts that they are now the owners and have the right of possession of the property. The county court will typically grant the owner possession and order the county sheriff at some date in the near future to evict the former owners and remove all of the property currently in the house.

The former owners, who may still be occupying the property at this point, will be given a certain amount of time (usually a few days to a few weeks) to move out of the property and avoid being forcefully evicted. At this point, there is very little that they can to to stop foreclosure from taking the home from them, unless they are able to purchase the property from the new owners. This is always a possibility, of course, but it is very difficult for very recent foreclosure victims to obtain a new loan to purchase a house.

In cases where the state foreclosure laws allow for a redemption period, the homeowners are granted more time after the sale to pay back the defaulted mortgage and retain ownership of the property. Usually, this means having to pay off the entire amount of the mortgage, either through saving up enough cash or qualifying for a new mortgage. Again, these are very rare possibilities, and many homeowners will not be able to come up with the money to keep the home after the sheriff sale, unless they have substantial assets or there is a lot of equity in the property. But the redemption period will give them a chance to pursue these options or sell the property. If nothing else, the redemption period can be used by homeowners to save up money that can be used for moving expenses, setting up an emergency fund, or paying back other high-interest credit cards and other loans.

Unfortunately, when a family is unable to stop foreclosure and end up seeing their home auctioned off at the sheriff sale, the chances for saving the home drop dramatically. Banks may be willing to postpone sheriff sales or give the homeowners a break by accepting a short sale, but once the foreclosure process is over and the eviction process commences, homeowners are living on borrowed time with few options to keep the house. In states where redemption periods apply, there are more chances to save the home, but the recent foreclosure will make it very difficult for foreclosure victims to qualify for many of the options that may have saved their home even a few weeks before.

The fact that the sheriff sale can mean the end of the line for many homeowners is an important reason that every family falling behind on their bills should seek out as much foreclosure advice as possible, even if they have only missed a couple of mortgage payments. Having a plan to stop foreclosure before it happens means that foreclosure victims will be able to save their homes long before the sheriff sale is conducted, rather than scrambling around to find a place to live after their home has been auctioned off.

A lot of people in foreclosure have questions about people from the bank driving past their homes on a regular basis. Foreclosure victims may feel a bit of paranoia at the thought that their lender, who is trying to take their home away from them, is periodically "checking up on them." Most times, the people who come to look at the property simply keep on driving, only making sure that the house looks as if someone is living there.

The reasong banks do this, of course, is to make certain that the property is not abandoned by the homeowners. Some foreclosure victims, once they have decided they can not stop foreclosure and have no chance to save their homes, will simply find another place to live, pack up, and leave. They may also do this because of the sheer intimidation factor of having their lender call them dozens of times every day, asking for money that they know the homeowners do not have.

Another reason that banks will continuously drive past houses that are in some stage of foreclosure is to make sure the house is not being vandalised or damaged, either by criminals or the homoenwers themselves. Banks often have trouble selling properties that have been through foreclosure, and a damaged foreclosure property is an even tougher sell. But lenders also know that homeowners often feel threatened by the feeling that they have no options to stop foreclosure on their homes, especially when banks do little to provide their clients with any meaningful foreclosure help. Some former homeowners will take out their frustration against the bank on the house itself, by destroying or removing as much as possible.

Consider the case of a man in Oregon who destroyed almost everything on his property when he lost his home to foreclosure. Amazingly, he even released pigs inside his former house to continue the process of destruction even after he had left. The bank may have sold the property at sheriff sale, but on thing is certain: they will make no more profit on the house than the former foreclosure victim who was unable to stop foreclosure and created only more problems for everyone involved. This is one homeowner who could have used a little more foreclosure advice, as he was obviously upset that he could find a reasonable solution to stop foreclosure.

Homeowners should not be surprised when they see strange people driving past their homes to make sure that the property is in good condition. Banks do this to make sure that the property has not been abandoned or damaged. However, every foreclosure victim should also be searching out various ways they can save their homes and prevent it from going through the foreclosure process. The more foreclosure information that homeowners have, the better able they will be to face the challenge of foreclosure and find a solution to stop foreclosure on their homes.

Homeowners in foreclosure receive a lot of information in the mail from numerous companies, investors, lenders, and attorneys. There are a variety of different offers that foreclosure victims receive, including offers from investors to purchase the home, offers from the bank to put together a workout program, and offers from foreclosure help companies to assist in loss mitigation. One of the most common, but least mentioned, offers is the cash for keys offer that many homeowners receive.

A cash for keys offer is usually sent to the foreclosure victim by a representative of the lender. The offer consists of asking the homeowners to give up possession of their home voluntarily in exchange for a small sum of money, usually around $500-$1,000. The bank agrees to give the homeowners this small amount to help with moving expenses and put an amicable end to the foreclosure. The bank will certainly keep moving ahead with the foreclosure process until they have regained the home, but they will know that their clients gave the home back.

Another reason banks offer a cash for keys deal is so that they are reasonably assured the homeowners will not abandon or destroy the property without the bank's awareness. Many homeowners simply give up their properties once they are faced with mounting bills and a mortgage company that calls them relentlessly. They find they have no solution to stop foreclosure, so they simply move out. Lenders do not like this, as abandoned homes are often the targets of squatters, looting, or vandalism. If the bank can get the keys from the homeowners voluntarily, then they will be able to keep a closer watch on the property to make sure that it does not become a target of lawlessness.

Is a cash for keys offer right for the homeowners, though? In most cases, no. Unless it is the very last minute before a pending eviction, homeowners can usually try to stop foreclosure through any number of other options, rather than relying on a very small payoff to cover their moving expenses. Foreclosure victims should attempt as many of the options in our foreclosure advice section as they possibly can, given the amount of time they have before they lose their home. Even selling the home can often help the homeowners walk away wth more than a few hundred dollars. So a cash for keys deal should really only be considered as a last resort.

A cash for keys deal can help homeowners give their property back to the bank and stop foreclosure in an agreeable manner; this option is comparable with offering the bank a deed in lieu of foreclosure. Nothing is really saved and the homeowners have to begin repairing their financial situation, but they have one last chance to get a little bit of cash out of their homes. It is, of course, not the best solution to foreclosure, but it is better than being evicted with no money and no place to go.

Foreclosure victims who lose their homes to foreclosure are often interested in purchasing a new home as quickly as possible. While the foreclosure will stay on the former homeowners' credit for 7-10 years, this does not mean that they will not be able to qualify for a new home loan in a shorter period than that. However, it takes work to be able to qualify for a new home after foreclosure.

The quickest way to get a mortgage after facing foreclosure is to save up 35% as a down payment. This is because some foreclosure lenders will loan up to 65% LTV of the value of the home right after foreclosure or when they are still in foreclosure. Of course, other qualifications may apply, and rates will not be great if there was a previous foreclosure involved, but having a substantial amount of equity in the property will give the homeowners a new cushion to prevent from becoming a victim to foreclosure again.

But, if the homeowners don't plan on saving up tens of thousands of dollars, then they will have a bit more work to do, in terms of repairing their situation to the point where the foreclosure is just one small mark on an otherwise pristine credit history.

The best place to start is by working on repairing the credit situation as soon as humanly possible. Get negative information removed, negotiate with creditors, dispute debts, and other techniques can be used to raise up the consumers' credit score by over 200 points. And getting a credit card with a small balance, using it, and almost paying it off every month is another great idea. That way, they can carry a small balance and generate some positive credit history every month.

Also, there may be a need to talk with a financial advisor and find out how to work out a budget and put together a savings plan. That way, they can build an emergency fund so that any other financial hardship will not have such a devastating affect. And showing a bank that there is extra money in a savings account will help the lender decide whether the applicants deserve a loan or not, and will show them the good spending habits of the consumers since the foreclosure.

The foreclosure victims also should not expect to get a 100% LTV loan for their next house. This is why it is so important to save up at least some down payment plus closing costs, and then be able to qualify for a better loan. It takes some work, but homeowners can get to a pretty full recovery within a year after foreclosure, and experience all the joys and responsibilities of owning their own home.

Can the bank go after a homeowners other assets if they are unable to stop foreclosure and end up with the house getting foreclosed on? Like a car or paycheck?

No. Since the homeowners put up the house as collateral for the mortgage loan, the bank does not have recourse to anything except the property. All of the foreclosure victim's personal belongings will remain in their ownership, whether it is in the property or not. Fixtures that have been installed in the property (such as a new furnace, water heater, etc.), that can not be removed without damage to the property, will have to stay. But the former homeowners can take all of their furniture and clothes and personal belongings.

If the bank wants to come after them after the foreclosure for any other assets besides the house, they will have to sue in court for a deficiency judgment. This is only the case if the house sells at the sheriff sale for less than the amount that the homeowners owed on the loan when the property went to auction. If the house sells for what they owed or more, there is no possibility of a deficiency judgment, since the bank will be paid off completely.

Just remember, the homeowners obtained the mortgage loan by promising them the house as collateral. They have no rights to go after any other personal belongings, unless the home sells for less than what you owed them.

And it's very, very uncommon for banks to pursue deficiency judgments against their clients. They know that the homeowners went into foreclosure because they could not afford to pay them anymore -- not because they suddenly had too much cash and didn't feel like making the payments.

Foreclosure is definitely not good for a foreclosure victim's credit, especially combined with all of the late mortgage payments. If there is some way to pay off the loan, either by selling or doing a short sale, then the credit situation will be slightly better. The goal should be to get a Paid In Full rather than a Foreclosure showing on the credit report, if at all possible. They can ask the bank for more time to sell, get them to postpone the sheriff sale, etc. Anything that gives the homeowners a better chance of preventing foreclosure is far better idea than just losing the home to the lender. This is why it is so important for homeowners to get the mortgage help they need before it gets too late.