The first step in the legal foreclosure process is typically homeowners receiving the bank's complaint. This means they have a certain number of days from the date that they were served with the paperwork to serve their answer to the foreclosure complaint on the bank's attorneys and to file the answer with the court clerk's office.
But, it would not be a legal process if words like "complaint" and "answer" did not have confusing, uncommon meanings. Filing an answer does not just mean sending the attorney a letter explaining why the mortgage is behind -- it is a legal term expressing a certain way of addressing the lender's arguments in its complaint, stating legal defenses and references, and mentioning other positions in contrast to the bank's statements.
An "answer" is a legal term and indicates the homeowners opportunity to fight back against the bank's lawsuit against them. Borrowers can contest the lender's ability to sue for foreclosure in the first place, or attack any of the claims made by the lender in the original lawsuit documents, or point out that the bank has violated court rules or government predatory lending laws and regulations and the complaint is not valid.
Every answer should be unique, depending on the circumstances of the case, where homeowners go in answering the complaint is up to them, but it is usually a good idea to research the correct manner in formatting and filing an answer or consult with an attorney. The rules of procedure that govern such court proceedings are needlessly complex, with state rules, county rules, and individual court rules that must be adhered to, or else the judge can throw out or ignore any motions on technicalities.
The original foreclosure lawsuit paperwork may also have a court date on it somewhere; if not, the homeowners should the courts as soon as possible to find out when it may be held. But in many cases, courts usually do not immediately schedule court dates on an initial complaint. What usually happens is the homeowners file their answer within the required amount of time and then a court date is scheduled once the bank and borrowers have filed any other motions.
In the beginning, though, homeowners should be aware when they are served with the paperwork that they have just been thrown into a complex system of rules, regulations, and judicial discretions. It is almost impossible for any lender, no matter how high-priced or expert the law firm it hires, to follow every necessary clause in every law, any one violation of which may invalidate the entire foreclosure process or even the mortgage itself, depending on what mistakes were made at what time.
There are probably dozens (if not hundreds) of ways in which banks could be construed as to have broken laws, agency regulations, or even the courts rules. Whether any judge will listen to these arguments or simply ignore them in order to railroad homeowners depends on the specifics of the court proceedings, but every borrower should learn at least the basics of the legal process and do whatever they can to stop foreclosure or delay the auction as long as possible before final judgment is awarded to the mortgage company.