Statute of Limitations in Foreclosure

Sarasota Foreclosure Defense Attorney

A statute of limitations is a set deadline for lawsuits to be filed against a party or individual that applies to all forms of legal rulings. In terms of real estate foreclosures, a creditor only has a specific amount of time to file a foreclosure lawsuit against you and your debt, or else they can no longer pursue you for money owed. Even if you admit responsibility for the debt, if the lawsuit is not filed within the statute of limitations, all money owed is dismissed forever.

The likelihood of a mortgage lender failing to file against you within the statute of limitations seems slight, but it does happen. Certain lenders may simply have too much on their plate or other difficult clients that are occupying their time. If you think the statute of limitations for your owed mortgage debt has expired and aren’t sure how to prove it or defend yourself, contact an experienced real estate foreclosure defense attorney.

How Long Is a Mortgage Holder’s Statute of Limitations in Florida?

A mortgage lender has five (5) years to file a foreclosure lawsuit against you, should you fail to make your mortgage payments on time. The five years of allotted time begins whenever you miss a mortgage payment, however, so the window of opportunity for a lender to file against you can actually be much larger than it seems. For example, if you missed a payment in January 2012 and another in November 2012, a five year statute of limitation could end at either January or November 2017, depending on how the mortgage holder wants to process the case. Additionally, certain processes may temporarily suspend the clock on a statute of limitation, such as any time during which you are filing for bankruptcy, effectively extending the allotted time.

There is a specific ruling in Florida State regarding deficiency judgements that may arise after a foreclosure lawsuit is processed and closed. Deficiency judgements require the individual to pay off any remaining differences in the mortgage debt after the home or property has been sold for foreclosure by the court. In most states, mortgage lenders also have five years to file for deficiency judgements, but in Florida, they only have one (1) year to do so, as long as the foreclosure sale occurred after July 1^st, 2013.

This All Seems Complicated – Who Can Help Me With My Foreclosure?

To call foreclosing on a home or property a simple process would be untrue. There are so many regulations and laws in play and any number of parties involved, it can be impossible for you to make sense of it. If you are going through a foreclosure, or if you believe a statute of limitations has expired for your mortgage lenders yet they are still pursuing payment, an experienced Sarasota foreclosure defense attorney at The Edwards Law Firm, PL can help you today.