Pre foreclosure is a window, and it is still open.
The lawsuit has been filed but nothing has been sold. This is the stretch where you have the most control and the fewest people telling you about it.
Find out my numberLis pendens is public, which is why the mail started
When a lender files a foreclosure complaint in Kentucky, a lis pendens notice gets recorded with the county clerk. It is Latin for a suit pending, and its job is to warn anyone dealing with the property that litigation is underway.
It is also public record, which is why the letters and postcards began arriving from people you have never heard of. Some of those are legitimate buyers. Some are lead brokers who will sell your information onward. We are the buyer, and your information does not leave us.
What happens between filing and the sale
After the complaint is filed you are served and have a window to answer. If you do not respond, the lender moves for default judgment. If you do respond, the case takes longer. Either way there is a judgment before there is a sale, and after the judgment the Master Commissioner schedules the auction.
That whole sequence typically runs several months in Kentucky, and it varies a lot by county docket. It is not fast, and that is the good news. It is enough time for a normal closing if you start now instead of at the end.
Reinstating versus selling
Reinstating means paying everything owed to date and putting the loan back in good standing. If you have the money and the income to keep going, that is often the better answer and you should ask your servicer for a reinstatement quote.
Selling makes more sense when the income that stopped is not coming back, or when the house needs work you cannot fund. Nobody should sell a house they can keep. It is worth knowing both numbers before you decide.
Five questions. That is the whole thing.
We already know your situation from this page. Change it if it does not fit.
Question 1 of 5
What people ask about this
Does a lis pendens stop me from selling?
No. It gives notice that a case is pending, which affects a buyer's title, but the property can still be conveyed. The judgment and the lien get paid off at closing and the case gets dismissed.
How do I find out my sale date?
Your attorney or the circuit court clerk in the county where the property sits can tell you. Once a judgment is entered the Master Commissioner sets the date, and it is public.
I am getting a lot of mail from investors. Are any of them real?
Some are. The way to tell is to ask who is actually buying. If the answer involves assigning the contract to somebody else, your information is being resold. Ask directly and see how the answer lands.
Often it is more than one thing at once
Find out my number.
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