Just to clarify a couple of points, whether its a Lis Pendens you are looking out for or a Notice of Default depends on whether or not you reside in a Mortgage state or a Trust Deed State. Mortgage state Attorney's will file a lis pendens as they are required to do a Judicial Foreclosure, whereas in a Trust Deed state they can simply file a public notice (NOD or Notice of Default) and proceed with the sale.
Trust deed foreclosures vary from state to state but generally take around 3-5 months to complete (unless you're in Texas). Judicial foreclosures however can take a very long time start to finish. Sometimes as long as a year, but with the increase in foreclosures they are starting to get a little bit quicker through the process, often though its still longer than a Non Judicial or Trust Deed foreclosure.
I dont want to put too fine a point on it and come across as nit picking others information, however i felt it prudent that you have the right info so you can be on the lookout for the beginning of the process.
Generally speaking what happens is you miss 3 payments or 90 days late, and you will get a Fair Debt Collections Practices Act notice. This is where the Attorney hired to foreclose will give you a notice of your rights under the above mentioned act. He legally has to give you 30 days from that notice. Sometimes they don't, sometimes they go over 30 days, but its safe to say that somewhere around 30 days from that letter they will begin foreclosing. In Utah its almost always 3 missed payments>Fair Debt letter with 30 days> now having missed 4 payments the NOD is filed and they begin the process> They have to wait 3 calendar months (in Utah) and then run an ad in the paper for 3 consecutive weeks (for a total of 90 plus 21 or 111 days total start to finish) advertising the legal information on the auction to be held as well as posting the information in a conspicuous place on the property (usually the front door)
The advice to contact the bank early and let them know is very wise. Unfortunately it doesnt always help, but its absolutely where to start. If you get frustrated and dont know what to do, dont hesitate to call the guys at 877youkeep.com they are outstanding.
Corey Vandenberg
Utah Foreclosure Advocates
801-645-6466
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