Georgia Foreclosure Law
Georgia State Foreclosure Law dictates that lenders may avail of the Judicial and Non-Judicial processes to foreclose deeds of trust or mortgages in default. The typical time of process last about 120 days and the deeds of trust and mortgages are the security instruments used. Deficiency Judgments and the Right of Redemption are both allowed in the State of Georgia.
Judicial Foreclosure is used when no power of sale exists in the security instruments. Petitioners must file a lawsuit in order to obtain a court order to foreclose. It has been a general practice that when the court declares a foreclosure, the property will be auctioned off and will subsequently be awarded to the highest bidder. When this type of process is used, the lenders may petition for a deficiency judgment, and under certain circumstances, the borrower will have a maximum of one year to redeem the property. On the other hand, Non-Judicial Foreclosure is used when a power of sale clause is expressed in the security instruments. “Power of Sale” is the process wherein the borrower agrees to sell the property in dispute to settle the remaining balance from a loan in case of default. Its most obvious difference from the judicial foreclosure is that it doesn’t need any court order to auction off the property as it is already stated in the security instruments. The lender or their duly designated representative, commonly referred to as the “trustee,” may execute the “power of sale”.
Power of Sale Foreclosure Guideline
Should the security instruments contain a power of sale clause, the terms specified therein should be strictly followed. Otherwise, the non-judicial foreclosure should be carried out according to the process specified as follows:
- A notice of foreclosure must be sent, by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 15 days before the foreclosure sale to the borrower, including all parties whose claim on the property appears on record or is known to the lender and any other person occupying the property at that time. The time period begins at the day the letter was postmarked. The notice must be mailed to the address given to the lender by written notice from the borrower. No waiver or release of the rights to notice is valid if it was signed at the same time as the original documents.
The notice of foreclosure must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the property is located. It will be published once a week for 4 consecutive weeks before the date of the foreclosure sale.
- The foreclosure sale must be made through a public auction where the property is awarded to the person making the highest bid. The public auction must be held on the first Tuesday of the month, between 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the front of the county court house.
In Connecticut, the lender may avail of the opportunity to sue for a deficiency judgment should the property sold fall substantially lesser than the amount owed by the borrower.
Georgia Foreclosure Help
Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
Five Points Plaza Building
40 Marietta Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 331-5001
Fax: (404) 730-2392
TDD: (404) 730-2654
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