You got a judgment of foreclosure, a decree or an order of sale: what it means

What this document is

What it does and does not mean

• It does not mean the home is sold, and you do not have to move out yet. A sale comes later, with its own notice.
• It does mean the court has decided the lender may sell. Defenses to the lawsuit are now much harder to raise.
• If your servicer received a complete loss mitigation application more than 37 days before the sale, it may not move for judgment or an order of sale, or hold the sale, while it reviews you, while any appeal runs and while you decide on an offer.
• Filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy before the sale stops it, and a home mortgage default can be cured in Chapter 13 only until the sale is held. See Chapter 13.

The clocks it starts, by state

• Time to appeal: Connecticut gives 20 days, and steps to enforce the judgment are on hold until then. Maine gives 21 days, and a judgment you agreed to cannot be appealed. In Hawaii the judgment on a decree of foreclosure can be appealed within the time set by court rules.
• Time to ask for a delay: in Nebraska you have 20 days after the decree to file a written request to stay the sale for 3, 6 or 9 months, but filing it gives up your right to appeal. In Iowa any demand for delay of sale must be filed before judgment.
• Last chance before judgment: in New Jersey the lender mails a 14-day notice before final judgment in an uncontested case. Your right to cure ends when judgment is entered, but a good-faith statement within 10 days that you can likely cure within 45 days makes the lender wait at least 46 days.
• Redemption: Maine gives 90 days from the judgment to pay the full judgment if no appeal is taken, and you can stay during that time. Vermont decrees usually set a redemption period of six months for a home you live in. In Illinois the judgment must state the last date to redeem. In Kansas the judgment sets your redemption period after the sale (12 months, 3 months or none).
• Time to the sale: Florida sets the sale 20 to 35 days after the judgment. New York requires the sale within 90 days, and the judgment must list your servicer's name and phone number. In New Jersey the sheriff must sell within 150 days of receiving the writ of execution. New Mexico cannot sell for at least 30 days, and Indiana sells within 120 days after the sheriff gets the judgment.
• Louisiana: most cases use an order for seizure and sale instead of a regular judgment. You have 15 days after the notice of seizure is served to take a suspensive appeal, which needs security of the balance plus one half, so many homeowners ask for an injunction instead.

Hearing notices that may come with it

• Order to show cause: in Florida a lender can ask for this faster route. The hearing cannot be sooner than 20 days after the order is served or 45 days after the complaint was served, whichever is later. If you do not appear or file defenses, the judge can treat that as giving up your right to be heard.
• Notice of hearing before the clerk: in North Carolina the foreclosure starts with a hearing before the clerk. If you live in the home and more time could solve the problem, the clerk must continue the hearing for up to 60 days. You have 10 days to appeal the clerk's order, and the sale stops only if you post a bond, usually 1 percent of the principal for an owner-occupant.
• Rule 120 notice of hearing: in Colorado it is posted on your home at least 14 days before the hearing. To be heard, file form JDF 621 and mail a copy to the lender's lawyer at least 7 days before the hearing.
• Notice of the final hearing: in South Carolina only parties who appeared in the case get the usual notice of hearings. In Connecticut the lender must serve its appraisal with the motion for judgment and file its statement of the debt at least 5 days before the hearing.

What to do this week

• Read the whole judgment. Circle the amount owed, any deficiency, the redemption date and the sale date.
• Call legal aid or a foreclosure lawyer today about an appeal, a stay or a motion to vacate. If the judgment was entered by default, Illinois courts say a motion to vacate is more likely to be granted if filed within 30 days. See lawyers by city.
• Ask your servicer in writing for a reinstatement or payoff figure good through the sale date, and ask it to postpone the sale while you are reviewed.
• If you cannot keep the home, ask about a short sale or deed in lieu.
• If you are in the military, or left service within the past year, and took out the mortgage before your service, tell the court and a lawyer. The court may, and in some cases must, stay the case.
• Watch for the notice of sheriff's sale and use the deadline calculator.

Scams tied to a judgment

• Anyone who asks for a fee before you have signed an agreement with your servicer. A company that is not your lawyer cannot charge for mortgage relief until then.
• Anyone who tells you to stop talking to your servicer, your housing counselor or your lawyer.
• Anyone who wants payment by wire, cashier's check or a payment app, or who asks you to sign over your deed.
• Anyone who says they are with the government or your lender without proof. Call the number on your own statement or letter to check.
• Anyone who offers to buy your home or your redemption right for a small payment and promises you can stay.