- Who sends it
- Your lender or servicer, by certified mail on the IHCDA form
- What it starts
- At least 30 days before a foreclosure lawsuit can be filed, and 60 days before any judgment
- Do this first
- Call the Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network at 1-877-GET-HOPE (1-877-438-4673)
What this notice is in Indiana
Ind. Code 32-30-10.5-8(a) says that at least 30 days before a creditor files a foreclosure action, it must send the debtor a pre-suit notice by certified mail on a form prescribed by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA). The notice must tell you that you are in default, encourage you to get help from a mortgage foreclosure counselor, give contact information for the Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network, and print a boxed warning headed "NOTICE REQUIRED BY STATE LAW" about people who offer to save your home.
It must also tell you that, if the lender later gets a foreclosure judgment, you have the right before a sheriff's sale to appeal a finding that the home is abandoned, to redeem the home by paying the judgment, and in some cases to stay in the home until the sale.
IHCDA's current form (Rev. 2015) says: "You are in default on your mortgage. If you remain in default for thirty (30) more days," the lender may start foreclosure. It also says letters that threaten foreclosure do not mean a lawsuit has been filed, and that lawsuits, judgments and sheriff sales are not evictions.
How to count the 30 days
- The 30 days run from the date the lender sends the notice by certified mail to the date it files the lawsuit.
- It goes to the home's address, or to your last known mailing address if the lender's records show a different one.
- You do not have to sign for it. If the lender can prove it sent the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, the case can go ahead even if you never picked it up. So pick up certified mail.
- A court cannot enter a foreclosure judgment until at least 60 days after this notice was sent (Ind. Code 32-30-10.5-9(a)(3)).
- Federal rules also apply. Your servicer generally cannot file until you are more than 120 days behind, and the 30 days can run during that time.
Who gets it and who does not
Under Ind. Code 32-30-10.5-8(e), the lender does not have to send this notice if the home is not your primary residence, if you already defaulted on an earlier foreclosure prevention agreement on this mortgage, or if bankruptcy law bars the lender from a settlement conference. The IHCDA form says that even if the home is not your primary residence, you can still ask your servicer to review you for foreclosure prevention options.
What to do this week
- Call the Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network (IFPN) at 1-877-GET-HOPE (1-877-438-4673) or visit 877gethope.org. The IHCDA form says this is a free state program, but it is not a legal service.
- Ask your servicer for its loss mitigation application, using the servicer phone number on the notice, and send it back complete.
- Do not move out. The form warns that moving out before you have to could affect your ability to save your home.
- Read how an Indiana foreclosure works and how to stop a foreclosure in Indiana.
Scams that follow this notice
Indiana's mortgage rescue fraud law, now in Ind. Code article 37-4, says a foreclosure consultant generally cannot be paid until all promised services are done, cannot take a lien, power of attorney or interest in your home, and must let you cancel until midnight of the 7th business day after signing. Report problems to the Indiana Attorney General's Homeowner Protection Unit. See is this letter a scam and Indiana foreclosure help.
The rest of the Indiana process
See how foreclosure works in Indiana, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Indiana, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
How soon after an Indiana Pre-Suit Notice can my lender sue?
No sooner than 30 days after it sends the notice by certified mail, under Ind. Code 32-30-10.5-8(a). A judgment cannot be entered until at least 60 days after the notice was sent.
Does an Indiana Pre-Suit Notice mean I am being sued?
No. The IHCDA form itself says letters that threaten foreclosure do not mean a lawsuit has been filed. A lawsuit starts with a summons and complaint.
What if I never got an Indiana Pre-Suit Notice?
For a primary residence, the lender must attach a copy of the notice to its complaint. If you think it was never sent, or was sent less than 30 days before filing, raise it with Indiana Legal Services at 1-844-243-8570 or an attorney.
Other Indiana letters
- Summons and foreclosure complaintThe summons and complaint start the foreclosure lawsuit in your county's circuit or superior court. The summons sets two separate deadlines: a written response within 20 days (23 if you got it by certified mail) and a request for a settlement conference within 30 days after service. Do both if you can.
- Notice of settlement conferenceAfter you ask for a settlement conference, the court issues a notice ordering you and the lender to meet 40 to 60 days later to try to reach a foreclosure prevention agreement. You must send your loss mitigation package to the lender's attorney and the court 30 days before the conference. Missing it can let the lender get judgment.
- Judgment and decree of foreclosureThe judgment and decree of foreclosure is the court's ruling that the lender can have your home sold by the sheriff. It usually includes a personal judgment against you for the debt. The sale process cannot start until 3 months after the complaint was filed, and you can stop the sale by paying the judgment, interest and costs before it.
- Notice of sheriff's saleThe county sheriff serves you with this notice when the first newspaper ad for the sale runs, at least 30 days before the sale. It gives the date, time, place and street address. You can stop the sale by paying the full judgment, interest and costs before it, but there is no right to buy the home back after.
- Writ of assistanceIn Indiana, the buyer at a sheriff's sale gets a deed right after the sale. If you have not moved, the buyer can apply to the court clerk for a writ of assistance, a court order directing the sheriff to deliver possession. State law does not set a fixed number of days, so act the day you receive it.