Complaint
The day the complete referral package is received, a title search is requested in order to ascertain the potential defendants in the case. Any person, natural or corporate, with a lien or encumbrance on the property is a defendant. A dedicated attorney contacts interested persons to work out a settlement agreement on the debt or alternatively, to determine if the persons still have an interest on the property. If settlement does not occur and/or the interested persons are not identifiable within two days from when we receive title, we file a complaint in the county in which the property is located to obtain clear title to the property.

Service of Process
Simultaneously with filing the lawsuit, we arrange for all defendants to be served through the Sheriff or independent process server. In addition, a Notice of Lis Pendens is filed and recorded with the Court to place all defendants on notice that action has been taken to clear title to the above-referenced property. If, at the time suit is filed, addresses of defendants are unknown or there may be unknown defendants occupying the property, a Notice of Action is submitted to the Court in order to have the lawsuit published.

Judgement
The defendants have twenty (20) from the date of service, excluding holidays, Saturdays, or Sundays, to respond to our lawsuit. If the defendants fail to respond with this allotted period of time, we will seek a Default Judgment against the defendants. If the defendants file a response within the twenty (20) day timeframe, we will seek a Summary Judgment against the defendants along with an Assessment of Attorneys’ Fees and Costs. A hearing is set between twenty-five (25) to thirty (30) days from the date of service of the Motion on the defendant. At the hearing, the Judge will grant, deny, or order that certain revisions be made to the Judgment.

If granted, the Court will automatically record the Judgment and set a date for the foreclosure sale. The Notice of Sale provided by our firm will be automatically sent to the newspaper for publication of the sale date.

If denied, the Court will either set the case for a non-jury trial or dismiss the action. Alternatively, the Court may schedule the case for mediation to allow the parties to attempt settlement on the action. If the Judge orders revisions to the Judgment, we will prepare an Amended Judgment the day we receive such notice.

Foreclosure Sale
Between twenty (20) to thirty-five (35) days from the date the Judgment is granted, a foreclosure sale is held where the Plaintiff (one who filed suit) and any third party can bid for the property. We arrange for one of our in-house attorneys to appear at the sale.

If a third party is the successful bidder, that party pays the Plaintiff and gets title to the property. At this point, the file is transferred back to the client.

Certificate of Title
The borrower may redeem the property by paying the amount of the purchase price prior to the time the sale is confirmed. A foreclosure sale is confirmed/complete on the eleventh day after the sale, when the Clerk issues title to the successful bidder.

Possession
Once we receive the Certificate of Title, we arrange to take possession of the property. To initiate the eviction process, we file a Writ of Possession with the Court along with the applicable fee to the Sheriff for eviction. We will supply a representative for the Plaintiff to secure the property once the persons are evicted. Within twenty-four hours, the Sheriff will notify us that the eviction is complete.