My foreclosure auction is scheduled. Can I still sell the house?
Yes. In Florida you own the house, and can sell it, right up until the Clerk of Court's online auction is held and the certificate of sale is issued. A sale that closes before that date pays the lender in full, cancels the auction, and leaves any equity with you instead of with the bank or the investor who buys it on the courthouse steps for less than it is worth.
An auction date is a deadline, not a verdict. What matters is whether a buyer can close before it.
How Florida foreclosure gets to an auction
Florida is a judicial foreclosure state, so everything runs through Brevard circuit court in Viera:
- Default and demand. You miss payments, the lender sends a notice of default and, for most loans, a 30 day breach letter.
- Lis pendens and complaint. The lender files suit and records a lis pendens against the house. From here a title search shows the case, and most agents and lenders back away.
- Service and 20 days to answer. If you do not answer, the lender moves for default. If you do, the case takes longer.
- Summary judgment. The judge rules for the lender and sets a sale date, usually 20 to 35 days out under Fla. Stat. 45.031, though the lender often asks for more.
- Auction. Brevard sales run online at brevard.realforeclose.com, usually at 10 a.m. Eastern. The lender bids its judgment amount; third parties bid above it.
- Certificate of sale, then certificate of title. After the sale the Clerk issues a certificate of sale. You have 10 days to object. Then the certificate of title is recorded and you no longer own the house.
An uncontested Brevard foreclosure runs 6 to 10 months from filing to sale. A contested one can run years. Either way, the auction date is the number to watch.
Your rights up to the sale
Right to sell. Nothing in the judgment stops you from selling. The buyer pays the lender's payoff at closing and the lender dismisses the case.
Right of redemption (Fla. Stat. 45.0315). You can pay the full judgment amount plus interest and costs at any time before the certificate of sale is filed, and the foreclosure ends. Rare in practice because the number is large, but a sale is a form of redemption.
Right to the surplus. If the auction brings more than the judgment, the surplus goes to junior lienholders and then to you. You must claim it from the Clerk within 60 days. Do not count on it; auction prices in Brevard typically run well below market.
Right to a deficiency judgment against you. The other direction. If the auction brings less than the debt, the lender can sue you for the gap for up to one year (Fla. Stat. 95.11(5)(h)). A pre-auction sale that pays the loan in full eliminates that risk.
Why a listing usually cannot make the date
A normal sale takes 30 to 45 days to go under contract and another 30 to 45 to close with a financed buyer, plus inspections, appraisal and a lender who will not fund on a house with an active lis pendens without extra paperwork. If your sale date is 6 weeks out, you need a buyer who pays cash, does not need an inspection contingency, and has done this before.
Asking for a continuance
A judge can postpone the sale, usually once, for a good reason: a signed contract with a closing date is the best one. The motion is filed by you or your attorney, with the contract attached, and the lender often does not object because a full payoff is better for them than owning another house. This is how we have bought houses with sale dates less than two weeks out. It is not guaranteed, so the earlier you call, the better.
A real one: Ida Way, Melbourne
The owners of a house on Ida Way in Melbourne had given up on it. The mortgage foreclosure had already been filed, the HOA was behind too, and the owner had filed bankruptcy to slow the case down. Then she passed away. The family moved to Las Vegas and left the house to sit until the bank auctioned it.
Her only heir was a daughter who had no idea where to start. The house was in her mother's name, there was a bankruptcy case, a foreclosure case, an HOA claim and no probate. Her phone rang constantly with people who wanted to buy it, and every one of them backed away as soon as they understood how many problems sat between them and a clean deed. She was left alone with all of it.
That is where we came in. We saw the bankruptcy filing and the sale date in the court record and reached out. We took on the title work, paid for the probate up front, paid the attorneys and every other cost out of our own pocket, stopped the auction the day before it was scheduled, and closed. The daughter was paid for a house she had been told to walk away from.
Nobody else could solve it because nobody else was willing to pay for the probate and the lawyers before they owned the house. We do that on every deal like this, because it is the only way these houses ever get sold.
What you need to have ready
- The case number (on any court paper, or search your name at vmatrix1.brevardclerk.us)
- The sale date
- The lender's attorney's name (on the summons or judgment)
- A rough idea of the loan balance
- Any other liens you know of (second mortgage, HOA, code enforcement, taxes)
With that we can get a payoff and tell you the same day whether there is equity to save and whether we can close in time.
Frequently asked questions
Can a house be sold after a foreclosure judgment in Florida? Yes. The judgment sets a sale date but you remain the owner until the Clerk issues the certificate of title after the auction. A sale that closes before then pays off the judgment and ends the case.
How long after the auction do I have to move out? Once the certificate of title is recorded (about 10 days after the sale), the new owner can get a writ of possession, and the sheriff can remove occupants with 24 hours notice. In practice it is a few weeks from auction to lockout.
Can I stop a foreclosure sale in Florida by filing bankruptcy? A Chapter 13 filing imposes an automatic stay that halts the sale, but it requires a repayment plan and does not solve the problem if you cannot afford the house. Talk to a bankruptcy attorney; it is sometimes the right tool and sometimes just delays a worse outcome.
What happens to my HOA dues and second mortgage at the auction? Junior liens are generally wiped off the title by the first mortgage foreclosure, but the debt itself can survive against you personally. A sale before the auction pays or settles them.
Will the lender accept less than I owe if I sell? Sometimes, through a short sale, if the house is worth less than the loan. That takes lender approval and 60 to 120 days, which is usually more time than a sale date allows. If there is equity, a short sale is not needed.
How MGO handles foreclosure auctions
We buy houses in Brevard County and Palm Beach County with active foreclosure cases and scheduled sale dates. We pay cash, close in as little as 10 days, work directly with the lender's attorney on the payoff and dismissal, and will ask the court for a continuance with our contract if the date is too close. No commissions, no repairs, no waiting on an appraisal.
Call or text (561) 295-9202 today if you have a sale date, or send the address through the form.