What Is the Foreclosure Process in Oklahoma?
Foreclosure is what happens when a homeowner stops paying the mortgage. It is a legal process when a mortgage lender or bank seizes the property and puts it up for sale after the original owner fails to make the contracted mortgage loan payment. Each state has different foreclosure laws and procedures, and here is an overview of the process in the state of Oklahoma.
The Foreclosure Process in Oklahoma
In Oklahoma foreclosure cases, the lending bank will file a lawsuit in court, beginning judicial foreclosure. In order to avoid litigation, the bank or mortgage lender may attempt to initiate nonjudicial foreclosure, though this rarely happens. If the bank or mortgage lender decides to initiate nonjudicial foreclosure, a homeowner has the right to force it to go through the courts instead.
Based on Oklahoma law, the following notices are required in a foreclosure:
Notices in a Judicial Foreclosure
In a judicial foreclosure, the action starts with filing a lawsuit in court. A homeowner will receive a summons and a complaint notifying him about the suit. If the homeowner does not respond and does not have any valid defenses, then the judgment will be granted in favor of the bank or mortgage lender. Then the judge will issue a judgment of foreclosure, and the house will be sold in order to satisfy the mortgage debt. The bank or mortgage lender must send a notice of sale to the homeowner at least 10 days before the day of the sale and also publish the notice of sale for 2 weeks in a newspaper.
Notices in a Nonjudicial Foreclosure
If initiating nonjudicial foreclosure, the bank or mortgage lender must send two notices to the homeowner — a notice of intention to foreclose on the property and a notice of sale. A notice of intention is the type of notice that the homeowner receives from the bank or mortgage lender before the nonjudicial foreclosure starts. According to Oklahoma law, the borrower has 35 days from the day the notice was sent to cure the default. However, this notice does not have to be sent if the homeowner failed to pay the mortgage more than four times in 24 months and if the notices have been previously sent.
If the default is not cured by the homeowner, then he will receive a notice of sale, at least 30 days before the sale date. The bank or mortgage lender also must publish the notice of sale at least once a week for four consecutive weeks.
Notice to Leave
After a judicial foreclosure, the homeowners must leave the home. If they do not do that, the court may order the clerk of the court to issue a writ of assistance (a written order) to a law enforcement official, such as a sheriff, to give the buyer possession of the home. If dealing with a nonjudicial foreclosure, the buyer may seek a writ of assistance by application to a court.
It is important to note that when facing either kind of foreclosure, a homeowner in Oklahoma has the right to catch up on mortgage payments (thus stopping foreclosure) up until the sale is confirmed or up to the completion of the sale.
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