Foreclosing a Vacant Home

[rockraider3]

This is in regards to a California property.

Does it make any difference if the foreclosing property is vacant, i.e. can the lender accelerate the foreclosure if it is unoccupied?

Currently I have a "rental" home that is in foreclosure. I use rental lightly, as the tenants don't actually pay rent. That is a long story in and of itself, which I won't get into. But my hope was that if I could modify the loan, then I could keep the property, at which time I would work out a paying relationship with the renters. They'd love to stay in the home and are willing to pay rent...

But I just received a call inquiring about their rental history, which tells me they are trying secure a new rental home. And I don't blame them, because there is a lot of uncertainty living in a home that could foreclose (then again it is/was free to them).

My concern at this time is if this will affect the foreclosure by having the home vacant? I know the lender sends "drive-by's" past the house to see if it's occupied. One even tried to enter the back yard until my renter confronted them recently. And every time I talk to the lender on the phone, they ask if it's occupied. So wondering if this changes the situation or not.

[faith]

Welcome to this forum,
The lender wants to know if the house is vacant or not to protect the proerty from vandalism by anyone or frustrated homeowners. They also need to know if the house is vacant because home insurance does not cover a house that is vacant. So if the lender find out if the house is vacant, they will notify the insurance and the insurance will cancel your insurance. The lender then may purchase a vacant insurance to protect the property or they will require you to have a vacant insurance.


When my lender found out that my house was vacant, they have reported it to the home insurance and my insurance was cancelled. I was told to purcahse a vacant insurance from the lender which is about $8,000 a year or buy on my own which I did which is $1400 a year. I bought the vacant insurance for 4 months and cancelled it when the house was sold.

When the lender find out the house is vacant they will secure the property, maybe changed locks and they have the right to do it because the house belongs to them. Once they claim the house is abandoned they can accelerate the foreclosure or redemption period giving you less time to try to fix the problem.

[ocdreamer]

Yes the lender has the right to secure vacant properties, even if you're still the technical owner on the deed. It won't necessarily speed up the foreclosure process--NOD/NTS filings and waiting periods between them are governed by state law--it's just so the lender knows whether to send the locksmith out to keep it from being vandalized.