A foreclosure is a process when the lender has legal rights' to the property in default, and sells it to recover the amount owed on the loan. With so much recent attention to foreclosures, how does a property go through the foreclosure process? Generally a foreclosure follows these steps:

1. Missed Payment- usually the mortgage payment is due the first of the month. A late fee is assessed after the 15th day of the month.

2. Demand Letter- after the 60 days of missed payments a demand letter is sent to the homeowner in attempts to collect and giving them 30 days to resolve the delinquent amount.

3. Notice of Default- after 90 days of missed payment; the loan is transferred to the foreclosure department. The notice of default is then recorded with the county the property is located in and mailed out to the homeowner within ten days the default is recorded. The homeowner is given 90 days from the recorded date to resolve the default.

4. Notice of Sale- if after 90 days from the recorded date, the default is not resolved then a notice of sale will be recorded. This notice states that the lender will sell the property in 21 days. The copy of the notice will be sent to the homeowner, posted in the county paper for three consecutive weeks and at the county courthouse.

5. Trustee Sale- after 21 to 25 days of the notice of sale, the property is sold at a foreclosure sale or auction.

6. REO- when a property is not sold at auction, then the lender lists the property with an REO broker.

7. Eviction- if the property is sold to the highest bidder, then the eviction process starts for the foreclosed owners.