Foreclosure question

[howie]

Is there someway to tell what the status of your foreclosure is? I made last payment in February 08, and moved out same month. The house still looks like they haven't taken possesion yet. I am unsure about whether to turn on gas and electric to keep pipes from freezing. I didn't think I would have to worry about it but winter is coming soon (live in Ohio). Any suggestions?

[BassBoy]

I myself reside in Ohio and the foreclosure process is somewhat long. When I filed, it took the lender over a year to finally foreclose. A dear friend of mine went throught the same thing and the foreclosure was about 6 months or so.

In any case, since Ohio is a judicial foreclosure state, you can look up the Sheriff Sale's at your county's sheriff's site. The upcoming sales will be listed.......in my county, a few of the cities I look at have sale dates listed up until February. You can also check public records for your county (court documents) and see if the lender has filed any documents.

[BKParalegal]

If the property is truly in some stage of foreclosure, then it is standard operating procedure that banks have property preservation companies winterize all foreclosed homes beginning in Oct. You have nothing to worry about.

Good Luck

[KPcal]

You can call your mortgage company and they can tell you the state of your foreclosure. Usually it takes at least 3 month after you make your last payment for them to even start the procedure and then another 3 month after that to try to sell. But in this market foreclosure can take way longer than that.
On my primary residence: I stopped paying May of 07 and they did not auction it off till February of 08.
On my second home: I stopped paying for it even before May 07 and they still did not sell it. It shows up as in process of foreclosure and it has been over a year.

Granted I am in California.

[r.m]

The mortgage companies are not always on top of the status of your file.

I've found many instances where the the mortgage company's notes were not up to date.

The law firms typically control the foreclosure process once they receive a file, so they have a better handle on the timeline.

Another question you could ask your mortgage company:

Has this file been referred to an attorney yet?

If so, when?

Can you give me the contact information for the law firm?

Then you can call the law firm and ask them where you are on the timeline.

RE: the winterization...

Call the foreclosure department at your mortgage company and inform them that the house is abandoned and that they should change the locks and winterize it.