Connecticut Foreclosures - The Real Deal

Connecticut's legal procedure concerning foreclosures offers two options: foreclosure by sale, or strict foreclosure. The appropriate option is determined by the amount of home equity owner has accumulated in the property.

In those cases in which the home owner has accumulated little or no equity, the strict foreclosure rule applies. The bank or lender is entitled to the full amount of proceeds from the property. If the homeowner has accumulated some equity, however, the foreclosure by sale method applies. The judge assigned to each foreclosure case will determine which option is the correct one.

The First Step: The Complaint to Foreclose The Connecticut foreclosures laws require that, when a foreclosure is in order, a set of procedural steps be followed. The first step is the Complaint to Foreclose, in which the bank determines the correct names of all those who hold liens against the property in question. Those parties will be included in the Complaint as defendants.

The Connecticut foreclosures statute requires that the Complaint to Foreclose be filed in the Superior Court of the County in which the property is located, indicating that the mortgage is in default and that the bank is within its rights to ask for repossession of the property, or strict foreclosure.

If the bank suffers a loss from selling a Connecticut foreclosure at auction for an amount less than what it was still owed, the bank is required to send a notification of breach and to follow the mortgage and promissory note provisions.

If you intend to file a Connecticut foreclosure, both the summons and Complaint must be served on all defendants within twelve days. If this is done, and the defendant fails to appear at the Court hearing, the court may award the plaintiff a default judgment; default judgments are also possible if the defendant neither makes no plea nor offers a defense.

A Matter For The Court

Connecticut foreclosures are initiated as soon as a lender files the necessary legal documents against the property owner. From that point the Court makes all the decisions regarding the amount of debt, the property's actual value, and the costs involved in the foreclosure proceeding. And most importantly, the Court determines whether there will be a foreclosure by sale or a strict foreclosure.

In cases of strict foreclosure, the borrowers are given a specific day by which they must either pay off the amount owed or lose their interest in the property. All the other defendants to the foreclosure actins are given similar deadlines, and if nor payment is made, the title to the property vests in the foreclosing lender, usually after one hundred and fifty days. But the time between the judgment of strict foreclosures and the vesting date dictated by Connecticut foreclosure law is discretionary, and if the Court determines that the debtor under financial hardship, it may extend the time for repayment.

If the Connecticut foreclosure is to be a foreclosure by sale, the court will set a sale date which is usually sixty to ninety days in the future. The Court will also, within fourteen days of the actual sale, decide whether or not the terms of the sale are acceptable.