You didn’t mean to fall behind on your payments, but month after month, you couldn’t pay the bill for your home. Now, you’ve been served a notice, and your home is going to auction.

After a foreclosure, you may not believe there is any way to get your home back. Interestingly, there is. In some states, you can seek a statutory redemption. This gives you, the homeowner, time to reclaim your property if you can pay for the property in full within a certain limited amount of time. Usually, you have one year to collect the funds, but the time frame may be as short as 30 days to as long as two years.

Statutory redemption only takes place after a home has been foreclosed on and sold. At that point, you may write to the purchaser and ask for a statement of the charges required to regain your home. The party who bought the property has approximately 10 days to return a statement of charges.

If you can’t pay for the price of the home after you file a claim, then you will lose the right to make a claim on the property. The purchaser then solidifies his or her claim on the property by obtaining the title along with all interest and rights in the property.

Florida allows for statutory exemptions, so you may be able to save your home even after it has been sold at auction. If this is something you want to consider, your attorney can help walk you through the process, so you don’t miss any important deadlines and have the best chance of regaining the home you love.

Source: FindLaw, “Regaining Ownership After Foreclosure: Statutory Redemption,” accessed July 13, 2017