After a couple of missed payments, your lender is authorized to initiate foreclosure and sell your home to regain their money. Some states use a judicial foreclosure process, which requires the lender to file a lawsuit before foreclosing your home. Other states use a non-judicial foreclosure process; this means the lender does not need a court permit before they can foreclose your home and evict you. However, some states use both the foreclosure process and whichever one is in use. A judge can still help you stop foreclosure. Here is how a judge can help stop foreclosure in either of the processes:

In a judicial foreclosure process, a judge will review the petition filed by the lender to determine if the home should be foreclosed or not. If the judge finds anything that makes it unfair to foreclose your home, the judge will dismiss the case, and your home will be saved. However, if your lender is justified, a summon will be sent to you from the court, and depending on your how you reply, a judge can still help you save your home. If you’ve found defenses to use against your lender, you can input them in your reply, and a hearing will be scheduled to find out any unfairness. If your lender wins or you fail to reply to the court summon, the judge will pass a final judgment of foreclosure, and your home will be sold.

In a non-judicial foreclosure system, your lender does not go to court to file a petition. However, you can file a lawsuit against your lender if you think you’ve been mistreated, and they shouldn’t be foreclosing your home. The foreclosure process will be stopped until the court passes a judgment. If your lender is found guilty of your charges, the foreclosure will be canceled. If your defenses were found meaningless, the judge would pass a final judgment of foreclosure, and you lose your home.

The judge can only stop a foreclosure process if either of the involving parties files a petition. Contact your lawyer to find out if you have enough defenses to sue your lender so that you can stop foreclosure.