“My house is in foreclosure, when do I do to court?” A reasonable question, but also a trick question.
If you live in Massachusetts your house can be sold at a foreclosure auction without you ever seeing the inside of a courthouse. Indeed, most are.
Massachusetts has a fairly lengthy, complicated foreclosure process, but it doesn’t involve a lot of in-court work. At one point in the process, a complaint needs to be filed against you, either at the Land Court in Boston, or the Superior Court in the County where you live (the one on Appleton Street in Lawrence next to City Hall, for many of my clients).
While you could file a response to this complaint and get a hearing in the land or superior court, this isn’t a practical course of action for most people, and it is seldom done. What is a practical response if you are trying to save you house is to see a bankruptcy attorney and see if you would qualify for a Chapter 13 case; that can allow you to solve the missed-payments problem over a course of several years.
If you have been served with a warning that your property is “in foreclosure” don’t just sit around waiting for a court date to arrive! You can call me (978) 975-2608, or you can call another attorney, but make sure you talk to a professional and find out what your options really are.
By Doug Beaton