Two articles were of interest this week: From the article: Auction on the Courthouse Steps - This week, our neighbor's property came up for public auction. We were curious, so we went to see what happened. It was cold and windy and the three auctioneers had to hold onto all of their papers tightly.

Each auctioneer was from a different company. They stood apart from each other, against different sections of the black iron gate and arch of the San Jose Superior Court building. Technically, this sale was "on the courthouse steps" but actually we were at the back of the court building. The real courthouse steps are usually crowded with potential jurors waiting to go through security screening.

From the article: Surprisingly, in some states, you can stop house foreclosure up until the day before your house is sold at the sheriff’s sale. How can you do this? Many states have what is called a right to cure. A right to cure is essentially a right to cure the loan. What does that mean? It means that you have the right to get the loan current with your bank. This means that you will need to pay all back payments, late fees, attorney’s fees and any other necessary fees to get the loan back in good standing with your bank.

http://blogs.sun.com/katysblog/entry/homes_for_sale_at_the

From the article: Auction on the Courthouse Steps - This week, our neighbor's property came up for public auction. We were curious, so we went to see what happened. It was cold and windy and the three auctioneers had to hold onto all of their papers tightly. Each auctioneer was from a different company. They stood apart from each other, against different sections of the black iron gate and arch of the San Jose Superior Court building. Technically, this sale was "on the courthouse steps" but actually we were at the back of the court building. The real courthouse steps are usually crowded with potential jurors waiting to go through security screening.

The auctioneers spoke their formal notice statements quickly but loudly so that everyone could hear. During a sale, bidders stood near the auctioneer very quietly saying the amount they bid. Some of the bidders would wait to raise a bid until just after the auctioneer said "For the third time of asking, the final bid is ...". There were maybe a dozen people standing around the auctioneers, both active bidders and the interested public. Some of the bidders knew the auctioneer and each other; they talked about prior sales and congratulated each other on wins. Other bidders seemed to be interested in just one house. Dozens of houses came up for sale in the hour we watched.

Many sales were postponed or canceled, some houses were returned to the beneficiary (the mortgage holder?) because no one made the minimum bid. Still others attracted spirited bidding ending in a sale. Payment was immediate - bidders carried stacks of cashier's checks. How different from the drawn out disclosure and document signing process that goes with normal property sales here. Our neighbor's house sale was postponed until next month "by mutual agreement".

http://financelearning.blogspot.com/2008/11/stop-house-foreclosure-day-before-your.html

Surprisingly, in some states, you can stop house foreclosure up until the day before your house is sold at the sheriff’s sale. How can you do this? Many states have what is called a right to cure. A right to cure is essentially a right to cure the loan. What does that mean? It means that you have the right to get the loan current with your bank. This means that you will need to pay all back payments, late fees, attorney’s fees and any other necessary fees to get the loan back in good standing with your bank.

The twist in a right to cure is that you do not pay the money directly to the bank, you pay it to the government agency that recorded the deed for your house. In my case, this was the public trustee for the county that I live in. This is certainly a way to stop house foreclosure and can be a last resort effort to save you home. For me, simply filing the documents made me feel better.So what do you need to file an intent to cure? You will need the proper paperwork. I had to get an Intent to Cure form from my county. The form itself was pretty simple. The only special pieces of information that I needed to look up to fill out the form was my foreclosure number, date that the deed of trust on my home was filed and recording number of the deed of trust. I found all of this information on the legal documents that my bank’s attorney’s sent to me. All I did after filling out the form was fax it to my county’s public trustee office. To stop house foreclosure this way, you will need to do some research to figure out what exactly you need and when you need to have it done by. For my county, I had to file an intent to cure at least 15 days before the scheduled sale date.

Filing an intent to cure does not mean that you definitely will cure the loan, simply that you intend to do so. I did not end up using this to stop house foreclosure in my situation but I was glad to know that it was an option. What I thought the great thing about this was that it gave me until noon on the day before the sale to come up with the money. Had I decided to use this option to stop house foreclosure, I could have gone to my county’s public trustee office by noon on the day before my foreclosure sale with a cashier’s check for the full amount to cure the loan and I could have saved my house that way.

This also might be a good option for you if you are having problems talking to your bank. In a way, this takes the bank out of it. For my county, the public trustee requested figures from the mortgage company and provided those numbers to me. If your bank will not talk to you about what it will take to reinstate your loan, they will be required by law to provide those figures to the government agency that filed your deed of trust.