Stop Foreclosure in Ontario

When a homeowner stops making mortgage payments, foreclosure is one of the processes the mortgage lender can use to recover their money. In Ontario, power of sale is by far the most common remedy used by lenders, but the occasional foreclosure does happen. Power of sale and foreclosure are two distinct legal processes with different outcomes. In a power of sale, the lender can sell the property to recover their money and any excess profits are given to the former homeowner. In a foreclosure, the lender takes title to the property and all the equity in it. For this reason, it is recommended that the homeowner acts immediately to try to stop the foreclosure. In general, a power of sale takes around 6 months to complete and a foreclosure takes at least a year to complete. Both legal processes begin when a Notice of Sale is sent. The next document, the Statement of Claim will confirm the legal process being used, it will explicitly state that it is a “foreclosure action” near the top of the document.

This is an example Statement of Claim for foreclosure document. Take note of the bold text: “MORTGAGE ACTION – FORECLOSURE”

What to do if you are in Foreclosure

If you’ve received a Statement of Claim that states that you are foreclosure, you have a few options available to you depending on when the document was sent and the amounts owing. The very first thing to try is to contact your lender and see if you can work out an arrangement to pay off what is owed. Some lenders will be understanding and work out a new payment plan or new financing to bring the mortgage back into good standing. However, in many cases, the lender will not be willing to negotiate and will demand payment. The Statement of Claim document will outline how much the lender is asking for and the last day that payment will be accepted. This amount is typically the value of the arrears plus fees. After the last day to pay has passed, the full amount of the mortgage plus fees will be due. In an Ontario foreclosure, the homeowner can also make a request for sale to convert the foreclosure process into a power of sale process. Filing a request for sale is recommended if the value of the property far exceed the value of the mortgages. If you are unable to negotiate with the lender, you can still arrange new financing to pay them off or sell the property.

Getting New Financing to Stop the Foreclosure

In many cases, the lender will refuse to make any extra arrangements and will simply want what they are owed. Since someone in foreclosure is considered to be a high-risk client, most banks and large lending institutions will turn them down. There are many private lenders that can offer mortgages to people in power of sale or foreclosure, but it requires that the property has sufficient equity. Most private lenders can approve a mortgage as long as the total value of the mortgages on the property is not in excess of 80% of its estimated value. If the first mortgage lender is asking for arrears plus fees, then a private lender can provide a new second mortgage to pay the first mortgage lender. If the second mortgage lender is threatening foreclosure, then the private lender can replace the existing second mortgage with a new one. If the first mortgage holder is requesting the entire mortgage, then a private lender may be able to buy out that mortgage to stop the foreclosure. Many of these private lenders do not advertise and can be hard to find, so it is recommended to get in touch with a mortgage broker for help.

Selling the Property to Stop the Foreclosure

If the total values of the mortgages are too great, then private lenders will refuse to provide a mortgage. At this point, there are typically only two options. Either sell the property or allow the foreclosure to take place. If you think you can make a sizable about of money by selling the property then it is strongly recommended to do so. Once a foreclosure is complete, the lender takes title to the property and the former owner gets nothing. For this reason, even if the property must sell at a discount, it is usually better than allowing the lender to take the property.

Stopping A Home Foreclosure

If an Ontario homeowner has fallen into arrears with the monthly mortgage payments there will be two legal processes that a lender will choose from to try to bring the property into good standing, or take possession of the property to sell it.

Overwhelmingly, in Ontario, the legal process that most lenders choose to use when dealing with mortgage default is the power of sale. However, some Ontario-based lenders do on occasion initiate the process of foreclosure in an attempt to not only sell the property that is in arrears but also take over the title on the property.

Foreclosure is a fairly lengthy legal process used for dealing with mortgage default. It can take up to a year to finalize and involves the involvement of the courts. It usually takes up to 6 missed mortgage payments for your lender to send the first letter referred to as a notice of sale initiating foreclosure proceedings.

Keeping the courts out of the default process is far preferred by Ontario based lenders. However, if you have been sent a statement of claim stating the lender has chosen foreclosure proceedings, it is in your best interest to try to stop the foreclosure to avoid the cost involved and the risk of losing the title to your home.

Ways to Stop Foreclosure of Your Property

An Ontario homeowner has time to stop the foreclosure process by bringing the mortgage into good standing. Several options are available:

1. Obtain a private loan to bring the mortgage in good standing– Private loan options are available as the loan you are requesting is deemed a high-risk loan and will not be issued by a bank or big lender. An application can be made for a second mortgage or home equity loan to pay off the arrears on the mortgage. A private lender will lend up to 75% of the value of the house at rates of between 7% and 10% depending on the equity existing in your home and existing equity.

2. Refinance the first mortgage– Look at the option of refinancing the first mortgage through a private lender allowing for arrears to be paid and manageable monthly mortgage payments moving forward.

3. Try to negotiate with the lender- There is always the option of trying to work out a payment arrangement with your lender and trying to change some of the terms of the mortgage loan enabling you to catch up with any arrears owing on the property.

4. Have a private lender buy out the mortgage– Some private lenders might consider buying out your current mortgage if the equity warrants such a decision.

5. Ask for a request for sale to change foreclosure to the power of sale- An Ontario homeowner does have the legal right to ask for the opportunity to change the type of default proceeding from foreclosure to power of sale. This would be a beneficial decision if you have considerable equity built up in your property and would profit from the sale of your house retaining title.

6. Sell house “as is” to a buyer for cash- There are buyers in Ontario who will buy your house for cash at a discount in the state it is currently in. This would enable you to avoid the costly foreclosure process and there is no need to put money into renovations or fix-ups before the sale of the property.

Let Mortgage Broker Store Help You Stop the Foreclosure Process

It is in the best interest of the Ontario homeowner to take every possible step to stop a possible foreclosure on their home. There are options available. At Mortgage Broker Store we will be able to inform you of all options open to your specific set of financial circumstances.

We will steer you towards private lenders who will be able to offer secured private mortgage loan options. Short-term private mortgage loans will provide the funds to bring your mortgage into good standing while stopping your house from being foreclosed.