5 Reasons Judicial Foreclosures Take So Long

[Andy Mirza]

I just wrote a BP blog post with this title but I thought I'd lay out the main ideas to stimulate further discussion. I'd love to get other perspectives and deeper understanding of the subject.

Here's the blog post: 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/11308/87556-5-reasons-why-judicial-foreclosures-take-so-long

In summary, there are 5 main factors that affect judicial foreclosure timelines: 1) foreclosure process, 2) lender or noteholder, 3) attorney, 4) judge, 5) borrower. Numbers 2 and 3 are within your control and you can significantly shorten the timeline by making decisions and executing documents quickly and by using competent foreclosing attorneys. Numbers 1,4, and 5 are outside of your control. The process is the same for everyone but you can't change it. The judge and the borrower are the wild cards and the wrong combination can really drag things out. Solution: if you want to buy judicial foreclosures, make sure you price in extra margin for the extended timelines and make sure you're acting quickly and have the right attorney(s).