Find a bankruptcy attorney in Nolo's Lawyer Directory!


Resources on Foreclosure, Credit & Debt, and Bankruptcy

How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

The New Bankruptcy: Will It Work for You?

Selling Your House in a Tough Market

Foreclosure: Articles and FAQs

Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure (HUD)

Avoiding Foreclosure: State Resources (HUD)

Foreclosure Survival Guide

Own a copy of this helpful reference from Nolo, the #1 consumer legal publisher. Available in paperback and eBook formats.

Buy the book >

Browse related Nolo products >

Foreclosure Survival Guide (1st Edition)

If Someone Buys the House

If, at the foreclosure sale, your house is sold to a new owner, that new owner will likely want possession of the property as soon as possible. You may receive a termination notice days or weeks after the auction or sale, just to get the process moving. Exactly when you can expect this termination notice will depend on the new owner’s agenda and the experience the new owner has in removing tenants.

If the new owner wants to occupy the house and has experience in evicting tenants, you can expect the notice to come sooner rather than later. If, on the other hand, the new owner is a business that buys and resells foreclosed homes, there might be a significant delay before you get a termination notice, just for bureaucratic reasons. And if the new owner is a novice in buying foreclosed homes and has no experience in evictions, you can expect a delay while the new owner finds a property management firm or lawyer to do the work.

Getting Paid to Move Out Voluntarily

Your termination notice may be accompanied by an offer to pay you a lump sum if you leave the property by a certain time, and leave it in good condition. Some former homeowners report offers as high as $2,000, which, from the new owner’s perspective, is cheap compared to what it would cost the owner if you dug in your heels and made a formal eviction necessary. Also, experience shows that unhappy former homeowners can do a remarkable amount of damage to a house if they think the new owner is being unreasonable.

Not all buyers of foreclosed properties are enlightened enough to make this sort of offer, and may be willing to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars in lawyer fees to get you out. That said, you should always be willing to propose a move-out bonus if the new owner doesn’t. And if the new owner does propose one, you shouldn’t be shy about negotiating for a higher amount.