Nebraska is one of the states where foreclosure must be followed through a judicial or in court method. The process begins when the bank files a law suit called a complaint with the court against the homeowner who is having trouble making his payments. The objective of this lawsuit, is to get the court to officially declare the homeowner in default. When this has been accomplished the process of moving toward the sale of the house can begin. The court will decree the amount that the homeowner must pay and give them a short time frame in which to pay that money. If the homeowner cannot do this, the clerk of the court will issue an “order to sale” and then advertise the sale of the home. In some cases Nebraska allows for a portion of the property to be sold off to satisfy the debt.
After this judgment or official declaration of default has been made by the court, the sale date or order of sale can be delayed as much as an additional nine months. To accomplish this, the home owner must file a written request for a delay with the clerk of the court. This request must be filed within the first twenty days following the courts decision to find the homeowner in default. If this request for delay is not filed within these first twenty days, the order commanding the sale of the property will be issued by the clerk of the court. At anytime during this lawsuit, the homeowner may cure the default by coming up with the total amount of the delinquent payments and all costs and interest that have accrued up to the time that the money is paid. If the homeowner has cured this default and then goes into default again at some time in the future, the court can enforce the decree of foreclosure and sale. In other words the original decree of foreclosure and sale remain in affect and the bank can proceed with a sale of the home without getting another court ordered sale date.
Should the sale of the property still be moving ahead, the place and time of the sale must be publically posted by the sheriff of the county where the home is located. This notice of sale, must be physically posted on the door of the court house of the county where the home is located. This same notice must also be posted in five other public places in this same county. This notice of sale must also be advertised or published in a newspaper with general circulation in the county where the home is located. This ad must be run once a week for four weeks, leading up to the scheduled sale date.
When the sale finally takes place, the court is required to confirm the sale. The former homeowner has no right of redemption in Nebraska. This means that once the home has been sold at auction, the former homeowner has no time frame in which to regain ownership of the property.
Deficiency judgments are not permitted in Nebraska. Deficiency judgments allow a bank to seek more money than was generated from the sale of the home. If the amount of the highest bid on the house is still less than the amount of the loan, the difference between the two amounts can be sought from the former homeowner in states that allow deficiency judgments. This option is not available to banks in this state.
A typical foreclosure timeline in Nebraska, from beginning to end is 180 days.
