Call or text (904) 822-7050CallGet my cash offer

Behind on the mortgage in Florida

Florida makes the bank go to court. That's your advantage, if you use the time.

Florida statutes and Duval County procedures verified September 2026.

Frank or Armando, not a call center. We'll tell you if we're not the answer.

Timeline

The clock

  1. Days 1 to 120

    Missed payments.

    The lender can't file until you're more than 120 days late (12 CFR 1024.41(f)). Every door is open: reinstate, repayment plan, forbearance, modification, sell.

  2. Filing

    Lis pendens.

    You're served. 20 days to answer. Your address is now on every investor's list. Free help starts here: HUD counselor, JALA.

  3. Judgment

    Sale set 20 to 35 days out (§45.031).

    A complete loss-mitigation package turned in more than 37 days before the sale stops the sale until the lender answers it (12 CFR 1024.41(g)).

  4. Sale day

    The last door.

    Pay the judgment, or close a sale, any time until the clerk files the certificate of sale (§45.0315). Then 10 days to object, then the certificate of title.

  5. After

    The writ of possession.

    24 hours to leave once the sheriff serves it. Money left after the lender is paid is yours. Claim it from the clerk, free (§45.032).

Doors that close

  • 37 Days before the sale, the last day a complete loss-mitigation package must be considered.
  • The certificate of sale filed, redemption ends.
  • Watch: the lender has 1 year after the sale to sue for a shortfall (§95.11(6)(g)).
Your numbers

Know what it's worth

Everyone who phones you already did this. Now you can too.

Read the full guide

  • Tax value is not a price

    It lags the market and ignores condition. Use it for the parcel number and the homestead status, not the price. (Duval: paopropertysearch.coj.net)

  • Sold, not listed

    Zillow, Redfin or Realtor.com. Filter Sold, last 6 months, within half a mile, same bed and bath range, similar age and size. Write down 3 to 5. Ignore active listings; asking isn't selling.

  • The investor math

    After-repair value, minus repairs, minus the buyer's costs and profit, equals the offer. That's why it sits below the renovated comps. The question isn't "is it lower." It's whether the gap buys enough speed, certainty and carried work (What we carry) to be worth it. Now you can answer that with numbers instead of a feeling.

Options

Your options, ranked

  1. Option 1: Sell before the sale date.

    Fits when you have equity, the income isn't back, and there's a date on the calendar. You keep the equity. For example, a house worth $210,000 as it sits, with a $148,000 payoff and about $9,000 in arrears and fees, leaves roughly $53,000 before closing costs, which we pay. 2 to 3 weeks to close. Then get paid, and stay in the house while you figure out the next step, under a written post-closing agreement.

  2. Option 2: Reinstate or modify.

    Fits when the income is back: you can cover the arrears, or the lender will actually offer a modification. You keep the house. Most mortgages allow reinstatement until shortly before the sale; a modification takes 30 to 90 days. Start now, through the servicer or a free HUD counselor.

  3. Option 3: Chapter 13.

    Fits when you have steady income and arrears you can spread over 3 to 5 years. You keep the house as long as you make every plan payment. The automatic stay stops the sale the day you file. A bankruptcy attorney, not a "preparer."

  4. Option 4: Let it sell, and claim the surplus.

    Fits when there's no equity, no income, no plan. You keep whatever's left after the lender, if you file the claim with the clerk. Free. 24 hours once the writ is served. Auction prices run below market, so with equity this is the most expensive exit on the page.

If you do nothing

On the sale date the house sells on the clerk's website to the highest bidder, usually for less than it's worth. Ten days later the title transfers; the writ gives you 24 hours. Whatever's left after the lender is paid sits at the clerk's office until you claim it.

Red flags

Four lines you'll hear this month

Manufactured urgency

"This offer's only good today."
"Sign today and I'll bump it up."

A real buyer's number is the same next week.

What to do: Sleep on it. Anyone who won't wait 48 hours wasn't going to close.

The easy yes

"Sure, we can do that number."

A buyer who agrees to your price without comps, a walkthrough or a repair number isn't buying. He's locking you up to renegotiate later or to shop the contract. Real offers come with the math (Know what it's worth).

What to do: "What's that number based on?" If the answer is "you," it isn't an offer.

Subject-to

"We'll just take over your payments. You'll be free and clear."

The house becomes theirs; the loan stays yours.

What to do: No.

Sign something false

"Just tell the bank you're not selling."

Also: false short-sale affidavits, "occupied" when vacant. Your signature, your liability.

What to do: No.

See every red flag

Our end of the deal

What we carry, so you don't

  • The sale date.

    Old path

    A courthouse date, a lender's attorney who won't call back, a clock you can't read.

    Fresh path

    We pull the payoff, talk to the lender's attorney, and target a closing before the sale. If it can't be stopped in time, you hear it from us first, while there's still time to claim your surplus.

  • The debts attached to the house.

    Old path

    You chase payoff letters from the county, the HOA, the code office, a lender that won't call back.

    Fresh path

    We order every payoff; the title company pays each one from the proceeds at closing; you sign once. Nothing out of pocket.

  • The number.

    Old path

    "Fair cash offer," and no idea how they got there.

    Fresh path

    A written offer within 24 hours with the math on it: the sold comps we used, our price, what gets paid off, what you walk away with. Take it to anyone you trust.

  • The pressure.

    Old path

    "Only good today."

    Fresh path

    Our number stands while you think, ask a lawyer, and call your kids.

Close first, get paid, and stay in your house while you figure out the next step, under a written post-closing agreement. On every sale, whatever the reason.

Everything we carry

Traps

Traps set for people in your spot

Upfront-fee rescue

"Pay us $1,500 and we'll stop the foreclosure."

Illegal in Florida (§501.1377) and federally (MARS rule). Legit help is free: HUD counselor 800-569-4287, JALA 904-356-8371.

What to do: Nobody gets paid before your house is saved.

Sale-leaseback

"Sell it to us and stay in it. Rent for a while, buy it back when you're on your feet."

What actually happens: you sign a deed today at a low price and your equity leaves with it. You're now a tenant in your own house; one late rent and you're evicted like any tenant. The buy-back price is set so you never reach it. Florida gives you until 5 p.m. on the third business day to cancel, requires them to verify you can afford the rent, and presumes a buy-back markup over 17% per year unfair (§501.1377), but you'd have to sue to use any of it.

What to do: If you can't afford the house, you can't afford to rent it back at a markup. Sell outright, keep the equity, and stay under a written post-closing agreement while you figure out the next step.

Subject-to

"We'll take over your payments and pay it off eventually. You'll be free and clear."

They get the house; the loan stays in your name. Jacksonville, 2026: a veteran got $4,000 at closing, the buyer made zero payments, he's $35,000 behind on a house he no longer owns, and 29 foreclosure suits trace to one operator (News4Jax, January and February 2026).

What to do: No, unless your own attorney structures it with recorded protections, and usually not then.

Loan-mod mill

"Stop paying the bank and pay us. We'll get your loan modified."

Fee up front, no contact with the lender, foreclosure keeps moving. No fee is legal until you've signed the modification the lender actually offered.

What to do: Your servicer or a HUD counselor does this free.

Bankruptcy mill

"We'll file a Chapter 13 for you. That stops the sale."

A petition preparer, not a lawyer. Serial filings backfire: a second case within a year pauses the sale only 30 days; a third doesn't pause it at all.

What to do: Real tool, real bankruptcy attorney.

Fake program

"You qualify for the government mortgage-relief program."

Florida's Homeowner Assistance Fund is closed.

What to do: Anyone "enrolling" you, for a fee or your bank login, is lying.

The runner

"Give me the reinstatement money and I'll take it to the bank for you."

Reinstatements, payoffs and tax redemptions go to the servicer, the Tax Collector or the closing agent.

What to do: Nobody else touches that money. Not a friend, not a Zelle.

See every trap

Common myths

Myth vs. reality

Myth"Once they file, it's over."

Reality: It's a lawsuit, not a sale. Months, not days. You can pay off or sell right up until the certificate of sale is filed.

Myth"The bank wants the house."

Reality: Lenders lose money at auction. A payoff before the sale is what they'd rather have, which is why a sale can still close in week 30 of a foreclosure.

Myth"If it sells at auction, at least I'm done."

Reality: Not always. The lender has a year to sue for a shortfall (owner-occupied: capped at the judgment minus market value, §702.06). With equity, you get a check instead, if you file the claim.

Myth"Missing one payment starts the foreclosure."

Reality: The lender can't file until you're more than 120 days late. Four months of open doors.

Myth"Chapter 7 will save the house."

Reality: Chapter 7 wipes out debts; it doesn't catch up the arrears, and the lender can ask the court to lift the stay. Chapter 13 is the one that saves a house, if you can fund the plan.

Myth"I have to be out on the sale day."

Reality: Nobody can make you leave until the writ of possession is served, which comes after the certificate of title, at least 10 days after the sale. Use those days to claim your surplus and line up the move.

Myth"An investor can stop the foreclosure."

Reality: Only two things stop it: the lender gets paid, or the court says so. A buyer stops it by closing before the sale, which pays the lender. Anyone promising to stop it any other way is running a scam (see the Traps guide).

Myth"A short sale means I owe nothing."

Reality: Only if the lender waives the shortfall in writing. Without a waiver, the unpaid balance is still a debt they can collect.

Free help

Free help

This guide explains Florida procedure in plain language. It isn't legal advice. For your situation, talk to a lawyer; free options are listed above.

Your cash offer

A sale date is a deadline we know how to work with.

Tell us the address and the date. Within 24 hours you get a written offer with the math, the payoff plan, and a closing date ahead of the sale. If we can't beat the clock, we say so, and point you to who can.

Rather talk? Call or text (904) 822-7050.

Get your cash offer

Two quick steps. No obligation.

By tapping Send, I agree that FreshPath Home Buyers LLC may call me at the number I entered about selling my property, including calls made with automated technology. Consent is not required to sell to us. You can call us at (904) 822-7050 instead.

Step 2 of 2.

CallTextGet my cash offer