Preparing to Evacuate Your Home After Foreclosure Has Begun: What You Need to Do

Posted on: 15 December 2016

When the foreclosure process has begun on your home, there is a lot to do before you are expected to leave. Amongst the stress and possible depression you may feel at losing your home, you will have to figure out what your next steps are. Depending on where you live, you may have thirty days or an entire year to evacuate and remove your belongings. Here is a step-by-step guide on what to do next.

Find Alternate Living Quarters

If there are no friends or family who can take you in, apply for space in a homeless shelter or a transition shelter. Usually, there is a very long waiting list for rooms in these shelters (i.e., shelters that operate more like low-income or no-income motel spaces than giant open rooms with cots). That means you will need to apply right away for assistance so that you have someplace to go when an opening becomes available. 

Begin Packing

Begin packing up everything you want to hold onto and deciding where everything else will go. If you have someplace to live, begin moving packed boxes to that location as soon as you can. This will reduce the chaos that could ensue if you are suddenly notified that you do not have enough time to move everything you own out of the house. It also reduces the amount of stuff you will have to move on the very last day you are allowed to dwell in the home.

Book Move-Out Cleaning Services

While you do not have to leave a clean house behind, you may want to, since the house was your home for so long. (In some counties and states it is actually a requirement of your foreclosure process that you leave the home in "walk-through condition" so that the home can be sold quickly.) Make sure that every room you want cleaned by a cleaning service such as Apelila's In and Out Cleaning LLC is free and clear of boxes and furniture so that the cleaners are able to clean every square inch of your home. Also, you may want to book carpet or floor-cleaning services (if they are not included in the move-out services) so that the floors and carpets look nice.

Keep Working Toward a Home-Rescue Plan

Often what put you in the position of a foreclosure is just a matter of money. If you are just getting back on your feet financially, you may be able to rescue your home from foreclosure or delay your eviction. Even in the midst of moving out and preparing to leave the home behind, keep working on whatever rescue plan you can and use whatever resources are available to you to save your home from foreclosure. If your plan works out, then all of your preparation will result in a cleaner, more organized home. If it does not work out, then you will have done everything you needed to do.

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