Can a mortgage company change your locks?

Can a mortgage company change your locks?

If the house is vacant, the servicer (on behalf of the lender or subsequent loan owner) can take steps, like changing your door locks, to secure the property even if it’s still in foreclosure.

Can a bank change the locks on a foreclosure?

The bank has the legal right to change the locks, but only if you’ve abandoned—that is, permanently moved out of—the home. Because you still live there, it can’t legally do that. You have the right to stay in your home during the entire foreclosure process. (To learn the ins and outs of the foreclosure process, read Foreclosure Basics.

What to do if your house is still in foreclosure?

Can a bank change the locks on a vacant house?

Changing the locks is a typical step when securing a vacant property. If you’re still living in the home, however, the bank can’t take possession of it (or change the locks) until after the foreclosure. Even then, it will need to take proper steps to evict you if you haven’t already left.

Why does the bank lock you out of Your House?

Why the Bank Locked You Out. The mortgage contract that you signed when you took out the loan gives the bank the right to protect its interest in the home. If you permanently move out of the house, the bank will want to maintain and secure the property. The bank does this to preserve the value of the home.

The bank has the legal right to change the locks, but only if you’ve abandoned—that is, permanently moved out of—the home. Because you still live there, it can’t legally do that. You have the right to stay in your home during the entire foreclosure process. (To learn the ins and outs of the foreclosure process, read Foreclosure Basics.

Changing the locks is a typical step when securing a vacant property. If you’re still living in the home, however, the bank can’t take possession of it (or change the locks) until after the foreclosure. Even then, it will need to take proper steps to evict you if you haven’t already left.

Why the Bank Locked You Out. The mortgage contract that you signed when you took out the loan gives the bank the right to protect its interest in the home. If you permanently move out of the house, the bank will want to maintain and secure the property. The bank does this to preserve the value of the home.

If the house is vacant, the servicer (on behalf of the lender or subsequent loan owner) can take steps, like changing your door locks, to secure the property even if it’s still in foreclosure.