Pine Tree Legal Assistance and area foreclosure experts will hold a foreclosure prevention workshop later this month.

What: One-on-one help and advice for people facing foreclosure

When: Saturday, Feb. 28, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Where: Augusta Armory, 179 Western Ave.

Who: Homeowners who are worried about making their next house payment, are behind on their mortgage, have received a foreclosure notice or are considering bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure.

Cost: Free

Bring: Financial documents, loan documents and any court documents

The foreclosure process

• Mortgage payments stop.

• Bank demands payments. If no payments are forthcoming, bank sends case to a lawyer. (Time to foreclosure varies from bank to bank. Some may proceed with foreclosure after 90 days without payment, for example. Others may not wait that long or may take longer.)

• Lawyer may demand payment on the bank’s behalf. If no payments are forthcoming, lawyer sends foreclosure complaint to local sheriff and the sheriff serves the homeowner.

• Homeowner has 20 days to answer the complaint. If there is no response, bank can ask for a summary judgment.

• Judge hears the request for a summary judgment. If the judge rules in the bank’s favor, the foreclosure is ordered.

• Homeowner has 90 days to sell the house, refinance or in another way get enough money to pay the bank what’s owed. Once the bank is paid, the homeowner keeps the property. This period is called “right of redemption.” (The bank may allow the homeowner to sell the property for less than the amount owed, forgiving the remaining debt and letting the homeowner walk away clean. This is called a short sale, and short sales can be made even during the foreclosure process.)

• After the 90-day right of redemption, the homeowner can be evicted and the foreclosure auction advertised.

• Home is sold in foreclosure auction. If no one else bids (or no one bids high enough), the bank keeps the property and attempts to sell it another way. Often that means listing it with a real estate agent.

• The foreclosure process can take several months to a year.

– Source: Sam Sherry, Metropolitan Law Center lawyer, Portland

Thinking of buying?

• An auction sale is the final step in the foreclosure process.

• The bank holding the mortgage also bids on the property during the auction. If no one else bids (or no one bids high enough), the bank formally takes full ownership. After that, it tries to sell the house, often through a real estate agent.

• In many auctions, no other bidders show up.

• Deals will vary from auction to auction and bank to bank. Some banks will bid the full amount owed, forcing other bidders to either drop out or bid higher. Other banks will bid lower, allowing other bidders to take the property for less than is owed. Bidders won’t know the situation until the auction starts.

• Auctions are advertised. The legal notices appear in the newspaper weeks before the auction. Auctions may be canceled at the last minute.