Tennnessee Foreclosure Laws

Know More About the Tennessee Foreclosure Process

Tennessee foreclosure laws also provide for both, deficiency judgments and the Right of Redemption. Certain security instruments contain a very important feature called the Power of Sale clause. By accepting this clause, the borrower agrees to sell his property in order to repay the loan balance if he defaults on his payments. If this clause is present, non-judicial foreclosure proceedings are followed, or else judicial foreclosure processes are used. While judicial foreclosure proceedings require the lender to obtain a court order to sell the property, non-judicial proceedings contain no such requirement and the lender is free to sell the property, provided a few guidelines are followed.

Procedures to be Followed Under Tennessee Foreclosure Laws

When the Power of Sale clause is present in mortgage agreements and other security instruments, a non-judicial proceeding is pursued. This requires that the specific terms of the clause be followed scrupulously. If the terms are not specified, the state has a set of guidelines that must be followed.

These guidelines require the lender to publish a Notice of Sale at least once every week for three weeks in a local newspaper of the county where the distressed property is located. The first notice must be published a minimum of twenty days before the date of the foreclosure sale. If the county does not have a local newspaper, the notice has to be posted in five conspicuously public places within the county at least thirty days prior to the foreclosure sale.

The borrower is also entitled to receive the notice at least twenty days prior to the foreclosure sale.

The guidelines stipulate that the foreclosure sale must be a public auction. The person bidding the highest amount for the property is awarded the rights to it. The minimum bid is set by the sheriff of the county and has to at least fifty percent of the property's market value.

The borrower has a specific time frame during which he can exercise his Right of Redemption to redeem his property. If he is unsuccessful in redeeming his property at the end of this period, the successful bidder is granted the title deed for the property.

Foreclosures in Tennessee Top Cities

• Memphis
• Nashville
• Knoxville
• Chattanooga
• Cordova
• Antioch
• Sevierville
• Murfreesboro
• Clarksville
• La Vergne
• Cleveland
• Jackson