A foreclosure can come about if you do not make the payments that you agreed to make after taking out a mortgage on a home. Missing one payment will generally not trigger a foreclosure, though the lender is probably going to contact you about it. Standard procedure is for lenders to allow more time -— 90 days, for example —- to pass before determining that a foreclosure is needed. If they do, they then file a lawsuit to regain full possession of your home. This can happen at any point during your mortgage, even if you have been paying for years, if you cease to make those payments. The lender will want to reclaim the home and then sell it off, typically at auction, to regain the money that was lent to you.

States have their own foreclosure laws and regulations, so it is wise to know exactly how this is going to work in Wyoming. Below are a few of the key points.

Notifications for the Owner

As the owner of the house, you have a right to know first if the bank is going to reclaim and sell your home. The bank will post a notice of sale that declares their decision, but they first have to send you a notice of their intent to do this. You should get this ten days prior to that posting. The notice of sale will then need to be published every week, for four consecutive weeks.

Reinstatement and Redemption

Two ways to retain your home are to use reinstatement or redemption. There is no law saying that a lender must let you reinstate the loan, so you will have to look to your loan contract to see if you have this ability. If you offer to pay off what is owed in missed payments and late fees, for example, you may be allowed to do this.

Redemption is different in that it allows you to get the home back even if it has already gone through the sale process. This is not something that all of the states allow, but Wyoming mandates that you be given three months to do this if you so choose. For agricultural property, this time limit is expanded to 12 months.

Extensions of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act was set up for many reasons, with one of its powers being that the federal government will not allow civil foreclosure proceedings to happen while people who are on active military duty are not in the country. This act protects them and allows them to at least be present to use all of their legal options when a foreclosure begins. In Wyoming, these protections also go for National Guard members. Members do have to be considered to be on active duty for 30 days in a row to qualify.

Your Eviction Notice

The laws in Wyoming do not put down any special regulations for what the lender or new owner must do after the process is complete. For instance, in other states, you could be given three to five days to leave, but Wyoming offers no legal grace period. The timeframe will be between you and the foreclosing party. Additionally, if an eviction is needed, the foreclosing party must ask for one from the local authorities. They will then contact you about the eviction and give you more specific details about when you must vacate the home.