Many readers are well aware that the economy has been in a state of recovery for the past couple of years. The so-called Great Recession caused plummeting home values and wages that have taken years to bounce back from. Some people are still trying to deal with the financial aftermath of this downfall. In particular, many Tennessee residents struggle to keep their home out of foreclosure.

As this blog explained in a recent post, foreclosure is the process by which a mortgage holder — typically a bank — takes back the property in order to pay the debt. As that post explained, there are two common ways that a property can be foreclosed on including a judicial sale.

Many people may be facing foreclosure by judicial sale in Tennessee and be wondering what that entails. Under section 35-5-101 of the Tennessee Code, a judicial sale of property can only take place after certain notice requirements have been fulfilled.

Under that section, notice of the sale must be published in a newspaper in the county where the property is located at least three times prior to the sale. The first time this notice is published must be at least 20 days before the sale occurs.

Additionally, under section 35-5-101(e), the debtor must also receive notice of the sale. This notice must be mailed to the debtor before the sale is announced in a newspaper for the first time. Under section 35-5-104, this notice must include a description of the property, the time and place of the sale and the names of the parties involved.

If people are at risk of losing their home to a judicial sale, they should seek legal advice — which this post cannot provide. An attorney, however, could provide specific information about a particular case and whether there are options available to stop the foreclosure proceedings.