Florida Foreclosure Procedure · Stage 3 of 12
If you just found a "notice of lis pendens" on your home, or on a house you inherited, here is the short version: a lawsuit has been filed, your ownership has not changed, and you still have more options right now than you will at any later point in the case. The rest of this page explains what the notice does, how to look it up, and what to do this week.
The Definition
A notice of lis pendens is a document recorded in the county's official records announcing that a lawsuit has been filed that may affect title to a specific piece of real estate. In a Florida mortgage foreclosure, the lender records it at the same time it files the complaint in circuit court. Its job is to put the world on notice: anyone who buys the property, or lends against it, while the case is pending takes it subject to whatever the court decides. It does not transfer ownership, it is not a judgment, and it is not a sale date. Florida's lis pendens rules are in Fla. Stat. § 48.23.
What It Does — and Doesn't Do
Any title search on the property will now show the pending case. A buyer's title company or a new lender will insist the foreclosing lender is paid in full at closing before they insure the deal. That's not a dead end. It's the normal mechanism for resolving a foreclosure by sale or payoff.
The lis pendens is recorded with the complaint, and service of that complaint starts a 20-day window to respond under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.140. From here the case moves toward summary judgment, final judgment, and a sale date. See the full Florida foreclosure timeline for every stage.
You still own the home, you can still live in it, and you can still sell it. Ownership only changes at the very end of the process, when the Clerk issues a certificate of title after the auction.
Any lawsuit affecting title can carry a lis pendens: a partition suit between co-owners or heirs, an HOA or condo association lien foreclosure, a contract dispute with a buyer. Read the complaint before assuming which kind of case you're in.
Lis pendens filings are public, and "foreclosure rescue" outfits watch them. Never sign your deed to anyone, be wary of large upfront fees, and verify any mortgage professional on NMLS Consumer Access before sharing documents. Mine is NMLS #1615071.
Section 48.23 limits how long some lis pendens last, but that limit generally doesn't apply when the case is based on a recorded mortgage. A foreclosure lis pendens usually stays on record until the lender's attorney dismisses the case after payoff, or the case otherwise ends.
Look It Up
Search the Clerk's official records by owner name or address. The recorded notice shows the case number, which unlocks the court docket and tells you exactly where the case stands.
Official records and the civil docket are on the Miami-Dade Clerk's foreclosure page. Once judgment is entered, check the Miami-Dade sale calendar for the auction date.
Search the Broward County Clerk records and case search. Sale dates appear on the Broward sale calendar.
Search the Palm Beach County Clerk official records and court case search. Sale dates appear on the Palm Beach sale calendar.
This Week
This is the widest the menu will ever be. Every later stage removes options.
Who is the plaintiff? When does it say the default began? What amount does it claim? Note the date you were served. You have 20 days from service to respond.
If you plan to raise defenses, this is the time to hire a foreclosure defense attorney, not after judgment. If you plan to resolve by payoff or sale, start now while there's calendar room. Many people do both.
A complete loss-mitigation application gives you federal protections under 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41. A free HUD-approved housing counselor can help you assemble it.
Equity decides which tools work. With meaningful equity, a sale on your terms or an equity-based bridge loan (up to 36 months in most cases, with no pre-payment penalty so you can refinance out as soon as you qualify) may be worth reviewing, though approval and closing can't be guaranteed. With little equity, a modification, short sale, or attorney-led strategy is the realistic path.
Inherited Homes
Inherited homes are one of the most common situations I work on. A parent passes away, the mortgage payments stop, and months later the lender files. The heirs often learn about it from the mail flood the lis pendens sets off. Two things to know. First, the foreclosure doesn't pause for probate, so the court clock is running while the estate is being opened. Second, someone needs legal authority to act: usually a personal representative appointed by the probate court. A probate attorney gets that started.
If the home has real equity, the estate or the heirs may have options to review: a sale before the auction, one heir buying out the others, or an equity-based loan, subject to approval and to the personal representative's authority. More on that at probate and inherited-home loans.
FAQ
A lis pendens (Latin for "suit pending") is a public notice, recorded in the county's official records, that a lawsuit has been filed that could affect title to a specific property. In a foreclosure, the lender records it when it files the complaint. It does not transfer ownership, it is not a judgment, and it does not mean the home has been lost. It warns anyone buying or lending against the property that the outcome of the case will bind them. Florida's lis pendens statute is Fla. Stat. § 48.23.
Usually, yes. The lis pendens doesn't stop a sale; it means the buyer's title company will require the foreclosing lender to be paid in full at closing. Once the lender is paid in full, its attorney typically dismisses the case and releases the lis pendens. The practical limit is time: the sale has to close before the foreclosure auction, so a lis pendens is the moment to start, not the moment to wait.
Most conventional and government-backed lenders won't refinance a loan that is in active foreclosure. Some equity-based private and bridge lenders will review it, because they underwrite primarily on the property's equity rather than recent payment history. If a loan is approved and closes, it pays off the foreclosing lender, and the lender's attorney typically dismisses the case and releases the lis pendens. Approval, closing, payoff acceptance and timing can't be guaranteed, and whether it's worth reviewing depends on your equity and how far the case has gone.
Search the official records of the Clerk of Court in the county where the property sits, by owner name or property address. In South Florida that means the Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach County Clerk. A recorded lis pendens will show a recording date, the case number, and the plaintiff. You can then use the case number to look up the court docket and see where the case stands.
This is common: the payments stopped when the owner passed away, and the lender filed. The foreclosure can continue during probate, so the clock is running even while the estate is being opened. The first steps are to get a probate attorney involved so someone has legal authority to act for the estate, pull the foreclosure docket to see the stage, and get a realistic value for the home. If there's meaningful equity, the estate or the heirs may be able to pay off the loan by sale, refinance, or an equity-based bridge loan.
Under Fla. Stat. § 48.23, a lis pendens in a case that isn't based on a recorded instrument generally loses effect one year after the case begins unless the court extends it. A mortgage foreclosure is based on a recorded mortgage, so that one-year limit generally does not apply. In practice, a foreclosure lis pendens stays on record until the case is dismissed or resolved. Ask an attorney how the statute applies to your specific case.
Fifteen minutes, free, confidential, no credit pull. Send me the case number and we'll look at the docket, the claimed amount, and your equity, then talk honestly about which options fit. If you need an attorney or a HUD counselor instead of a loan, I'll tell you that.