Once the foreclosure process is started in Georgia, the owner of your loan will send you a notice of its intent to foreclose. This will typically be 30 days prior to the foreclosure sale. The notice is required by law to be in writing and include the name, address, and telephone number of someone who has the authority to negotiate, amend, and modify the terms of the mortgage. At this point it is usually going to be the law firm that the lender hired to process the foreclosure. Common law firms in Georgia are Aldridge Pite, Brock and Scott, McCalla Raymer, and Rubin Lublin to name a few.

At this point, your house is scheduled to be sold at public auction. The foreclosing attorney is required to advertise the foreclosure sale in the local paper consecutively for 4 weeks. For most counties in Georgia, it is going to be published in the local/county newspaper in the “Legals” section of the Classified Ads. For most local newspapers you do not need a subscription to view the ad online. Fulton County, due to its size, uses a 3rd party to advertise foreclosure sales. DeKalb County is one of the few counties that charges to view the classified ads online. In Georgia, the foreclosure sale happens on the first Tuesday of every month starting at 10:00 AM. The auction usually takes place on the courthouse steps, but some counties have chosen to move the location indoors. The only exception to the date would be if the first Tuesday of the month falls on January 1 or July 4, then it will be held the following week.

Once the auction starts, investors will start bidding for your mortgage. The bank usually has a minimum amount they will accept. If that minimum is met, then the bank will issue the investor a foreclosure deed. If the minimum amount is not met, then the title to your house will be given to the bank. Regardless, at this point, you no longer have legal right to occupy the house. The owner, whether the bank or an investor, will file a dispossessory action, or eviction, with the county magistrate court. The new owner must give you a 24-hour notice they are filing for eviction. Once the eviction is granted, if you refuse to leave, the local sheriffs will give the new owner right to move your belongings to the street curb and rekey the locks.