7 Days to Stop an Orlando Foreclosure — Saved $42K in Equity

The situation

Maria, a single mother of two in Orlando, fell behind on mortgage payments after losing her hospitality job during a slow tourist season. The lender filed a foreclosure complaint in Orange County Circuit Court. By the time we received her call, the case had been pending for 11 months and the sale was scheduled in 18 days. Maria had roughly $52,000 of equity in the home but believed she'd lose it all at auction.

The challenge

Florida is a judicial foreclosure state — the lender had already secured a final judgment. The sale was set, the lender had refused two prior loan-modification requests, and Maria had no cash to reinstate. Traditional listing would take 60-90 days she didn't have. Time was the binding constraint.

What we did

1. Pulled the Orange County court file the same afternoon and verified the sale date and the exact payoff balance ($168,400).
2. Made a written cash offer of $215,000 within 24 hours — based on an ARV of $325,000 with $35,000 in estimated repairs.
3. Coordinated with Maria's attorney to dismiss the foreclosure conditional on the sale closing before the auction.
4. Title company ordered a payoff demand from the lender, locked in for 21 days.
5. Closed at the title company in Orlando 9 calendar days after Maria's initial call.

The outcome

The lender was paid in full at closing. The foreclosure case was dismissed before the auction. Maria walked away with $42,300 net after the mortgage payoff and her share of the closing — money that would have been lost at the foreclosure sale. Her credit was scored 'late payments' rather than 'foreclosure,' which her loan officer estimates saved her 80-100 credit-score points.