When You Can Lose Your Home Because of a Loan

Let’s discuss what happens if you stop repaying your loan due to job loss and in what cases the lender can demand the sale of your mortgaged home.

When Can a Lender Demand the Sale of a Mortgaged Home?

If the borrower misses four or more payments within a year, the bank has the right to demand early repayment of the entire debt and recover the mortgaged property through the court — even if it is the borrower’s only home.

Can the Bank Force You to Repay a Mortgage Early Because of a Delay on a Consumer Loan?

No. Debts on different loans are not connected, even if they were issued by the same bank.

The bank can demand early repayment of a mortgage only if you:

• Have delayed payments specifically on that mortgage loan;
• Refused to renew property insurance (or the policy expired) and failed to obtain a new one within 30 days;
• Sold or gifted the mortgaged property without the bank’s consent;
• Seriously violated the rules for using, maintaining, or repairing the property.

Delays on other loans cannot serve as grounds for claims related to your mortgage. However, if you fail to pay your consumer loan, the bank may go to court or to a notary, obtain an enforcement order, and begin forcibly withdrawing the debt from your accounts. As a result, you may no longer have enough money left to pay your mortgage.

What to Do If You Don’t Have Enough Money to Repay the Mortgage?

If you are in a difficult financial situation, you have the right to request a payment holiday — a pause in your loan payments for up to six months. You can request this even if you already have overdue payments.

If the conditions for a payment holiday are not met, or if after six months your financial situation hasn’t improved, you can ask the bank to restructure the loan. This means changing the payment schedule, for example, by temporarily reducing payments and extending the loan term. Many banks have special restructuring programs and are willing to cooperate with borrowers facing financial hardship.

If neither a payment holiday nor restructuring works out, you can sell the mortgaged property yourself. The creditor must agree to this if the sale proceeds are enough to fully cover the outstanding debt.

The buyer will transfer the payment directly to the bank. The funds will first be used to repay the mortgage, and any remaining balance will be paid to you. Often, the difference is enough to buy a smaller home or make a down payment on a new mortgage with lower monthly installments.

It’s very important to request a payment holiday, restructuring, or permission to sell the property on your own before the bank starts legal proceedings to foreclose on your mortgage.

When Do Residents Get Evicted from a Foreclosed Home?

The property may be put up for sale even if people are still registered and living there. Typically, bailiffs and auction organizers don’t even enter the property for inspection — buyers make decisions based on the address, area, and layout.

Once the property has a new owner, they can go to court and request to terminate the previous owner’s right to live there. This usually takes a couple of months but can sometimes take longer.

If the former residents refuse to leave voluntarily, once the court decision on eviction comes into effect, the new owner can contact the bailiffs, who will then enforce the eviction and vacate the premises.