If you're facing the foreclosure of your Arizona home and you want to stop the foreclosure sale, please act now. We meet with far too many people who have a trustee's sale coming up within days (or sometimes hours) and they want to do something to stop the sale. Even if there are legal grounds to challenge the sale, it can be very difficult - and much more expensive - without the benefit of time.
The real lesson from this article is how easy it can be for a lawsuit to get out of hand. Even more than the money spent by both sides, this dispute over roughly $2,000 dragged on for over a decade, likely inflicting untold and uncompensible emotional damage on all involved - not to mention the time lost that could have been spent on more productive endeavors.
Arizona lenders, in some but not all cases, may maintain legal actions to recover a balance left owing after the sale or foreclosure of real estate pursuant to a trust deed, which is addressed in A.R.S. § 33-807. Section 33-814 addresses the ninety-day time limitation for bringing such actions, the procedure for establishing the fair market value to determine the amount of a deficiency judgment, and the obligations of guarantors.
A.R.S. § 33-2303 is part of Title 33, Chapter 20 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S. § 33-2201-2211), the Timeshare Owners' Association and Management Act, which governs the various legal duties associated with timeshare ownership and timeshare management in Arizona.
The establishment of the Arizona Industrial Commission, which is responsible for the enforcement of Arizona state laws relating to the protection of life, health, safety, and employee welfare, is addressed in the Arizona Revised Statutes at A.R.S. § 23-101.
Unfortunately, there is no way to accurately predict how long it will take an individual lender to initiate and complete a Trustee's Sale on any individual home. Technically, as soon as the loan is in default due to the failure to make timely payments the lender may start the process, but usually it takes much longer.
The Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is codified in the Arizona Revised Statutes at A.R.S. Sections 33-1301 through 33-1381. Landlords and tenants should be aware, however, that other statutes and laws may also be pertinent to their case, particularly those governing forcible detainer actions and, in the case of mobile homes, the separate Arizona Mobile Home Parks Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.
This and related statutes at A.R.S. §§ 33-301 - 33-381 generally pertain to landlord tenant relationships that do not fit within the parameters of other Arizona law, such as that between innkeepers and their guests.
In Arizona, absent some agreement, rule or statute to the contrary, a lender can generally seek a deficiency judgment after foreclosing on a property securing a loan, if the property does not sell for enough money to satisfy the debt in full. Fortunately for most typical Arizona homeowners, the Arizona legislature has adopted anti-deficiency statutes that preclude such recourse in many typical fact scenarios.
The Arizona Revised Statutes, at A.R.S. §§ 12-101 - 12-119.05, address the establishment and function of the Arizona Supreme Court.
Arizona Revised Statute Section 23-104 addresses the ministerial issue of how records of the orders and proceedings of the Arizona Industrial Commission shall be authenticated.
The Arizona Court of Appeals, in the case of Amtrust Bank v. Fosset, recently addressed the question of whether a lender who has issued federal tax Form 1099-C indicating a debt was cancelled may thenn sue the borrowers on the obligation. This is an issue of significant importance in Arizona due to the economic conditions that have resulted in a flood of foreclosures, following which many borrowers will receive Form 1099-C.
The anti-deficiency statutes currently on the books, in particular A.R.S. § 33-814(G), apply only to instances where the property is "sold pursuant to the trustee's power of sale," not in the case of a short sale. Although there have been discussions of enacting legislation addressing short sales, and in particular the issue of deficiency liability in a short sale, no such legislation has been enacted.
A.R.S. § 12-3101 applies to Title 12, Chapter 22 of the the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S. § 12-3101-3103), which addresses the application of foreign laws by Arizona courts and other adjudicative bodies.
For a tenant who has not paid the rent or seriously breached the lease agreement, it may be very difficult to mount an effective defense to an eviction action. Nonetheless, a tenant will have a valid defense to an eviction action if the landlord has not complied with the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.
A.R.S. § 33-2302 is part of Title 33, Chapter 21 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S. § 33-2301-2302), which address a tenant’s right to request that a commercial landlord to provide information on companies that provide telecommunications services to the building in question.
In the recent case of Arizona v. Autozone, Inc., one of the central issues addressed by the Arizona Supreme Court was the interpretation of Arizona's Consumer Fraud Act and whether that law authorizes disgorgement of profits earned in violation of the law to the State. The Court ultimately determined that the statute expressly allows for the restoration of losses to affected consumers, but it does not allow the State to seek disgorgement of monies received by a vendor in violation of the Consumer Fraud Act.
Arizona Revised Statute Section 23-105 addresses the business operations of the Arizona Industrial Commission, including its office locations and business hours. This statute sets forth the minimum requirements established by the Arizona legislature, but the specific details may be found on the Commission's website.
The Arizona Fair Housing Act, at A.R.S. 41-1491.01, precludes discrimination due to familial status. Specifically, the Section provides that it is illegal to discriminate in connection with many housing-related transactions, including the sale or rental of housing, because a person is pregnant, living with a minor (in most cases), or is in the process of obtaining legal custody of a minor.
The Arizona Timeshare Owners' Association and Management Act, at Title 33, Chapter 20 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S. § 33-2201-2211), includes provisions governing open meeting requirements for timeshare association meeting.