When a Tennessee homeowner loses his house in a foreclosure and the subsequent sheriff's sale of the home, he is not immediately booted from the home. Instead the new owners, whether the lender or a private party, must evict the original homeowner (if he hasn't left on his own) to gain full possession of the home.
Tennessee Foreclosure
When a lender wants to foreclose on a home in Tennessee, he can choose a judicial or non-judicial option. Non-judicial foreclosure is when the lender includes contract terms in the mortgage that allow it to sell the home if the borrower falls behind. The majority of foreclosures in Tennessee use non-judicial foreclosure. Judicial foreclosure is used when this terminology is not written into the contract and the lender must pursue foreclosure through a court.
Tenant
Tenants in Tennessee are protected under the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act. Instead of being kicked out immediately after the lender or new owner takes possession, the tenant gets 90 days to leave before being subject to eviction.
Homeowner
Once the Tennessee foreclosure process is completed, the homeowner typically does not have the option to buy the property back from the lender. Since most Tennessee foreclosures are invoked through a clause in the mortgage, right of redemption post-foreclosure is typically not allowed. In the few judicial foreclosures and non-judicial foreclosures that permit redemption, the Tennessee homeowner can redeem the home within two years by paying everything he owes, including late fees and any redemption costs.
Eviction
The new owner of the home has to legally evict the original homeowners or the tenants who stay in the home after the 90-day period expires for tenants, or the 30-day period for the homeowners. The new homeowner has to send a notice to the occupants telling them to leave the premises or he will pursue eviction. After the notice, he files an eviction complaint to get a court order of eviction.