Can my wages be garnished in West Virginia following foreclosure of a home?

Foreclosures are always a consideration in the minds of homeowners, particularly after the upheaval of the global economy in the last 5 years. Threat of financial jeopardy loomed large over everyone’s head, from the rich elite to the impoverished lower-class. With so many falling into monetary ruin, the need for transparency in regards to foreclosure proceedings and borrower rights came sharply to the forefront, as even the lowest common denominator started falling victim to the falling value of the dollar.

What You Need To Know

In many(indeed, almost all) cases where a borrower finds themselves fighting a foreclosure, a lender will threaten all manner of things if the debtor is unable to pay off their debt. Threats of wage garnishment, court-sanctioned appropriation of assets, and other similar ultimatums are given all the time as ‘incentive’ for the debtor to keep making payments, even when it is unfeasible and even unadvisable for them to do so.

As a debtor, you need to know that that is largely illegal. You have rights and you can exercise them.
Federal law(under the FDCPA) prohibits many of these threats and debt collection agencies are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to their representatives making illegal threats of litigation. Furthermore, your wages cannot be garnished as part of a foreclosure due to the very simple fact that the asset in default is the only collateral pledged and therefore, the only asset the lender or Beneficiary has any legal right to unless other collateral is explicitly outlined within the loan agreement.

This means that the only recourse for debt recovery at that point left to the lender or Beneficiary at that point is county auction. If the property does not bring in enough to cover the remaining balance owed for the property, some states allow for lenders to sue for a Deficiency Judgment against the borrower. This is the only case where wage garnishments due to a foreclosure would be allowed, but they can not be initiated during the proceedings.

Why Not To Worry

Banks, in almost all cases, will not sue for deficiency judgments against former clients as they know that the foreclosure victim will likely have no money to pay them in the first place. If they hadn’t been struggling in the first place, they likely wouldn’t have lost their homes. So it would place an unneeded strain on the bank’s time and resources to sue again someone that was unable to pay them what they asked for the first time. Furthermore, West Virginia is one of a handful of states that generally denies all sued-for deficiency judgments and also does not allow for Right To Redemption of the debt by third parties.
 
Know your rights, find a friend who knows a little about legal contracts, and learn how to protect yourself. The government wrote laws  that allow to you secure your investments with little hassle; it’s up to you to use them and use them fully.