As with all foreclosures, before a house can ever end up on Miami foreclosure listings, the owners must miss payments. The number of payments missed differs from lender to lender and circumstance to circumstance. Once the lender is fed up, they file a motion with the courts and the owner of the property is notified of the pending lawsuit. If he or she does not respond to the courts by the deadline, the court considers them in default of the loan and sets a date for the property to be sold. That's part of how the property will land in the Miami foreclosure listings.

First, the home is put up for auction about one month after the court date. Winning bidders pay a 5% deposit to hold the property but the balance must be paid by the end of the day. Within ten days of the completion of the payment, the deed is transferred into the name of the new buyer. However, if the auction fails to find a winning bidder (as many do these days) then the property reverts back to the lender and it ends up in the Miami foreclosure listings.

The entire process takes about five months. Up until the sale date, the original borrower can pay off the amount and stop the foreclosure.