Hi David,

Actually, a Quit Claim Deed recorded before a foreclosure auction does not change the legal status or interrupt the foreclosure process. The foreclosure remains tied to the original civil case, and all related documentation (including the parties named) comes from the Final Judgment issued by the court. That’s why you’ll often see the previous owner listed in the foreclosure documents, even if the property was transferred to someone else in the meantime.

If the new owner wants to be involved in the case, they would need to file a motion or petition with the court to be formally added to the civil case as an interested party. Otherwise, the auction continues as scheduled, and the new deed holder simply “inherits” the foreclosure. If they want to solve it, they can, but it’s on them to act.

As for why people do this, there can be a few reasons. One practical explanation is that the property was sold or transferred before the auction, and the new owner (often a distressed property investor) paid cash at a discount and took on the risk in hopes of resolving the debt and flipping the property at a profit.

In some cases, the owner may gift or transfer the property to a third party or an entity in exchange for that party taking care of the foreclosure.

Another common reason is that the original owner wants to avoid having the foreclosure show up on their personal record. By quit-claiming the property to an entity (sometimes an LLC or even a shell), the foreclosure judgment and auction will be recorded against that entity, not the individual. However, for this to work procedurally, the new entity would have to be added as a defendant in the civil case. In many cases, this is done in hopes of shielding the original owner from a future deficiency judgment, although it’s not always effective and definitely not a guaranteed legal workaround.

Either way, transferring ownership by QCD does not stop, halts or suspend the foreclosure. If you're planning to bid at auction, you can move forward, it won’t change anything from your side as long as the auction is still active. Once you win, the Certificate of Title will make you the legal owner, free of that prior quit claim.

One final note, and I’d strongly suggest this: always double-check the foreclosure case docket on the court’s website. Sometimes the system used for auctions (It is usually the RealForeclose platform in most of Florida Counties) is not fully up to date, and the case may have been settled, dismissed, or delayed without that being reflected in the auction portal yet. You don't want to find out later that you bid on a canceled auction, getting your funds back in that scenario can be slow, frustrating, and expensive.

Hope it helps