Mortgage Foreclosures

Mortgage Foreclosure can be a scary and confusing legal matter. While timelines vary, the following is the minimum time for the foreclosure process in Minnesota.

You miss one payment. The whole process begins when a payment on your mortgage cannot be made. The mortgage lender might start calling you or writing you letters. The lender might also reach out to see if you need assistance or if you are eligible for a loan modification. At some point you will receive a default or “intent to foreclose” letter, or the equivalent notice.

You miss three payments. It is usually about three months of missed payments before your file is sent to a foreclosing attorney representing the lender. It could be less and it could be more. The attorney may try to take payments again, usually by calling you or writing letters to you.

You miss four payments. Minnesota uses foreclosure by advertisement, where the lender must serve you personally with foreclosure papers. This will usually occur once you miss four or more payments. The papers will tell you the date of the sheriff sale, which must be at least six weeks in the future, and other relevant details regarding the sale itself. The lender also has to publish a foreclosure notice in a newspaper of their choosing for six consecutive weeks.

The sheriff’s sale. The sheriff’s sale is a very important date, for two reasons. First, it is the last date on which you can bring your mortgage current in order to stop the foreclosure, a process known as “reinstating” your loan.

Second, after the sheriff sale is completed, you can no longer use bankruptcy to help you catch up on your mortgage. If your sheriff’s sale is scheduled for 10 a.m. on a Monday, and you file your bankruptcy at 9:59, the sale must be cancelled until your bankruptcy is completed or the “bankruptcy stay” is lifted. If it is filed at 10:01, you have missed your chance.

Month 12: The end of the redemption period. The redemption period is a six month period starting from the date of the sheriff’s sale or twelve months if your property is over a certain number of acres. Six months is far more common. During the redemption period, you can continue living in your home. By this time, it is too late to get the mortgage current by paying past-due payments, but you can “redeem” the property by paying the entire sheriff’s sale amount plus interest and fees any time before the redemption period expires.

Month 13: Eviction. Eviction is the final step in a foreclosure. After the redemption period has ended, if the lender wants get you out of the house, it must file for an eviction in court. This usually takes about a month to complete.

No matter where you are in this process, you may still have options, including litigation and bankruptcy. If you want to talk more about how to prevent foreclosure, give us a call.