Mortgage Foreclosures

Functions

Mortgage foreclosures are legal actions taken in relation to real estate, as opposed to personal property. Minnesota laws regarding mortgage foreclosures can be found in the following statutes:

Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 580, Mortgages
Foreclosure by Advertisement Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 581, Mortgages
Foreclosure by Actions Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 582, Mortgages; Foreclosure, General Provisions
Mortgage Foreclosures by Advertisement

Mortgage Foreclosure by Advertisement is the most common type of foreclosure. The basis for this kind of foreclosure is default in the terms of the mortgage, usually failing to pay. The mortgage company will hire an attorney to prepare the foreclosure sale and documents and the attorney’s office will then arrange for service with the Sheriff’s Office OR a private process server. The foreclosure notice will also have to be published and that is also taken care of by the attorney for the mortgage company. Some attorney’s offices will arrange for private process servers to serve the foreclosure documents and will have the Sheriff’s Office involved for just the sale. In cases of private process servers, the Sheriff’s Office may have limited information regarding the terms of the sale. If you have any questions about a particular foreclosure sale you will want to contact the attorney handling the foreclosure. Their contact information is usually printed on the bottom of the Notice of Sale.

Mortgage Foreclosures by Action

Mortgage Foreclosures by Action are court-ordered foreclosures issued by a judge. District Court Judge will sign an order directing the Sheriff to sell a specific property or parcel. These orders/notices are prepared by the plaintiff’s attorney (plaintiff being mortgage company) BUT the Sheriff or Deputy will sign the notice of sale. This type of sale requires postings in 3 public places, the individual must be served and it is posted in the local newspaper.

Mortgage Foreclosure Sale Proceedings

Mortgage Foreclosure Sale Proceedings are done at the Sheriff’s Office lobby located at 401 Carver Road, Mankato. Sales are held Monday-Friday and are held promptly at 10am. The mortgage company’s attorney will make the first bid with the exact amount that is due at the time of the sale. If attending and are wanting to bid on the property, you will NEED to have the funds in a certified bank draft/check available within 1 HOUR OF THE SALE. This means you must have the certified bank draft/check in the Sheriff’s Office no later than 11am. You will need to contact the foreclosure attorney to find out the amount the property will be selling for. Whoever the successful bidder is at the time of sale will receive a Sheriff’s Certificate of Sale. This document states that all steps required by statute have been met and all actions needed have been taken. The foreclosure attorney will provide the Sheriff’s Office with a check in the amount of $70 for conducting the sale.

The Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office now has a list of Mortgage Foreclosure Sales online. View the Mortgage Foreclosure Sale calendar.

The attorney for the mortgage company must publish a Notice of Foreclosure Sale in a qualified newspaper as defined in Minnesota Statute §331A.01. The Sheriff's Office serves as the auctioneer at the sale.

Sales Procedure

The Sheriff’s Office conducts mortgage foreclosure sales using an open bidding process. Sales are usually conducted weekdays at 10:00 am at the Sheriff’s Office.

The property will be sold to the highest bidder. The opening bidder is the bank, other lender (mortgagee), or attorney representing the mortgagee.

A successful bidder must have cash or certified funds (payable to the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office) available at the time of the sale.

The successful bidder will receive a Sheriff’s Certificate of Sale that lists the name of the successful bidder and the amount of the purchase. The Certificate of Sale is prepared by the attorney representing the bank.

Redemption of Mortgage Foreclosed Property

Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, the mortgagor or another party acting by authority from the mortgagor may redeem a property sold at a mortgage foreclosure sale. The published Notice of Mortgage Foreclosure Sale contains a paragraph indicating the length of the redemption period.

Redemption may be made through the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office or through the attorney representing the bank or other mortgagee at the sale.

Redemption by Mortgagor (Record Owner)

If a mortgagor or another party acting by authority from the mortgagor wishes to redeem the property through the Sheriff's Office, the redeeming party must contact the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office Civil Process Unit not less than seven days prior to the anticipated redemption date. This time is required for research of the recorded documents, ascertaining the amount of the redemption payment, and preparation of the certificate. It will also allow time for the Civil Process Unit to contact the redeeming party if additional data or documents are required.

In order to redeem, the redeeming party must provide the following information:

Name of mortgagor or other party redeeming, if not the mortgagor Date of mortgage foreclosure sale
Date of redemption
Address of property
Contact information of person to whom the redemption figures can be given

The amount of the redemption payment is determined by including the following:

Amount bid at the foreclosure sale.

Interest accruing from the date of sale to the date of redemption. This is calculated at the rate of interest on the Sheriff’s Certificate of Sale.
Additional amounts paid by the purchaser at the foreclosure sale. These amounts may include insurance, taxes, assessments, etc. The purchaser must present an affidavit of additional amount due on redemption to the Sheriff’s Office Civil Process Unit within the listed redemption period in order to collect those amounts as part of the redemption.
A non-refundable service fee payable to the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office for preparation of the certificate of redemption.

The Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office will issue a Certificate of Redemption upon receipt of the full amount of the redemption payment.

Creditor Redemption

If the mortgagor does not redeem during the redemption period, creditors of the mortgagor who have a lien on the property may redeem after the end of the mortgagor’s redemption period. All redemption documents must be filed by the redeeming creditor with the Sheriff's Office Civil Process Unit at least one week prior to the end of the mortgagor’s redemption period. The documents to be filed with the Sheriff’s Office include copies of documents establishing the underlying lien on the property and a Notice of Intent to Redeem showing they have been recorded with the county recorder or registrar of titles, as appropriate. For each Notice of Intent to Redeem, there is a filing service fee.

The information to be provided at the time of request of redemptions by the mortgagor must also be provided at the time of the request for redemption by creditor.

Foreclosure Postponement by Mortgagor

A mortgagor may postpone a foreclosure sale (Minnesota Statute §580.07 Subd. 2). In order to postpone, a mortgagor needs to:

Obtain an Affidavit of Postponement and have it recorded.
Bring (mail or in person) a recorded copy of the Affidavit of Postponement along with a copy of the Notice of Mortgage Foreclosure Sale to the Sheriff’s Office Civil Process Unit at least 15 days prior to the original sale date, along with the service fee.