Frequently asked questions

Foreclosure is the legal process by which a lender attempts to recover the amount owed on a defaulted loan by taking ownership of the mortgaged property and selling it. Typically, default is triggered when a borrower misses a specific number of monthly payments, but it can also happen when the borrower fails to meet other terms in the mortgage document. 

The sheriff of the county where the real estate is located reads the published Notice of Foreclosure Sale, solicits bids, and then issues to the highest bidder a Sheriff’s Certificate of Sale (if foreclosure by advertisement) or a Sheriff’s Report of Sale (if foreclosure by action). In a foreclosure by action, following the issuance of the Sheriff’s Report of Sale, the court is moved to confirm the sale. If confirmed, the sheriff then issues the Sheriff’s Certificate of Sale.

Distressed properties are a type of real estate that is being offered for sale because of an impending foreclosure or repossession.  

If the owner redeems, the rights existing under the Sheriff’s Certificate of Sale are extinguished. Any junior liens against the foreclosed property are “revived” as though there had been no foreclosure sale. The owner is given a Certificate of Redemption at the time of redemption, which is filed with the real estate records and serves as record notice of the redemption. 

Senior mortgages and liens “ride through” a foreclosure sale conducted by a junior lienholder. As a result, any party buying real estate at a foreclosure sale will acquire the property subject to the prior liens. After acquiring the property through foreclosure, the new owner may but is not required to, pay off the prior liens. If the prior liens are not paid, then the prior lienholders would likely proceed with their own foreclosure sale.