Skip to main content
How to avoidForeclosure
Get help

Alabama · What this letter means

Alabama foreclosure letters and notices

The papers Alabama homeowners receive, in the order they usually arrive. Each page uses the name on the Alabama document, explains the deadline it starts under Alabama law, and lists what to do this week.

  1. Step 1

    Notice of redemption rights (homestead property)

    If you claimed a homestead exemption on your home, the lender must mail you a short notice by certified mail at least 30 days before an Alabama foreclosure sale. It says Alabama law may let you redeem (buy back) the home and that help programs may exist. It also starts your 180-day redemption clock after the sale.

    What it means
  2. Step 2

    Notice of sale (published foreclosure notice)

    In Alabama, the official notice of a power of sale foreclosure is printed in a county newspaper once a week for three weeks in a row. It gives the time, place and terms of the auction at the courthouse door. No judge reviews it. You may still have options before the sale and a right to redeem after.

    What it means
  3. Step 3

    Foreclosure deed

    After an Alabama courthouse auction, the person who ran the sale signs a foreclosure deed to the buyer. It passes legal title. But in Alabama you may still buy the home back within 180 days (homestead) or 1 year (other property).

    What it means
  4. Step 4

    Written demand for possession

    After an Alabama foreclosure sale, the buyer can send you a written demand to move out. You have 10 days. If you stay past the 10 days, you lose your right to buy the home back, and the buyer can go to court to remove you.

    What it means
  5. Step 5

    Itemized statement of debt and lawful charges (to redeem)

    To buy back your home after an Alabama foreclosure, you send the buyer a written demand for an itemized statement of the debt and lawful charges. The buyer must answer within 10 days. The statement tells you what to pay, and you must tender payment or file suit within your redemption period.

    What it means
  6. Step 6

    Notice to taxpayer from the judge of probate (tax sale)

    If your Alabama property taxes are delinquent, the judge of probate issues a notice telling you to appear and show why your property should not be ordered sold for the taxes. Paying the taxes, interest and costs before the sale stops it. After a tax sale you generally have 3 years to redeem.

    What it means

Got a letter not listed here? See every foreclosure letter explained, or how foreclosure works in Alabama.