- Who sends it
- The buyer at the foreclosure sale or whoever now holds its title, after your written demand
- What it starts
- 10 days for you to accept or dispute the value claimed for improvements, inside your redemption period
- Do this first
- Check each charge against the law and line up payment before your 180-day or 1-year deadline
What this document is in Alabama
Ala. Code § 6-5-252 lets anyone entitled to redeem make a written demand on the buyer for a written statement of the debt and all lawful charges. The buyer must give you a written, itemized statement within 10 days after your demand.
Under Ala. Code § 6-5-253, you must pay the price paid at the sale with interest at the rate allowed on money judgments, plus lawful charges with interest: permanent improvements, taxes paid or assessed, insurance premiums paid or owed by the buyer, and certain other liens the buyer paid. If you redeem from someone who still owns the foreclosed debt, you must also pay any balance due on it.
What it does and does not mean
- It is not a bill you must accept as is. You can dispute the value claimed for permanent improvements (Ala. Code § 6-5-254).
- If the buyer does not send a statement within 10 days, it loses any claim for improvements, and you may file a complaint to redeem without first offering payment (Ala. Code § 6-5-252).
- You get credits for timber, minerals or other value the buyer took, and for buildings it removed or destroyed (Ala. Code § 6-5-253(d)). The buyer keeps rents up to the redemption date.
- If the buyer will not deed the home back after you pay or tender, you can file suit in circuit court (Ala. Code § 6-5-255).
The deadlines and how to count them
- 10 days for the buyer to answer your written demand.
- Improvements: the buyer must state the value claimed within 10 days of your demand. You then have 10 days to accept it or name a referee and tell the buyer in writing. If you do neither, you must pay the buyer's figure (Ala. Code § 6-5-254).
- Tender or suit must happen within 180 days from the foreclosure for homestead property, or 1 year for other property (Ala. Code § 6-5-252).
- Count by leaving out the first day and including the last; a last day on a Sunday or legal holiday moves to the next working day (Ala. Code § 1-1-4).
What to do this week
- Make your demand in writing and keep proof of the date it was received.
- Compare the statement with the sale price on the foreclosure deed and ask for receipts for taxes, insurance and improvements.
- Line up the money early. Talk with a lender or family members, and remember you also had to leave within 10 days of any demand for possession.
- Get help from Legal Services Alabama at 866-456-4995 or the Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service.
- Read after a foreclosure sale in Alabama.
The rest of the Alabama process
See how foreclosure works in Alabama, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Alabama.
Common questions
What if the Alabama buyer ignores my demand for a statement?
After 10 days, the buyer forfeits any claim for improvements, and you may file a complaint to redeem without first offering payment, plus file a lis pendens with the probate court (Ala. Code § 6-5-252). Do it within your redemption period.
What does it cost to redeem an Alabama home?
The sale price plus interest at the rate set for money judgments, and lawful charges such as permanent improvements, taxes, insurance premiums and certain liens, also with interest (Ala. Code § 6-5-253).
Can I dispute the value of improvements in Alabama?
Yes. Within 10 days after the buyer states the value, you can name a referee and notify the buyer in writing. The buyer names one too, and if they cannot agree an umpire is appointed, whose majority award is final (Ala. Code § 6-5-254).
Other Alabama letters
- 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.
- 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.
- Foreclosure deedAfter 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).
- Written demand for possessionAfter 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.
- 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.
Sources
- Code of Alabama § 6-5-252, Demand for statement of debt and lawful charges
- Code of Alabama § 6-5-253, Payment of purchase money and lawful charges
- Code of Alabama § 6-5-254, Value of permanent improvements
- Code of Alabama § 6-5-255, Refusal to reconvey
- Code of Alabama § 6-5-248, Who may redeem
- Code of Alabama § 1-1-4, Computation of time