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Michigan foreclosure help

How to avoid foreclosure in Michigan

Most Michigan home foreclosures are done by advertisement, without a court case. The lender publishes a notice in a newspaper for four weeks and posts it on the property, and then the county sheriff sells the home at a public auction. After the sale you usually have a six-month redemption period, and you can keep living in the home during it. A court only gets involved if the buyer later files an eviction case, or if the lender chooses to foreclose by lawsuit instead.

Ask for help in Michigan Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Michigan law and official sources on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Michigan at a glance
Type of foreclosure
Nonjudicial (no court case)
Catch up to stop the sale
Limited
Buy back after the sale
Yes
Owe money after the sale
Possible
Foreclosure mediation
No statewide program

How foreclosure works in Michigan, step by step

How long it takes: At the very least, about five months from the first missed payment to a sheriff's sale: the federal 120-day wait plus four weeks of published notice. For most homes a six-month redemption period follows the sale, so it is usually close to a year before you can be made to leave. These are minimums, not predictions.

  1. Missed payments and the federal waiting period

    Your servicer generally cannot start a foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. Michigan no longer has its own pre-foreclosure meeting or loan modification step, so use this time to apply to your servicer and call a housing counselor.

    12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)

  2. Notice of foreclosure is published and posted

    The lender publishes a notice of foreclosure by advertisement once a week for four weeks in a newspaper in your county. A copy must be posted in a noticeable place on the property within 15 days after the first publication. The notice states the amount claimed, the sale date and the length of your redemption period.

    MCL 600.3208, 600.3212

  3. The sheriff's sale

    The home is sold at public auction to the highest bidder, at the place where the circuit court is held in your county. The sale can be postponed by posting a notice at the sale location. Before the sale, you can still stop it by working something out with the lender, paying what you owe or filing bankruptcy.

    MCL 600.3212, 600.3220

  4. The redemption period

    After the sale you can buy the home back by paying the winning bid, interest at your mortgage rate and certain costs. For most homes the period is six months. You can stay in the home and do not have to make mortgage payments during this time, but the buyer may inspect the property.

    MCL 600.3240, 600.3238

  5. Redemption ends and the deed becomes final

    If you do not redeem by the date shown on the sheriff's deed, the buyer becomes the owner. If you plan to move out, Michigan Legal Help says to tell the buyer at least 10 days before you leave.

    MCL 600.3240

  6. Eviction

    If you are still in the home after the redemption period, the buyer must file a court case with a summons and complaint to evict you. If the court orders eviction, you usually have 10 days to move before the sheriff can remove you.

Michigan foreclosure deadlines to know

WhatHow long
Published notice before the saleMCL 600.32084 weeks in a row, at least once a week
Notice posted on the propertyMCL 600.3208Within 15 days after the first publication
Redemption period for most homesMCL 600.3240(8)6 months from the sale
Redemption period in other casesMCL 600.3240(11), (12)1 year from the sale
Redemption period if the home is abandonedMCL 600.3240(9), (10)1 month, or 30 days in some cases
Notice before the buyer's interior inspectionMCL 600.3238At least 72 hours

These are the periods written into the law. Your own dates are on the notices you received. If a notice and this page disagree, trust the notice and ask a counselor or lawyer.

Your rights as a homeowner in Michigan

Can I stop a foreclosure in Michigan by catching up on what I owe?

Limited right

We did not find a Michigan statute that gives you a right to catch up on missed payments and cancel a foreclosure by advertisement. Michigan Legal Help says you can avoid the sale during the notice period by paying all missed payments and late fees, refinancing, selling, or getting a loan modification. Whether your lender must accept a catch-up payment depends on your mortgage and loan type, so ask your servicer for a written reinstatement quote right away.

Can I get my home back after a foreclosure sale in Michigan?

Redemption period

You can redeem after the sheriff's sale by paying the amount bid, interest from the sale date at your mortgage rate, the sheriff's fee and certain costs the buyer paid, such as taxes and insurance. The period is six months for a home with four or fewer units when more than two-thirds of the original loan is still owed. It is one year for farm property and for cases not covered by another rule, which includes homes where two-thirds or less of the original loan is still owed. It drops to one month or 30 days if the home is found to be abandoned. The exact date is on the sheriff's deed at the county register of deeds.

MCL 600.3240

Can the lender come after me for the remaining balance in Michigan?

Deficiency judgments allowed

If the sale price is less than what you owe, the lender can sue you for the difference. If the lender itself bought the home at the sale, you can defend by showing the home was fairly worth the debt, or that the bid was well below its true value. That defense can cancel the deficiency in whole or in part.

MCL 600.3280

Is there foreclosure mediation in Michigan?

No statewide program

Michigan has no foreclosure mediation program today. The law that once required a pre-foreclosure meeting and loan modification review was repealed effective June 30, 2013.

Other Michigan protections

  • You can stay during redemption

    You may live in the home through the redemption period without making mortgage payments. The buyer must give at least 72 hours' notice before an interior inspection, and damage to the property during this time can lead to an eviction case before the period ends.

    MCL 600.3238, 600.3240

  • Fair value defense to a deficiency

    When the lender buys at its own sale and then sues for a shortfall, you can argue the home was worth the debt or the bid was far too low.

    MCL 600.3280

  • The foreclosing party must have a recorded right to foreclose

    The party foreclosing must own the debt or be the servicing agent. If it is not the original lender, a recorded chain of mortgage assignments must exist before the sale.

    MCL 600.3204

  • Required contents of the notice

    The notice must state the amount claimed, the length of the redemption period, the foreclosing attorney's name and phone number, and a message to military service members.

    MCL 600.3212

Michigan mortgage assistance programs

Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund (MIHAF)

Closed to new applications

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority announced that the Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund application period would end December 8, 2023. The program's old web page no longer exists, and we found no sign that it reopened. MSHDA still runs a Housing Education Locator for finding a housing counselor.

Check the program’s current status

If the home is sold for more than you owe

If the sale brings in more than the mortgage debt and the foreclosure costs, the sheriff or other person who made the sale must pay the surplus to you on demand. If someone with a later mortgage or lien files a sworn written claim, the money goes to the circuit court clerk and a judge decides who gets it. Ask the sheriff's office that held the sale, in writing, whether there is a surplus.

MCL 600.3252

Ways to avoid foreclosure

Most of your options come from federal rules and from whoever owns or insures your loan, so they work the same way in Michigan as anywhere else. What changes by state is how much time you have to use them.

Step by step

Michigan foreclosure guides, step by step

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

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Sources for this page

Last reviewed October 11, 2026. Laws and programs change. If you find something out of date, tell us.

  1. MCL 600.3204, Foreclosure by advertisement; circumstances
  2. MCL 600.3205a to 600.3205d, Repealed
  3. MCL 600.3208, Notice of foreclosure; publication; posting
  4. MCL 600.3212, Notice of foreclosure by advertisement; contents
  5. MCL 600.3220, Sale; adjournment
  6. MCL 600.3238, Inspection of property during redemption
  7. MCL 600.3240, Redemption of premises
  8. MCL 600.3252, Disposition of surplus money
  9. MCL 600.3280, Foreclosure by advertisement; deficiency; defenses
  10. MCL 445.1822, Credit Services Protection Act, definitions
  11. MCL 445.1823, Credit Services Protection Act, prohibited conduct
  12. Michigan Legal Help, Foreclosure and Eviction for Homeowners
  13. MSHDA, Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund application period to end December 8, 2023