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Foreclosure sale date set in Michigan: what you can still do

If a sheriff's sale is set on your Michigan home, you still have options, and in most cases you keep a six-month redemption period even after the sale. Start by confirming the date, because Michigan sales are often adjourned. Then work down this list with your servicer, the foreclosing attorney, a counselor or a lawyer. Do not wait for the last day.

Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Michigan law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

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Options still open before a sale in Michigan

  • Confirm whether the sale is still on

    Now, and again the day before the sale

    Call the foreclosing attorney whose name and phone number must be on the notice, and check with the sheriff's office in your county. Adjournment notices are posted at the sale location, and any delay over a week must be published in the newspaper that ran the original notice.

    MCL 600.3212(1)(h), 600.3220

  • Get a complete application in and ask for an adjournment

    More than 37 days before the sale for federal review protection; any time before the sale to ask

    Only the party foreclosing can ask the sheriff to adjourn the sale. Ask your servicer and the foreclosing attorney to adjourn while your application is reviewed, and get any agreement in writing.

    MCL 600.3220; 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(g)

  • Pay what is owed

    Before the sale

    Ask the servicer or the foreclosing attorney for a written reinstatement quote and a payoff quote. Michigan Legal Help says paying all missed payments and late fees during the notice period can avoid the sale, but no statute makes the lender accept it, so get the terms in writing.

  • Get legal help to challenge the foreclosure

    Before the sale

    If the party foreclosing has no recorded right to foreclose, or the notice was not properly published or posted, a lawyer may be able to ask a court to stop the sale. Contact legal aid or a licensed attorney right away.

    MCL 600.3204, 600.3208

  • Bankruptcy stay

    Before the sheriff's sale

    A bankruptcy filing stops the sale while the stay lasts. Talk to a licensed bankruptcy attorney or legal aid before filing, because it has serious costs and effects.

    11 U.S.C. § 362(a)

  • Plan to use your redemption period

    If the sale goes ahead: 6 months for most homes

    If the sale happens, you can usually stay in the home and still keep it by paying the redemption amount before the period ends. Respond in writing to any abandonment notice so your period is not cut short.

    MCL 600.3240, 600.3241a

Call today, not tomorrow

With a sale on the calendar, every option above has a cutoff. A free HUD-approved housing counselor can call your servicer with you today: (800) 569-4287. For legal aid and court help, see free foreclosure help in Michigan.

Common questions in Michigan

Where and when are Michigan sheriff's sales held?

At the place where the circuit court is held in the county where the home is, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. (MCL 600.3216). The sale is public and goes to the highest bidder. It is run by the sheriff, an undersheriff or deputy, or a person named in the mortgage.

Will I be told if my Michigan sheriff's sale is adjourned?

Not personally. MCL 600.3220 requires only a posted notice at the time and place of the sale, with no oral announcement. If the delay is longer than one week, the adjournment must be published in the same newspaper within 10 days and then weekly. Call the foreclosing attorney to check.

My Michigan sheriff's sale already happened. What do I do now?

Get the sheriff's deed and the buyer's affidavit from the county register of deeds to find your redemption date and amount (MCL 600.3240). You can usually stay in the home until then. Meet with a housing counselor or legal aid about whether refinancing, selling or redeeming is realistic.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Michigan

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.

Back to the Michigan overview

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Sources for this page

  1. MCL 600.3216, Sale; time and place
  2. MCL 600.3241, Abandonment of premises; presumption
  3. MCL 600.3241a, Abandoned residential property; notice
  4. MCL 600.5714, Summary proceedings to recover possession
  5. MCL 600.5744, Writ of restitution; timing
  6. MCL 211.78g, Tax delinquency; forfeiture to county treasurer
  7. MCL 211.78k, Tax foreclosure judgment; redemption
  8. MCL 211.78t, Claims for remaining proceeds after tax foreclosure
  9. MCL 600.3204, Foreclosure by advertisement; circumstances
  10. MCL 600.3205a to 600.3205d, Repealed
  11. MCL 600.3208, Notice of foreclosure; publication; posting
  12. MCL 600.3212, Notice of foreclosure by advertisement; contents
  13. MCL 600.3220, Sale; adjournment
  14. MCL 600.3238, Inspection of property during redemption
  15. MCL 600.3240, Redemption of premises
  16. MCL 600.3252, Disposition of surplus money
  17. MCL 600.3280, Foreclosure by advertisement; deficiency; defenses
  18. MCL 445.1822, Credit Services Protection Act, definitions
  19. MCL 445.1823, Credit Services Protection Act, prohibited conduct
  20. Michigan Legal Help, Foreclosure and Eviction for Homeowners
  21. MSHDA, Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund application period to end December 8, 2023