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Michigan · Understand the process

How long does foreclosure take in Michigan?

A Michigan sheriff's sale can happen about five months after your first missed payment at the earliest: 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 often close to a year before you can be made to leave. These are minimums, not predictions. Adjournments of the sale often add weeks or months.

The short answer: 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.

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

The foreclosure timeline in Michigan, phase by phase

  1. Missed payments and the federal waiting period

    Day 1 to at least day 121

    Your servicer generally cannot start the foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. Michigan no longer adds its own pre-foreclosure meeting step, so this is the best time to apply for a loan modification or other help.

    12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f); MCL 600.3205a (repealed)

  2. Published notice

    At least 4 weeks, once each week

    The notice runs in a newspaper in your county once a week for four weeks in a row before the sale. The sale date is printed in the notice.

    MCL 600.3208

  3. Notice posted on the home

    Within 15 days after the first publication

    A copy of the notice is posted on the property. If you see it, count how much time is left before the sale date and contact your servicer and a counselor that day.

    MCL 600.3208

  4. Adjournments of the sale

    No set limit on how many; each delay over 1 week must be published

    The sale can be postponed more than once at the lender's request. A delay longer than one week must be published within 10 days and then weekly, so the sale date can move several times.

    MCL 600.3220

  5. Sheriff's sale

    Between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the sale date

    The sale is a public auction held at the place where the circuit court sits in your county. The home goes to the highest bidder, which is often the lender.

    MCL 600.3216

  6. Redemption period

    6 months for most homes; 1 year in some cases; 1 month or 30 days if abandoned

    Six months applies to a home of four or fewer units when more than two-thirds of the original loan was still owed. Other cases not covered by a shorter rule get one year. If the lender proves the home was abandoned under the statute, the period can drop to one month or 30 days.

    MCL 600.3240(8) to (12)

  7. Eviction case

    Only after redemption ends; the order to remove you cannot issue for 10 days after judgment

    The buyer files a summary proceeding in court. If it wins, the court cannot issue the order that lets officers remove you until 10 days after the judgment in the usual case.

    MCL 600.5714(1)(g), 600.5744

Michigan deadlines written into the law

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

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.

Common questions in Michigan

What is the fastest a Michigan foreclosure can happen?

Counting the federal wait of more than 120 days and the four weeks of newspaper notice under MCL 600.3208, the earliest sheriff's sale is roughly five months after the first missed payment. Then the redemption period begins, which is six months for most homes (MCL 600.3240(8)).

Is my Michigan redemption period 6 months or 1 year?

For a home with four or fewer units, it is six months if the amount claimed in the notice was more than two-thirds of the original loan (MCL 600.3240(8)). Cases not covered by another rule get one year (MCL 600.3240(12)). The length must be printed in the notice of foreclosure (MCL 600.3212), and the end date appears on the sheriff's deed.

How many times can a Michigan sheriff's sale be adjourned?

MCL 600.3220 sets no limit. The sale can be adjourned from time to time at the request of the party foreclosing, by posting a notice at the sale location. Any delay over one week must also be published in the newspaper that ran the original notice.

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