- Who sends it
- The foreclosing lender's attorney publishes it in a county newspaper and posts a copy on your home
- What it starts
- At least 4 weeks of notice before a sheriff's sale, then a redemption period after the sale
- Do this first
- Write down the sale date and the attorney's phone number, then call your servicer and a counselor
What this document is in Michigan
Michigan lenders usually foreclose by advertisement, which needs no lawsuit. The notice must be published at least once a week for 4 weeks in a row in a newspaper in your county, and within 15 days after the first publication a true copy must be posted in a noticeable place on the property (MCL 600.3208). For many people, the posted copy on the door is the first they see of it.
The notice must begin with the words "Notice of foreclosure by advertisement" and say the home will be sold at a public auction at the place where the circuit court is held in your county, with the time and date (MCL 600.3212(1)(j)). The sale is held between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. by the sheriff, an undersheriff or deputy, or a person named in the mortgage (MCL 600.3216).
Michigan no longer has its own pre-foreclosure meeting step; that law was repealed in 2013. Federal rules generally keep the foreclosure from starting until you are more than 120 days behind. The national notice of sale page covers sale notices in other states.
What the notice must tell you
- The names of the borrower, the original lender and the company foreclosing now, and the date the mortgage was signed and recorded.
- The amount claimed to be due on the date of the notice. The amount may be higher on the sale date.
- The length of your redemption period after the sale, usually 6 months for a home of 1 to 4 units (MCL 600.3240).
- A warning that you can be held responsible for damaging the home during the redemption period.
- The name, address and phone number of the attorney for the party foreclosing.
- A message asking active duty service members, or those who left active duty less than 90 days ago or have orders, to call that attorney (MCL 600.3212(1)(i)).
How to count the time, and adjournments
- The first newspaper date starts the 4 weeks. The sale date printed in the notice is the date to plan around, not the date you saw the posted copy.
- The sale can be adjourned (postponed) at the request of the party foreclosing, more than once. The only required notice is one posted at the sale location; no one has to announce it out loud (MCL 600.3220).
- If an adjournment is longer than 1 week, it must also be published in the same newspaper within 10 days and then once each week of the delay.
- If your complete loss mitigation application reaches the servicer more than 37 days before the sale, federal rules say the servicer must decide on it within 30 days and cannot hold the sale while it is pending.
What to do this week
- Call the attorney named in the notice to confirm the sale date and ask, in writing, for a reinstatement figure and a payoff figure.
- No Michigan statute we found gives you a right to reinstate, but Michigan Legal Help says paying all missed payments and late fees during the notice period can avoid the sale. Get any agreement in writing.
- Send your servicer a complete application for a modification or other help, and keep proof of what you sent and when.
- Find a free MSHDA or HUD-approved housing counselor through the MSHDA Housing Education Locator or at (800) 569-4287.
- If the company foreclosing is one you do not recognize, ask legal aid to check the recorded assignments. The party foreclosing must own the debt or service it, with a recorded chain of assignments (MCL 600.3204).
- Read how to stop foreclosure in Michigan and Michigan sale date set.
Help and scam warning
Free help: Michigan Legal Help's Guide to Legal Help, the MSHDA Housing Education Locator, and the State Bar of Michigan Lawyer Referral Service at 1-800-968-0738 if you want a private lawyer. See Michigan foreclosure help.
Because the notice is published, rescue companies and investors may contact you. Under Michigan's Credit Services Protection Act, a company paid to help with a foreclosure cannot collect any money before it finishes every service it promised (MCL 445.1823). Never sign over your deed to someone who says you can stay. Report problems to the Michigan Attorney General.
The rest of the Michigan process
See how foreclosure works in Michigan, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Michigan, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
How soon after the notice is posted can my Michigan home be sold?
The notice must run in the newspaper once a week for 4 weeks in a row, and the copy must be posted within 15 days after the first publication (MCL 600.3208). So the sale can be as little as about 2 weeks after the posting. Check the date printed in the notice.
Will I be told if the Michigan sheriff's sale is adjourned?
Not personally. MCL 600.3220 requires only a posted notice at the sale location, plus newspaper publication if the delay is over a week. Call the attorney named in the notice to check.
Do I have to move when I see the posted notice?
No. The notice announces a sale. After the sale, most homeowners have a 6-month redemption period and can keep living in the home during it. See after the foreclosure sale in Michigan.
Why does the Michigan notice talk about military service?
For a home mortgage, MCL 600.3212 requires a statement asking service members on active duty, or who left active duty less than 90 days ago, or who have orders, to call the foreclosing attorney. Federal law can limit foreclosures on servicemembers, so make that call if it applies to you.
Other Michigan letters
- Abandonment notices: notice of default and intention to foreclose (MCL 600.3241) and the posted notice that the lender considers the home abandoned (MCL 600.3241a)If a Michigan lender thinks no one lives in your home, it can post and mail a notice saying it considers the home abandoned. If you do not answer in writing in time, your redemption period after the sale can shrink from months to about 30 days. If you live there or plan to, answer right away.
- Sheriff's deed (deed of sale) with the purchaser's redemption affidavitAfter a Michigan sheriff's sale, the buyer gets a sheriff's deed, but it does not take effect until your redemption period ends. The deed and the buyer's affidavit, recorded at the county register of deeds, show your last day to redeem and the exact amount. Until then you can live in the home and buy it back.
- Purchaser's notice during the redemption period (initial notice, notice of inspection, and notice of intent to start summary proceedings)During your Michigan redemption period, the buyer at the sheriff's sale can inspect the home and ask about its condition. Its notices start short deadlines. Answering them on time protects your right to stay until the redemption period ends.
- Summons (Landlord-Tenant, form DC 104) and Complaint to Recover Possession of Property (form DC 102c)If you are still in the home after the Michigan redemption period ends, the buyer must file an eviction case in district court. The summons gives a court date that can be only days away. Go to court on that date, or you can be evicted without a trial.
- Judgment, Landlord-Tenant (form DC 105) and Application and Order of Eviction (form DC 107)If the judge rules for the buyer, the court enters a judgment for possession. In most cases the buyer can get an order of eviction only after 10 days. That order lets a court officer or sheriff remove you and your belongings, so use the time to move or get help.
Sources
- MCL 600.3208: Notice of foreclosure; publication; posting
- MCL 600.3212: Notice of foreclosure by advertisement; contents
- MCL 600.3216: Sale; time and place
- MCL 600.3220: Sale; adjournment; notice
- MCL 600.3205a: Repealed
- Michigan Legal Help: Foreclosure and Eviction for Homeowners
- SCAO Form DC 104 (lists the State Bar of Michigan Lawyer Referral Service number)