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Minnesota · Understand the process

How long does foreclosure take in Minnesota?

A Minnesota foreclosure by advertisement takes at least about five and a half months from your first missed payment to the sheriff's sale. After the sale you usually have six more months to redeem while you stay in the home, so it is normally close to a year before you can be made to leave. These are legal minimums, and loss mitigation reviews, postponements and bankruptcy often make it longer.

The short answer: At the very least, about five and a half months from the first missed payment to a sheriff's sale: the federal 120-day wait plus six weeks of published notice. A six-month redemption period usually follows the sale, so it is normally close to a year before you can be made to leave. These are minimums, not predictions.

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

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

The foreclosure timeline in Minnesota, phase by phase

  1. Missed payments and the counseling notice

    Day 1 to 120

    Your servicer generally cannot start the foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. The Minnesota preforeclosure notice about free counseling must come before the notice of pendency is recorded.

    Minn. Stat. § 580.021; 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)

  2. Loss mitigation review

    Before the loan is referred to a foreclosure attorney

    The servicer must review a timely application for every option before referral. If an offer is made, you get at least 14 days to accept, and the referral waits until a denial and any appeal are final.

    Minn. Stat. § 582.043, subds. 5, 6

  3. Notice of pendency recorded

    Up to 6 months before the first published notice

    The foreclosing party records this with the county before publishing the notice of sale. It cannot be recorded more than six months before publication starts.

    Minn. Stat. § 580.032, subd. 3

  4. Published notice and service

    6 weeks of publication; served at least 4 weeks before the sale

    The sale date is in the notice. The lender can postpone it, but it must publish the new date and mail you notice within three business days of the postponed sale.

    Minn. Stat. §§ 580.03, 580.07, subd. 1

  5. Homeowner postponement

    Affidavit recorded at least 15 days before the sale

    If the home is your homestead with one to four units, you can push the sale back 5 months, or 11 months if your redemption period would have been 12 months. In exchange your redemption period drops to five weeks.

    Minn. Stat. § 580.07, subd. 2

  6. Sheriff's sale and redemption period

    6 months after the sale in most cases

    You keep the home and can redeem by paying the sale price plus interest and allowed costs. The period is 12 months in listed cases and five weeks after a homeowner postponement or a court order finding the home abandoned.

    Minn. Stat. §§ 580.23, 582.032

  7. Eviction case

    After the redemption period; court date 7 to 14 days after the summons

    If you have not moved, the buyer can file an eviction. If the buyer wins, the judge orders you to leave, and the officer serving that order gives you 24 hours to go.

    Minn. Stat. §§ 504B.285, 504B.321, 504B.365

Minnesota deadlines written into the law

Published notice of saleMinn. Stat. § 580.036 weeks
Notice served on the occupantMinn. Stat. § 580.03At least 4 weeks before the sale
ReinstatementMinn. Stat. § 580.30Any time before the sheriff's sale
Affidavit to postpone the sale (5 months, or 11 months in 12-month redemption cases)Minn. Stat. § 580.07, subd. 2Recorded at least 15 days before the sale date
Loss mitigation application that halts a scheduled saleMinn. Stat. § 582.043Received before midnight of the 7th business day before the sale
Redemption period for most homesMinn. Stat. § 580.23, subd. 16 months after the sale

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 Minnesota

How long is the redemption period in Minnesota?

Six months after the sheriff's sale for most homes under Minn. Stat. § 580.23, subd. 1. It is 12 months in cases listed in subd. 2, including when the amount claimed due is less than two-thirds of the original loan, a reverse mortgage, and some larger or farm parcels. It drops to five weeks if you use the homeowner postponement or a court finds the home abandoned.

Can a Minnesota lender shorten my redemption period because the house looks empty?

Only with a court order. Under Minn. Stat. § 582.032 the lender or the city must file a case claiming the home is abandoned, and you must be served at least seven days before a hearing set 15 to 25 days after the summons issues. If you still live there, go to the hearing and say so.

Can the postponement affidavit be used in a Minnesota foreclosure by action?

Yes, for court foreclosures where the lis pendens was recorded on or after August 1, 2025. Laws 2025, chapter 35, article 10 added that to Minn. Stat. § 580.07, subd. 2(d). Before that change it applied only to foreclosure by advertisement.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Minnesota

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 Minnesota overview

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Sources for this page

  1. Minn. Stat. § 580.022, Forms (Preforeclosure Notice)
  2. Minn. Stat. § 580.032, Request for notice; notice of pendency
  3. Minn. Stat. § 580.04, Requisites of notice
  4. Minn. Stat. § 580.12, Certificate of sale
  5. Minn. Stat. § 580.225, Satisfaction of mortgage
  6. Minn. Stat. § 580.24, Redemption by creditor
  7. Minn. Stat. § 504B.285, Eviction actions; grounds
  8. Minn. Stat. § 504B.321, Complaint and summons
  9. Minn. Stat. § 504B.345, Judgment; execution
  10. Minn. Stat. § 504B.365, Execution of the writ of recovery
  11. Laws of Minnesota 2025, chapter 35, article 10 (Mortgage Foreclosure)
  12. Minnesota Homeownership Center
  13. Minn. Stat. § 580.021, Foreclosure prevention counseling
  14. Minn. Stat. § 580.03, Notice of sale; service on occupant
  15. Minn. Stat. § 580.041, Foreclosure advice notice to owner
  16. Minn. Stat. § 580.07, Postponement
  17. Minn. Stat. § 580.10, Surplus
  18. Minn. Stat. § 580.23, Redemption by mortgagor
  19. Minn. Stat. § 580.30, Mortgages, when reinstated
  20. Minn. Stat. § 582.032, Five-week redemption period for abandoned property
  21. Minn. Stat. § 582.043, Loss mitigation; mortgage foreclosure dual tracking
  22. Minn. Stat. § 582.30, Deficiency judgments
  23. Minn. Stat. § 325N.03, Contract
  24. Minn. Stat. § 325N.04, Violations
  25. Minnesota Attorney General, Facing Mortgage Foreclosure
  26. Minnesota Judicial Branch, Foreclosures
  27. Minnesota Housing, Deadline to apply for HomeHelpMN is July 7