- Who sends it
- The district court, at the request of the foreclosing lender, the sheriff's certificate holder, or the city or county
- What it starts
- A court hearing 15 to 25 days after the summons is issued
- Do this first
- Mark the hearing date and call legal aid today; plan to attend
What this document is in Minnesota
Minn. Stat. § 582.032 allows a court to reduce the redemption period to five weeks for certain abandoned homes. In a foreclosure by advertisement, the case starts with a complaint in district court in the county where the home is, and the court issues a summons naming the owner as defendant (subd. 4). In a foreclosure by court action, it is a motion and an order to show cause instead (subd. 5).
It applies only when the loan has been in payment default for at least 60 days, the mortgage was signed after 1989, and the property is 10 acres or less, has a home with fewer than five units that is not a model home or under construction, and is not used for farming (subd. 1). The complaint must claim the home is abandoned.
Your Notice of Mortgage Foreclosure Sale may have warned, in capital letters, that this could happen (Minn. Stat. § 580.04(a)(7)).
What it does and does not mean
- It is not an eviction. It asks the court to shorten the time you have to redeem.
- If the order is entered before the sale, you would have five weeks after the sale to redeem. If it is entered after the sale, your redemption period ends five weeks from the date of the order (subds. 2, 3).
- At the hearing, the court must enter the order if there is evidence supporting the complaint and no one appears to oppose it (subd. 7).
- Evidence of abandonment can include an official's sworn statement that the home is not occupied plus facts such as boarded windows, utilities shut off, piled-up trash or repeated trespassing reports (subd. 7).
- Court costs a city or county is awarded can be added to the amount you need to reinstate or redeem (subd. 9; Minn. Stat. § 580.30).
The deadlines it starts and how to count them
- The hearing date is in the summons. It must be at least 15 and no more than 25 days after the date the summons was issued (subd. 4).
- The summons must be served on you at least seven days before the hearing like any civil summons, or mailed by certified mail at least ten days before if you cannot be found in the county. It must also be posted on the home at least seven days before the hearing (subd. 6).
- If the order is entered after the sale, a certified copy must be recorded and a copy posted on the home within ten days (subd. 3). Your five weeks run from the date the order was entered, not the date you saw it.
What to do this week
- Write down the hearing date, time and courtroom. Go, in person or by the remote method the court allows.
- Call legal aid right away. LawHelpMN lists Minnesota legal aid offices.
- If you live in the home, bring proof, such as recent utility bills, mail at the address, or people who can say you live there. Written statements by you that show a clear intent to abandon are treated as conclusive (subd. 7), so be careful what you sign.
- If you have moved but still want to redeem or sell, tell legal aid and the court before the hearing.
- Read what happens after a Minnesota foreclosure sale.
Help and warnings
For free foreclosure counseling, call the Minnesota Homeownership Center at 651-659-9336 or 866-462-6466. For more places to get help, see the Minnesota foreclosure help page.
- A shortened redemption period gives scammers a reason to pressure you to sign over the home quickly. Get advice before you sign any deed.
- When a foreclosure by advertisement ends with a five-week redemption period ordered for an abandoned home, the lender cannot get a deficiency judgment (Minn. Stat. § 582.30, subd. 2). See deficiency judgments in Minnesota.
The rest of the Minnesota process
See how foreclosure works in Minnesota, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Minnesota, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
Can my Minnesota lender shorten my redemption period just because the house looks empty?
Only with a court order under Minn. Stat. § 582.032. The lender, certificate holder or local government must file a case, serve you, and show evidence of abandonment at a hearing set 15 to 25 days after the summons issues.
What happens if I do not go to the hearing?
If evidence supports the complaint and no one appears to oppose it, the court must enter an order cutting your redemption period to five weeks (Minn. Stat. § 582.032, subd. 7). Going to the hearing is how you tell the judge you still live there.
Who can start a Minnesota abandoned-property case?
The party foreclosing the mortgage, the holder of the sheriff's certificate of sale, or the city or county where the home is (Minn. Stat. § 582.032, subd. 4).
Other Minnesota letters
- Preforeclosure Notice: Foreclosure Prevention CounselingIn Minnesota, before a foreclosure is recorded on the home you live in, the lender must send this notice on colored paper. It names a free, government-approved counseling agency that the lender has already given your contact details to. No sale date is set yet, so this is the time to get help and apply for a workout.
- Notice of Mortgage Foreclosure SaleThis is the notice that sets the date of the sheriff's sale in a Minnesota foreclosure by advertisement. It is published for six weeks and handed to whoever lives in the home at least four weeks before the sale. The move-out date it lists is the end of the redemption period after the sale, not a date to leave before the sale.
- Help For Homeowners in Foreclosure and What Happens After the Foreclosure SaleThese two colored pages come with the Minnesota notice of sale on an owner-occupied home. The first, Help For Homeowners in Foreclosure, gives the amount to catch up as of a set date and the sale date. The second, What Happens After the Foreclosure Sale, explains your right to redeem and warns about scams.
- Sheriff's Certificate of SaleAt a Minnesota sheriff's sale, the sheriff gives the buyer a certificate of sale. It does not take your home right away. It lists the price paid, the interest rate and your redemption period, and only becomes the buyer's title if no one redeems. If the sale brought in $100 or more over what was owed, the sheriff also mails you a surplus notice.
- Eviction summons and complaint after the redemption periodIf no one redeems and you are still in the home after the redemption period, the buyer can file an eviction case in district court. The summons sets a hearing 7 to 14 days after it is issued. Only a court order can make you leave, and you can answer at that first hearing.