How foreclosure works in Missouri

The notices you will receive in Missouri, in order

1. Demand letter (notice of default)

   From your lender or servicer, often after about the third missed payment

   The Missouri Bar says this letter states how much you are behind and usually gives you 30 days to bring the loan current. If you do not pay or make arrangements by that date, the file can be sent to the lender's attorneys and their fees are added to what you owe. Call your servicer and a HUD-approved housing counselor as soon as it arrives.

2. Notice of trustee's sale by certified mail

   From the trustee, mailed at least 20 days before the sale

   It goes by certified or registered mail to you and to the owner shown in the county records. It gives the date, time, terms and place of the sale. The sale can go ahead even if you never sign for the letter, so pick up certified mail and post office notices quickly.

   RSMo § 443.325

3. Newspaper notice of the sale

   Published before the sale, the last notice no more than a week before

   In counties with a city of 50,000 or more people, the notice runs at least 20 times in a daily paper. In other counties it runs in a weekly paper for 4 issues in a row. Anyone can watch these notices to check a sale date.

   RSMo § 443.320

4. Announcement that the sale is continued

   Made out loud at the time and place of the sale

   The trustee can put the sale off once, for up to 7 days, just by announcing the new date, time and place at the sale. You will not get a new letter for this. Longer or repeated delays need an agreement between you and the lender, or a whole new notice.

   RSMo § 443.355

5. Trustee's deed or certificate of sale

   From the trustee to the buyer after the auction

   The buyer normally gets a trustee's deed. If a redemption bond was approved after the lender bought the home, the buyer gets a certificate of sale instead, and the deed waits until the one-year redemption time runs out.

   RSMo §§ 443.380, 443.440

6. Written demand to leave, then an unlawful detainer summons

   From the new owner, after the sale

   The new owner must give you written notice of the foreclosure and a written demand to give up the home. If you stay, it can file an unlawful detainer case, and the court sets a court date no more than 21 business days after the summons is issued unless the owner agrees in writing to a later date. Go to court on that date.

   RSMo §§ 534.030, 534.070

The legal steps in Missouri

1. Missed payments and the demand letter

   Under a federal rule, your servicer generally cannot start foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. The Missouri Bar says that after about the third missed payment you can expect a demand letter that states how much you are behind and gives you 30 days to bring the loan current. The exact letter and deadline come from your deed of trust, so read it and call your servicer about options right away.

   12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)

2. Notice of the trustee's sale

   The trustee must mail a notice of the sale by certified or registered mail at least 20 days before the sale date, to you and to the owner shown in the county records. The notice is also published in a local newspaper. The sale can go ahead even if you never pick up the letter, so watch for certified mail and post office notices.

   RSMo §§ 443.310, 443.320, 443.325

3. Last chances before the sale

   Until the sale, you can try to work out a repayment plan, forbearance or loan modification with your servicer, or pay what is owed. If you pay the trustee before the sale, the trustee must record a certificate that releases the deed of trust. If you may want to buy the home back later, you must give the trustee written notice of your intent to redeem at the sale or within 10 days before the advertised sale date.

   RSMo §§ 443.400, 443.410

4. Trustee's sale (auction)

   The sale is a public auction held in the county where the home is, usually between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The trustee can put off the sale once, for up to 7 days, by announcing it at the sale. Longer or repeated delays need an agreement between you and the lender, or a new notice.

   RSMo §§ 443.310, 443.327, 443.355

5. After the sale: the one-year redemption right

   If the lender (or someone buying for the lender) is the buyer, and you gave the written notice of intent to redeem in time, you may be able to buy the home back within one year. You must post a bond approved by the circuit court within 20 days after the sale, and to redeem you must pay the debt, interest, taxes and the costs the statute lists. If someone else buys the home, this right does not apply.

   RSMo §§ 443.410, 443.420, 443.430, 443.440

6. Eviction (unlawful detainer)

   The new owner cannot remove you or your things without a court order. It must give you written notice and demand possession in writing, then file an unlawful detainer case. If it wins, the order to put the owner in possession cannot issue sooner than 10 days after the judgment. Tenants renting the home get at least 10 business days' notice first.

   RSMo §§ 534.030, 534.350

7. Possible lawsuit for the shortfall

   If the home sells for less than you owe, the lender can sue you for the difference (a deficiency). Missouri measures that shortfall from the auction price, not the home's market value, if the sale was fairly run. Talk to legal aid or a lawyer right away if you are sued.

   First Bank v. Fischer & Frichtel, Inc., 364 S.W.3d 216 (Mo. banc 2012)

Common questions in Missouri