Wisconsin foreclosure help
How to avoid foreclosure in Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, a lender must file a lawsuit in circuit court to foreclose on a home. If the lender wins, the court enters a foreclosure judgment and a redemption period begins. After that period, the sheriff or a court-appointed referee sells the home at a public auction, and the court must hold a hearing to confirm the sale before title passes.
Reviewed against Wisconsin law and official sources on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
- Wisconsin at a glance
- Type of foreclosure
- Judicial (through the courts)
- Catch up to stop the sale
- Limited
- Buy back after the sale
- Limited
- Owe money after the sale
- Limited
- Foreclosure mediation
- No statewide program
How foreclosure works in Wisconsin, step by step
How long it takes: At a minimum, about eight months from your first missed payment for a mortgage signed on or after April 27, 2016, where the lender waives any deficiency: 120 days under federal rules, 20 days to answer, time to get a judgment, a three-month redemption period and a confirmation hearing. Without the waiver, or for older mortgages, the redemption period is 6 or 12 months. This is the legal minimum, not a prediction.
Missed payments
Federal rules generally stop your servicer from starting foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. Contact your servicer and a housing counselor early.
12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)
Summons and complaint
The lender files a foreclosure case and serves you. Wisconsin legal aid says you usually have 20 days after being personally served to file a written answer, or 40 days from first publication if served by publication. Check your summons for the exact deadline. You can ask for mediation with your answer if your county offers it.
Foreclosure judgment
If the lender wins, the court enters a judgment that sets the amount owed and orders a sale. The judgment starts the redemption period. The complaint will say whether the lender is asking for or waiving a deficiency judgment.
Wis. Stat. §§ 846.04, 846.10, 846.101
Redemption period
For an owner-occupied home of one to four units, no sale can be held until the redemption period ends: 6 or 12 months from judgment for a mortgage signed before April 27, 2016, and 3 or 6 months for a later mortgage. The shorter period applies when the lender waives a deficiency. You can stop the sale by paying the judgment, interest and costs before the sale.
Wis. Stat. §§ 846.10(2), 846.101(2), 846.13
Sheriff's sale
The sheriff or referee gives public notice and sells the home at auction, in person or online. Legal aid says the notice is published weekly for three weeks in a row.
Wis. Stat. § 846.16
Confirmation hearing
The sale is not final until the court confirms it. If you appeared in the case, you must get at least five days' notice of the hearing, including the amount of any personal judgment the lender will seek. You can object at the hearing.
Wis. Stat. § 846.165
Moving out
After confirmation the buyer gets the deed. Legal aid says the court usually orders removal through a writ of assistance if you have not left, and you can ask the court for more time.
Wisconsin foreclosure deadlines to know
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Time to answer the complaint | Usually 20 days after personal service (check your summons) |
| Redemption period, mortgage signed before April 27, 2016Wis. Stat. §§ 846.10(2)(a)1., 846.101(2)(b) | 12 months from judgment, or 6 months if the lender waives a deficiency |
| Redemption period, mortgage signed on or after April 27, 2016Wis. Stat. §§ 846.10(2)(a)2., 846.101(2)(c) | 6 months from judgment, or 3 months if the lender waives a deficiency |
| Longer period if you are selling in good faith with a licensed brokerWis. Stat. §§ 846.10(2)(a)2.b., 846.101(2)(c)2. | 8 months, or 5 months with a deficiency waiver, if you ask before judgment |
| Notice of the confirmation hearingWis. Stat. § 846.165 | At least 5 days |
| Notice before a hearing on surplus fundsWis. Stat. § 846.162 | 8 days |
These are the periods written into the law. 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.
Your rights as a homeowner in Wisconsin
Can I stop a foreclosure in Wisconsin by catching up on what I owe?
Limited rightWe did not confirm a Wisconsin statute that lets you stop a home foreclosure by paying only the missed payments. Before judgment, catching up depends on your loan papers and your servicer. After judgment, the statute lets you redeem by paying the full judgment amount, interest and costs before the sale.
Wis. Stat. § 846.13
Can I get my home back after a foreclosure sale in Wisconsin?
Limited redemptionYou can redeem (pay off the judgment and keep the home) until the court confirms the sale, not only until the auction. You pay the judgment, interest, costs and any taxes the lender paid. Wisconsin's appeals court has said to make the payment before the confirmation hearing begins, or you risk losing the chance. The sale itself cannot be held until the waiting period after judgment ends: 3, 6 or 12 months for an owner-occupied home, depending on the mortgage and whether the lender waived a deficiency. There is no right to redeem after the court confirms the sale.
Wis. Stat. §§ 846.10, 846.101, 846.13; Harbor Credit Union v. Samp, 2011 WI App 40
Can the lender come after me for the remaining balance in Wisconsin?
LimitedThe lender can get a judgment for the shortfall only if it demanded one in the complaint. Many lenders waive the deficiency in the complaint in exchange for a shorter redemption period, and then no deficiency judgment can be entered. If a deficiency is sought, the amount is stated in the notice of the confirmation hearing.
Wis. Stat. §§ 846.04, 846.101, 846.165
Is there foreclosure mediation in Wisconsin?
No statewide programWisconsin has no statewide foreclosure mediation law. Some county circuit courts have run voluntary mediation programs with their own forms, deadlines and fees, and some of those programs have ended. Ask the clerk of circuit court in your county whether mediation is offered, and look for a request form with your summons.
Other Wisconsin protections
Court case and redemption period before any sale
A lender cannot sell an owner-occupied home of one to four units until it wins a judgment and the redemption period of 3 to 12 months has run.
Wis. Stat. §§ 846.10(2), 846.101(2)
Stay in the home until confirmation
When the lender waives a deficiency, you may stay in the home and keep any rents until the court confirms the sale, unless you abandon the property.
Wis. Stat. § 846.101(1)
More time if you are trying to sell
For a mortgage signed on or after April 27, 2016, if you ask before judgment and the court finds you have listed the home with a licensed broker and are trying in good faith to sell, the redemption period is 8 months, or 5 months with a deficiency waiver.
Wis. Stat. §§ 846.10(2)(a)2.b., 846.101(2)(c)2.
Court must confirm the sale
No sale is final until the court confirms it after notice to everyone who appeared in the case.
Wis. Stat. § 846.165
Wisconsin mortgage assistance programs
Wisconsin Help for Homeowners (WHH)
Closed to new applicationsThe Wisconsin Department of Administration's page states that the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners program closed on March 8, 2024. We did not find another statewide mortgage payment program that is open.
If the home is sold for more than you owe
If the sale brings more than what is owed, the surplus is paid into court. Any party to the case, or a person who held a lien at the time of sale, can file a notice with the clerk of court stating a claim to the surplus. The court then decides who is entitled to it, after at least 8 days' notice to everyone who appeared or filed a claim. File your claim in writing with the clerk of the court that handled the foreclosure.
Wis. Stat. § 846.162
Ways to avoid foreclosure
Most of your options come from federal rules and from whoever owns or insures your loan, so they work the same way in Wisconsin as anywhere else. What changes by state is how much time you have to use them.
Step by step
Wisconsin foreclosure guides, step by step
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.
Free, official, nationwide
Free help anywhere in the country
HUD-approved housing counselors
Free foreclosure prevention counseling from agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. A counselor can review your budget and deal with your servicer alongside you.
(800) 569-4287CFPB: help for struggling homeowners
Plain-language guides from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and a complaint form if your mortgage servicer is not following the rules.
Legal Services Corporation: find legal aid
Find the free civil legal aid office for your county if you have been served with a foreclosure lawsuit or given a sale date and cannot afford a lawyer.
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Sources for this page
Last reviewed October 11, 2026. Laws and programs change. If you find something out of date, tell us.