Michigan sells first. Then gives you months to buy it back.
There is no lawsuit and no judge: four weeks of published notice, a posting on your door, and the sheriff sells. What sets Michigan apart is what happens next. A statutory redemption period runs after the sale, you keep living in the home throughout it, and you can take the house back by paying what the buyer bid rather than what you owed.
Not sure what date to put in? Tell us which paper you were sent and we will work the timeline out backwards from it.
Each is a different statute.
When you first fell behind.
Local pace is the variable.
Past steps fade out.
FHA and VA add steps.
A tenant gets 90 days under federal law.
Two numbers decide a Michigan case. Whether the amount claimed due in the published notice is more than two thirds of what you originally borrowed, which sets six months of redemption against twelve. And the amount bid at the sale, because that, not your old balance, is what redeeming costs.
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Make the call.
Call your mortgage servicer (the number is on your statement) before the next payment is due, or today if you are already behind. Servicers have programs for people who lose a job, get sick or hit a rough patch, but they only start when you ask. A foreclosure costs them money too.
“I’ve had a hardship and I want to keep my home. Please send me a loss mitigation application and tell me every option for my loan.” If your loan is FHA, VA or USDA, ask about that program’s options by name.
Your latest mortgage statement, recent pay stubs or unemployment letter, two months of bank statements, last year’s tax return, and a short hardship letter. Expect a lot of paperwork. Send all of it, because a complete application is what protects you.
Date, time, who you spoke to and what they said. Keep copies and proof of when you sent your papers. A complete application more than 37 days before a sale stops that sale while they decide.
Don’t want to call alone? A free HUD-approved counselor will help: 1-800-569-4287. And if the home is ever sold at auction, ask about surplus funds: money left over after the debt is paid can belong to you, but you usually have to claim it.
What Michigan gives you
Rights that exist because the property is in Michigan, whatever a servicer tells you on the phone.
Where to get real help, free
Regional legal aid programs take foreclosure cases at no cost if you qualify by income. Start at LawHelp.org, which lists free legal aid programs state by state.
HUD-approved housing counselors are free in every state — 1-800-569-4287. Some states, courts and counties run foreclosure mediation or counseling programs; ask your servicer or a HUD-approved counselor whether yours does.
Anyone who contacts you first, guarantees they can stop the sale for a fee paid up front, or asks you to sign the deed over is running a scam. Never sign a deed to someone promising to save your home.
Checked against the statutes cited beside each step. Every legal claim on this page is registered with its citation and was checked against official sources and then reviewed again by an independent checker. Dates marked as estimates are estimates. Appellate case law was not independently verified, and laws change, so have a Michigan foreclosure attorney confirm anything that matters before you act.
Questions people ask about Michigan foreclosure
Short answers, each one sourced to the statute cited on this page.
How long does foreclosure take in Michigan?
With no delays or disputes, a Michigan foreclosure runs roughly 187 days from the first missed payment to the sheriff sale, and the homeowner then has a statutory redemption period of six months or one year, so the whole cycle is about 369 days before ownership actually ends. Michigan forecloses by advertisement: four weekly published notices and a posting on the property, with no lawsuit.
How long is the redemption period in Michigan?
On residential property of four units or fewer it is six months from the sale where the amount claimed due in the published notice is more than two thirds of the original loan amount, and one year where it is not. Property the lender establishes as abandoned drops to 30 days, and property used for agricultural purposes gets a year. To rely on that, you must give the foreclosing party and its attorney proof you filed a federal Schedule F, and record an affidavit with the register of deeds, before the sale. MCL 600.3240.
Can I stay in my house during the redemption period in Michigan?
Yes. Redemption is exercised from inside the home: you keep possession for the whole redemption period. The purchaser may inspect the property, and damaging it or refusing a reasonable inspection allows the purchaser to ask a court to cut the period short. MCL 600.3238.
What does it cost to redeem in Michigan?
You pay the amount bid at the sheriff sale, plus interest at the rate in the mortgage from the date of sale, plus any taxes, insurance or condominium assessments the purchaser paid and recorded by affidavit. It is the bid, not your old loan balance, which is often far less. MCL 600.3240(2).
Does Michigan still require a meeting and a 90 day hold before foreclosing?
No. Sections 600.3205a through 600.3205d were repealed by Act 521 of 2012, effective 30 June 2013, and 600.3205e was repealed by Act 125 of 2014. A great deal of advice online still describes that process as current law. What remains is federal: no first filing until the loan is more than 120 days delinquent, and a complete loss mitigation application more than 37 days before a scheduled sale bars that sale.
What happens to my equity in a Michigan property tax foreclosure?
It belongs to you. In Rafaeli v. Oakland County the Michigan Supreme Court held in 2020 that a county keeping sale proceeds above the tax debt is an unconstitutional taking, and MCL 211.78t now sets out a claim process. It is not automatic: you must file a notice of intention on the state form by the statutory deadline.
Last verified: October 18, 2026. Every deadline and citation on this page was checked against Michigan law and the federal rules it cites. Laws change during the year, so if something here looks out of date or wrong, tell us and we will check it against the law.