Mortgage Foreclosures

The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office does not provide a list of upcoming sales.

• Post-sale information is available for public viewing at the Ramsey County Recorder's Office (located in the Plato Building) after the sale has been recorded.
• Please contact the Recorder's Office at 651-266-2050 for more information.

The attorney for the mortgage company must publish a Notice of Foreclosure Sale in a qualified newspaper as defined in Minnesota Statute §331A.01. The Sheriff's Office serves as the auctioneer at the sale.

• The Sheriff’s Office conducts mortgage foreclosure sales using an open bidding process. Sales are usually conducted weekdays at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. at the Civil Process Unit.
• The property will be sold to the highest bidder. The opening bidder is the bank, other lender (mortgagee), or attorney representing the mortgagee.
• A successful bidder must have cash or certified funds (payable to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office) available at the time of the sale. A separate third-party bidder fee must be paid as outlined in the service fees.
• The successful bidder will receive a Sheriff’s Certificate of Sale that lists the name of the successful bidder and the amount of the purchase. The Certificate of Sale is prepared by the attorney representing the bank.

Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, the mortgagor or another party acting by authority from the mortgagor may redeem a property sold at a mortgage foreclosure sale. The published Notice of Mortgage Foreclosure Sale contains a paragraph indicating the length of the redemption period. Redemption may be made through the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office or through the attorney representing the bank or other mortgagee at the sale.

If a mortgagor or another party acting by authority from the mortgagor (record owner) wishes to redeem the property through the Sheriff's Office, the redeeming party must contact the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office Civil Process Unit not less than seven days prior to the anticipated redemption date. This time is required for research of the recorded documents, ascertaining the amount of the redemption payment, and preparation of the certificate. It will also allow time for the Civil Process Unit to contact the redeeming party if additional data or documents are required.

In order to redeem, the redeeming party must provide the following information:

• Name of mortgagor or other party redeeming, if not the mortgagor
• Date of mortgage foreclosure sale
• Date of redemption
• Address of property
• Contact information of person to whom the redemption figures can be given

The amount of the redemption payment is determined by including the following:

• Amount bid at the foreclosure sale.
• Interest accruing from the date of sale to the date of redemption. This is calculated at the rate of interest on the Sheriff’s Certificate of Sale.
• Additional amounts paid by the purchaser at the foreclosure sale. These amounts may include insurance, taxes, assessments, etc. The purchaser must present an affidavit of additional amount due on redemption to the Sheriff’s Office Civil Process Unit within the listed redemption period in order to collect those amounts as part of the redemption.
• A non-refundable service fee payable to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office for preparation of the certificate of redemption.

The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office will issue a Certificate of Redemption upon receipt of the full amount of the redemption payment.

If the mortgagor does not redeem during the redemption period, creditors of the mortgagor who have a lien on the property may redeem after the end of the mortgagor’s redemption period. All redemption documents must be filed by the redeeming creditor with the Sheriff's Office Civil Process Unit at least one week prior to the end of the mortgagor’s redemption period. The documents to be filed with the Sheriff’s Office include copies of documents establishing the underlying lien on the property and a Notice of Intent to Redeem showing they have been recorded with the county recorder or registrar of titles, as appropriate. For each Notice of Intent to Redeem, there is a filing service fee.

The information to be provided at the time of request of redemptions by the mortgagor must also be provided at the time of the request for redemption by creditor.

A mortgagor may postpone a foreclosure sale (Minnesota Statute §580.07 Subd. 2). In order to postpone, a mortgagor needs to:

• Obtain an Affidavit of Postponement and have it recorded.
• Bring (mail or in person) a recorded copy of the Affidavit of Postponement along with a copy of the Notice of Mortgage Foreclosure Sale to the Sheriff’s Office Civil Process Unit at least 15 days prior to the original sale date, along with the service fee.

If the foreclosure is postponed, the redemption period will be reduced to five weeks.