Foreclosure under a mortgage requires a court ordered sale conducted by the sheriff or other court-appointed official. Foreclosure process is called judicial foreclosure. In the event of default, the mortgage accelerates the due date of the dead to the present and notifies the defaulted debtor to pay off the entire outstanding balance at once. If the debtor fails to do so, the mortgage initiates a lawsuit, called a foreclosure action, in the county where the land is located. The purpose of his legal proceedings to a charge toward the county sheriff to seize and sell the property. The judges order is called an order of execution. Acting under the order authentication, the sheriff notifies the public of the place and date of the sale. This requires posting notices and the property and the courthouse and ran an advertisement of the sale in a newspaper.

1. Redemption. At any time up until the sheriff's sale, the debtor may save the property by paying the mortgage note is due. This up right to save or redeem the property before the sale is called the equitable right of redemption. The debtor might also be obligated to pay delinquent interest, court costs, attorneys fees, and sheriff's fees in order to redeem the property.

2. Sheriff's sale. The sheriff's sale is a public auction normally held at the courthouse door, and anyone can bid on the property. The property is sold to the highest bidder and the proceeds are used to pay for the costs of the sale and to pay off the mortgage.

If the property does not make enough money in the sale to pay off the mortgage, the debtor may be able to obtain a deficiency judgment against the debtor for the remaining debt. To obtain a deficiency judgment, the creditor must apply to the court within three months of the judicial sale.

In some states, such as California, deficiency judgments are prohibited if the mortgage secured a loan to purchase 1-4 unit personal residence occupied by the owner.

Post-sale redemption.

After the sale, the debtor has an opportunity to save or redeem the property. The debtor can do this by paying the purchaser the amount paid for the property plus acute interest from the time of the sale. This right to redeem the property on the sheriff's sale is called statutory right of redemption.

Dependent on the court congestion and the availability of the surety for foreclosures, and judicial mortgage foreclosure may take anything from several months to several years from the time of the default until a sheriff's deed is delivered to the purchaser, which finally divests from the debtor of title.