How Long Do You Have to Sell Your House Before Foreclosure in Michigan?
Longer than most homeowners think — and the sheriff's sale is not the last day. Under federal mortgage servicing rules, a servicer generally cannot start foreclosure until a loan is more than 120 days delinquent. A Michigan foreclosure by advertisement then requires the sale notice to be published once a week for four straight weeks and posted at the property. And after the sale, most Michigan homeowners still hold a redemption period of six months or a year, during which they keep title and can still sell or redeem the home. From the first missed payment, that is commonly a year or more — but every stage narrows what is possible, so early is worth a great deal.
Foreclosure timelines get described in a way that makes homeowners feel like the clock has already run out. Usually it has not. What is true is that the good options live at the front of the timeline and the poor ones live at the back, and most people call at the back.
Here is each stage, and honestly what selling looks like inside it.
Stage 1: Before anything is filed — the 120-day rule
Federal servicing rules under Regulation X give homeowners a protected window. A servicer generally may not make the first notice or filing required for foreclosure unless the loan is more than 120 days delinquent (12 CFR §1024.41(f)(1)).
There is a second protection alongside it. If you submit a complete loss mitigation application before foreclosure is started, the servicer generally cannot make that first filing while the application is pending — not until you have been evaluated and denied with appeal rights exhausted, you have rejected everything offered, or you have failed to perform on an agreement you accepted (§1024.41(f)(2)).
This is the stage where every option is still open: a modification, a repayment plan, forbearance, reinstatement, or a normal sale on the open market with time to market the house properly. It is also the stage almost nobody uses, because it is the stage where it still feels avoidable.
Stage 2: Foreclosure by advertisement
Most Michigan foreclosures run through foreclosure by advertisement rather than through a lawsuit. The statutory steps are specific:
Publication. The notice of sale runs once a week for four successive weeks in a newspaper in the county where the property sits (MCL 600.3208). In Macomb County that publication is the Macomb County Legal News.
Posting. A true copy of the notice must be posted in a conspicuous place on the property within 15 days after the first publication (MCL 600.3208).
The sale. A public auction to the highest bidder, held between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the county circuit courthouse (MCL 600.3216). Macomb County holds its sales every Friday morning at 10 a.m. in the first-floor jury room of the Macomb County Court Building.
Selling during this stage is still very possible. A sale that closes before the auction pays the loan off and ends the foreclosure. What shrinks is the runway — you now have weeks, not months, and a buyer who needs sixty days to close may not fit. This is where an as-is or off-market sale often becomes the practical answer rather than the fallback.
Stage 3: The redemption period
Michigan is unusual in how generous this stage is, and it is the part homeowners most often do not know exists. After the sheriff's sale you still hold title and, in most cases, possession. The property can still be redeemed — or sold, with the redemption amount paid from the proceeds.
Residential, four units or fewer, where more than 66⅔% of the original loan amount was still claimed due at the notice of foreclosure — 6 months from the sale
Residential, four units or fewer, not meeting that threshold and not abandoned — 1 year from the sale
Property used for agricultural purposes — 1 year from the sale
Property determined abandoned — 1 month, or 30 days under the alternative abandonment provision
Commercial, industrial, or multifamily over four units — 6 months from the sale
Source: MCL 600.3240. The six-month category is the common one for owner-occupied homes, because the two-thirds test is met whenever a substantial share of the original loan balance is still outstanding when foreclosure is noticed — but it is a test applied to your specific loan, not an assumption to make about it.
Do not guess your date. The exact redemption deadline is stated in the certificate attached to the sheriff's deed, and that document is the one that governs. Macomb County will provide a payoff letter showing the amount required to redeem for a $25 fee, and redemption can be handled through the Register of Deeds or directly with the party that bought the deed. The Macomb County Clerk / Register of Deeds is at (586) 469-5100.
Selling during redemption is genuinely harder: the buyer's title work has to account for the sheriff's deed, the numbers have to cover the full redemption amount, and the closing has to happen inside the deadline with no room to slip. It is done, and it beats the alternative, but it is a tight, technical transaction and it is not the stage you want to be starting from.
Stage 4: After redemption expires
When the redemption period ends without redemption, the sheriff's deed becomes operative and the purchaser's ownership is complete. At that point the home is no longer yours to sell.
What this means, stage by stage
Behind, nothing filed — everything is available: modification or repayment plan, reinstatement, a fully marketed listing at full price, or a private sale. Most equity preserved.
Notice published, sale scheduled — still sellable, but on a compressed timeline. As-is and off-market sales become practical. Loss mitigation may still be available.
Inside the redemption period — redeem, or sell with the redemption amount paid at closing. Technical, deadline-driven, and worth involving an attorney.
Redemption expired — the property has transferred. Selling is no longer an option.
Free help, no sale required
HUD-approved housing counselors provide free foreclosure counseling. In Macomb County, MSU Extension offers free housing and foreclosure counseling at (586) 469-6430. If a modification or repayment plan can keep you in the house, that is a better outcome than any sale, and a counselor costs you nothing to talk to.
What I would want to know first
Three things: what stage you are actually in, what your servicer says is owed to reinstate, and what the house is worth today as it sits. Those three numbers tell you whether this is a keep-the-house problem, a sell-and-protect-the-equity problem, or something else entirely.
Plenty of the people I talk to at this stage should not be selling — they should be calling a counselor or their servicer, and I tell them that. When selling is the right answer, the goal is straightforward: get you out with your equity intact and your credit in better shape than a completed foreclosure leaves it. Here is how selling in pre-foreclosure works in Michigan.
If unpaid property taxes are also part of the picture, that is a separate clock with different deadlines — see selling a house with delinquent property taxes.
Frequently asked questions
How long does foreclosure take in Michigan?
From the first missed payment it is commonly a year or more. Federal rules generally prevent a servicer from starting foreclosure until the loan is more than 120 days delinquent. The notice of sale is then published once a week for four successive weeks before the sheriff's sale, and after the sale a redemption period of six months or one year usually applies.
Can you sell your house after a sheriff's sale in Michigan?
Yes, during the redemption period. You keep title and, in most cases, possession until redemption expires, and a sale can close if the proceeds cover the full redemption amount by the deadline. It is a technical, deadline-driven transaction and worth involving an attorney.
How long is the redemption period in Michigan?
For residential property of four units or fewer it is six months from the sale when more than 66 and two-thirds percent of the original loan amount was still claimed due at the notice of foreclosure, and one year otherwise. Agricultural property is one year, and abandoned property can be as short as 30 days or one month. Your exact deadline is stated in the certificate attached to the sheriff's deed.
How do I find out how much it costs to redeem my house?
Request a payoff letter. In Macomb County the Clerk / Register of Deeds provides one for a $25 fee, and redemption can be completed through that office or directly with the holder of the sheriff's deed. The office number is (586) 469-5100.
Can a lender start foreclosure right after you miss a payment?
Generally no. Under federal servicing rules a servicer may not make the first notice or filing required for foreclosure unless the loan is more than 120 days delinquent, and additional protections apply if a complete loss mitigation application is pending.
Not sure which stage you are in?
Send me the address and whatever paperwork you have received. I will tell you where you actually stand on the timeline, what the house is worth today, and what a sale would net — and if calling a counselor or your servicer is the better move, I will say so.
Options first. Recommendation second.
Call, text, or email: (586) 238-3693 · aj@ajrittner.com · see all your selling options
AJ Rittner · Real Estate Advisor
eXp Realty, LLC · 39555 Orchard Hill Place, Suite 600, Novi, MI 48375 · (586) 238-3693
Licensed Michigan Real Estate Salesperson since 2018 · License #6501416084 (Alexander Rittner)
Sources, checked 8 September 2026: 12 CFR §1024.41 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation X loss mitigation procedures); MCL 600.3208, MCL 600.3216 and MCL 600.3240 (Michigan foreclosure by advertisement and redemption); Michigan Courts, Landlord-Tenant Benchbook — Mortgage Foreclosures by Advertisement (courts.michigan.gov); Macomb County Clerk / Register of Deeds — Mortgage Foreclosure (macombgov.org); Macomb County Treasurer — Tax Foreclosure Prevention, for MSU Extension counseling.
This article explains how Michigan's foreclosure process generally works. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. AJ Rittner is a licensed Michigan real estate agent and active real estate investor, not an attorney, accountant or tax adviser. Redemption periods depend on facts specific to your loan and property, and the controlling date is the one stated in your sheriff's deed — confirm your situation with a qualified attorney or a HUD-approved housing counselor.
