Mississippi Foreclosure Laws

Mississippi foreclosure laws allow for both in-court and out of court foreclosure processes, but out of court (non-judicial) foreclosures are more typical. Most Mississippi foreclosures last between three and four months.

Pre-Foreclosure

In Mississippi, most mortgages and deeds of trust usually include power of sale clause, which allow the lender to sell a property without court intervention in the event of a default. Most lenders will send a default notice to the debtor thirty days or more before a foreclosure auction. Once this notice has been sent, the trustee pushes ahead with the foreclosure auction. Until the foreclosure auction, the property is considered in pre-foreclosure and the debtor can stop the foreclosure by paying the default amount and the costs the lender has had to incur.

Notice of Auction

If a debtor does not resolve the default during the pre-foreclosure stage, the notice of sale will be published for three successive weeks in a local newspaper, once per every week. The notice will also be posted at the courthouse. The notice of auction is also known as the notice of sale and it contains information about the parties involved in the foreclosure, deed of trust information, a description of the property, the terms of the sale, and the time and place of the auction.

The trustee, usually between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., conducts the foreclosure auction at the courthouse. Anyone, including the lender, can place bids. If the winning bidder is someone other than the lender, he or she must provide the bid amount in certified funds or cash at the auction. Once the bid amount has been paid, the deed and ownership of the property is conferred onto the winning bidder. If the amount of the winning bid exceeds the default amount, the extra money is distributed among junior lien holders. There are no redemption rights for the debtor in Mississippi after a foreclosure auction and all foreclosure sales are final.