Ohio Foreclosure Laws

All Ohio foreclosures make use of the judicial foreclosure procedure, meaning that all foreclosures in the state are administered through the courts. Most foreclosures take about seven months.

Pre-Foreclosure

To initiate a foreclosure, the lender must file the correct documents in court. Then, using process service, certified mail, or regular mail, the debtor must be advised of the filing. The notice may be published if the debtor cannot be located. Once the notice has been published or delivered to the debt, the debtor is given 28 days to reply to the filing. If the debtor does not reply or if the court rules in favor of the lender, the sheriff is given an order of sale by the county clerk. The court does define a specific time during which the debtor can repay the default amount in order to stop the foreclosure.

Notice of Auction

Before the foreclosure auction can take place, the sheriff is required to publish a notice of auction and to obtain three appraisals of the property. The notice must be published for three weeks in a local newspaper.

Once the appraisals are complete and the notice published, the auction can take place. Usually, the sale takes place at the courthouse and is overseen by the sheriff. The bid price of the property must be at least two thirds of the fair market value of the real estate. After a winning bidder is established, the court looks over the sale results and confirms the sale. At this point, ownership of the property is transferred to the winning bidder. Until the sale is confirmed by a court, the debtor retains the right to redeem the property.