Foreclosure Sale / Auction

Produced by Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Created July 2013

The bank * will auction your home on the date and time in the notices in the newspaper and the letter they sent to you. If the auction was postponed by proclamation the auction will take place on the date it was announced.

The auctioneer and a representative of the bank will come to your property. The auction does not have to take place on your property. It can be near your property.

For both of these foreclosures, the person who runs the auction must be a licensed auctioneer. The highest bidder wins the auction. The bank is allowed to bid at the auction. The bank often wins the property.

The buyer usually has thirty days to pay the full amount that they bid, and sign the paperwork. Once all the paperwork is signed, the bank signs the deed and gives it to the new owner.

If the highest bidder does not pay the full amount within the 30 days, they lose their deposit. The second highest bidder can take the property.

Note

On the day of the auction, you may see a person who is representing the bank step, onto your property. They do this to make sure that if something goes wrong with the foreclosure by auction they can still take your home a different way. This type of foreclosure is “foreclosure by entry.” The bank representative does not have to come into your house. He or she can just step onto your land, anywhere.

Endnotes

* When we use the word 'bank' we mean your lender. This could be a mortgage company a trust or even a person.

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