What is a right of redemption in foreclosure?

A right of redemption lets you get your home back after a foreclosure sale by paying what your state's law requires before a deadline. Some states give one and some don't. Where it exists, the amount and the deadline are written in the state's statute.

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Updated

Where you’ll see the phrase

  • A notice of sale

    In Michigan, foreclosure runs by advertisement: a published notice, then a sheriff's sale, then the redemption period.

  • A sheriff's deed

    In Michigan, the deed from the sale lists the last date the home can be redeemed.

  • A sale report

    The record of the auction: the winning bid, the buyer and the sale date the deadline counts from.

Also called

  • equitable right of redemption The older kind: paying off the debt to keep the home, which Cornell's legal dictionary says exists from the time of default until foreclosure proceedings begin. Cornell Law

What a right of redemption means for you

Redemption isn't the same as catching up. Reinstatement means paying the missed payments and fees to bring the loan current, before the sale. Redemption comes after the sale and means paying the whole redemption amount to undo it.

Michigan shows how it works. After a sheriff's sale, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority says you can redeem by paying the amount bid at the sale plus interest and fees, and the most common redemption period is six months from the sale.

California's courts describe the opposite setup for nonjudicial foreclosure: there, paying off the entire loan plus fees, which they also call redemption, is allowed up to the day of the sale, not after it.

Questions about the right of redemption

Does redemption cancel the sale?

Yes, if you pay the full redemption amount before the deadline: the sale is undone and you keep the home. Miss the deadline and the sale stands.

How long is the redemption period?

Each state's statute sets it, and some states have none. In Michigan, the courts' guide says the length varies depending on the type of property.

Do I have to move out during the redemption period?

Not in Michigan. Its housing agency says the homeowner can live in the property during the redemption period, isn't required to make payments, and must let the buyer inspect the home.

Free help understanding your options

Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.

  • HUD-approved housing counselors

    Nationwide800-569-4287hud.gov

    Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.

  • Legal aid

    Every statelsc.gov

    Nonprofit law offices give free civil legal help to people with low incomes. Our help directory lists the 120 offices the Legal Services Corporation funds.

Our pages that use it

Related terms

  • Foreclosure SaleThe public auction where a home is sold at the end of a foreclosure. The highest bidder, which can be the lender, gets the home.
  • Right to CureA state-law opportunity to bring a delinquent mortgage current before a foreclosure step.
  • ReinstatementPaying all missed mortgage payments plus fees to bring your loan current and stop the foreclosure process.
  • Non-Judicial ForeclosureA foreclosure done without a court case, by the written notices required under a power-of-sale clause, ending in an auction.

Sources and method

This page uses none of our own data. Michigan's statute, courts and housing agency supply the post-sale example; Cornell's legal dictionary supplies the older, pre-foreclosure kind; each source was opened on Oct 22, 2026.

We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.