Michigan foreclosure laws: how the process works and how long it takes

• MCL 600.3201 et seq.: Primary statutory authority for non-judicial foreclosure by advertisement: conditions for use, notice requirements, publication, sheriff's sale, redemption period, deficiency rights
• MCL 600.3204: Three conditions that must be met before a mortgage may be foreclosed by advertisement: (1) mortgage contains a power of sale; (2) mortgage has been recorded; (3) default has occurred and ordinary-case § 1024.41 pre-filing rule for a principal-residence mortgage subject to that section has run
• MCL 600.3208: Publication of notice of foreclosure sale in a county newspaper for 4 consecutive weeks; content requirements; posting on the property within 15 days after the first publication
• MCL 600.3236: Effect of the foreclosure deed if the property isn't redeemed, and preservation of prior liens
• MCL 600.3240: Redemption periods: for a mortgage executed on or after January 1, 1965 on a home of up to 4 units, subject to MCL 600.3238, 6 months if more than 66-2/3% of the original debt was claimed due at the notice of foreclosure, otherwise 1 year; 1 month or 30 days if abandoned; 6 months for commercial, industrial, or multifamily property over 4 units; 1 year for agricultural property; possession and inspection proceedings under MCL 600.3238
• MCL 600.3241a: Conclusive presumption of abandonment for residential property of up to 4 units when the lender's inspection shows no one is occupying it, the lender posts and mails a notice, and no one responds in writing within 15 days; the redemption period is then 30 days or until that 15-day window ends, whichever is later
• MCL 600.3280: When the lender or debt holder bought the property at a foreclosure-by-advertisement sale, the borrower may defend a later deficiency action by showing the property was fairly worth the debt or the bid was substantially less than its true value, defeating the deficiency in whole or in part
• MCL 600.3101 et seq.: Alternative judicial foreclosure process by filing a complaint in circuit court; rarely used because non-judicial process is faster

After the redemption period expires, the purchaser may recover possession through summary proceedings in District Court (MCL 600.5714(1)(g)). Unlike a holdover after nonpayment of rent, this ground does not require a 7-day written demand before filing. If the court enters a judgment for possession, it issues a writ of restitution, which generally cannot issue until 10 days after the judgment (MCL 600.5744). The federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act provides 90-day notice to bona fide tenants.

Surplus money left after satisfying the mortgage and paying the costs and expenses of the foreclosure and sale is paid over on demand to the former owner (the mortgagor) or the owner's legal representatives or assigns. If a junior mortgage or lien holder files a sworn written claim, the person who made the sale pays the surplus to the clerk of the circuit court, and the court takes proofs and orders how the surplus is paid.

First to record under Michigan's race-notice recording statutes (MCL 565.29). A subsequent purchaser or mortgagee who records first and pays value without notice of a prior unrecorded interest takes priority. Michigan property tax liens (MCL 211.40) have super-priority over all other liens including mortgages. Property delinquent for taxes for the preceding 12 months or more is forfeited to the county treasurer, and forfeited property that is not redeemed can then be foreclosed through the Michigan tax foreclosure process.

Michigan has a 15-year statute of limitations for mortgage foreclosure under MCL 600.5803: a foreclosure must be started within 15 years after the mortgage becomes due or within 15 years after the last payment was made on the mortgage. The statute applies to foreclosure by advertisement as well as to foreclosure actions in the courts. No specific short deficiency window in Michigan for non-judicial foreclosure (unlike some states with 90-day windows). The limitation period depends on the claim: 6 years for an action to recover money due for breach of contract (MCL 600.5807(9)), or 10 years for an action founded on a covenant in a deed or mortgage of real estate (MCL 600.5807(5)).

• Unpaid property taxes: Michigan Department of Treasury describes a three-year property-tax forfeiture and foreclosure process under MCL 211.78a-211.78m. Property is forfeited to the county treasurer in the second year of delinquency; unpaid property is foreclosed by the foreclosing governmental unit in the third year after the statutory notice and court process.
• Land contracts: A Michigan land contract seller can recover possession through summary proceedings in court after forfeiture, but only after the buyer (vendee) is served with a written notice of forfeiture; unless the parties agreed in writing to a longer time, the buyer has 15 days after service to pay the amounts due and cure other material breaches, or deliver possession (MCL 600.5726, 600.5728). After a judgment for possession based on forfeiture, the writ of restitution cannot issue until 90 days after judgment if less than 50% of the purchase price has been paid, or 6 months if 50% or more has been paid, and paying the judgment amount with costs and curing other material breaches within that time prevents the writ (MCL 600.5744(4), (7)).
• Manufactured homes: Manufactured homes titled as personal property are repossessed under Article 9 UCC procedures. Manufactured homes affixed to land and titled as real property are foreclosed under MCL 600.3201 et seq. Michigan Mobile Home Commission Act governs licensing and regulation of manufactured housing communities.
• Reverse mortgages: HECM reverse mortgage foreclosures proceed under Michigan's general foreclosure procedures, by advertisement (MCL 600.3201 et seq.) or in circuit court (MCL 600.3101). Federal HUD rules add HECM requirements, including counseling before the loan for the borrower and any non-borrowing spouse, and a Deferral Period for an eligible non-borrowing spouse who meets HUD's conditions.

$51,150, or $76,725 if the debtor or a dependent of the debtor is at least 65 years old or disabled when the bankruptcy petition is filed. Michigan Treasury's January 30, 2026 notice makes these adjusted limits applicable to cases filed on or after April 1, 2026. MCL 600.5451(1)(m) is a Michigan bankruptcy exemption, not a defense to consensual mortgage foreclosure. Subsection (2) excludes a consensually granted mortgage, lien, or security interest from the exemption, and subsection (4) requires periodic inflation adjustments by the state treasurer.

Michigan law adds protections for service members with a mortgage entered into on or after May 21, 2008, who either took out the mortgage before entering military service or are deployed overseas. A foreclosure by advertisement, or a sale under a power of sale, during military service or within 6 months after it ends is invalid unless a court ordered it, and knowingly foreclosing in violation carries a $2,000 civil fine (MCL 600.3285). In a court foreclosure, the court may, and at the service member's request must, stay the case until 6 months after military service ends or issue another fair order, unless the service did not materially affect the service member's ability to pay (MCL 600.3185). Federal SCRA protections apply separately.

Michigan's bifurcated property tax foreclosure system (property delinquent for taxes for the preceding 12 months or more is forfeited to the county treasurer on March 1, and forfeited property that is not redeemed can then be foreclosed through a circuit court petition) creates significant risk of title loss through tax foreclosure even while mortgage foreclosure is pending. Homeowners should pay property taxes even if they cannot pay the mortgage. Consult a tax professional for advice on cancellation of debt income.