The Wisconsin Foreclosure Process

Some Background
Wisconsin foreclosures are a judicial process through the circuit courts of the 72 counties.

creditor:
The mortgagee. The entity that has lent the money to the debtor. The creditor is listed as the plaintiff on the filing.

debtor:
The mortgagor. This is the property owner. Listed as the first defendant on the filing.


This judicial process typically begins 120-180 days after the the debtor has become delinquent on the mortgage. Up until that time, the creditor is attempting to resolve the issue without going to court.

The judicial process has the following steps.

Filing a Summons and Complaint

The creditor files the Summons and Complaint in the county in which the property is located. The complaint usually has multiple defendants listed and can includes tenants (even if unknown), any subordinate mortgage holders, and any subordinate judgment lien holders.

The Summons and Complaint is the first public notice of the foreclosure. At this point, it is commonly referred to as a pre-foreclosure.


The Answer Period

The creditor then has 20 days to file an answer with the courts. In most foreclosure proceedings in Wisconsin over the past year, the creditor has not responded to the Summons and Complaint. When this occurs, a Default Judgment is declared by the judge. This is one of ways a foreclosure judgment is reached - and is currently the most common.

Foreclosure Judgment

There are three ways a judgment can happen in a Wisconsin foreclosure case.

1. Default Judgment
   The defendant has either not answered or fails to defend the foreclosure. This happens in over 65% of foreclosure cases in Wisconsin.
   
   
2. Summary Judgment
   
   
3. By trial
   
   

The foreclosure can also be dismissed if the creditor works something out with the debtor or if the judicial process ends up determining it is not a foreclosure (this is rare.)

Redemption Period

The creditor then has the benefit of a redemption period which can vary from 2 to 12 months and begins right after judgment. The length of time is determined by the following:

• 2 months if the creditor has abandoned the property
• 3 months if the property is not owner-occupied (1-4 unit family dwelling)
• 6 months if the property is owner-occupied (1-4 unit)

Before the redemption period expires, the creditor's attorney will schedule a sheriff's sale.

Sheriff's Sale

In Wisconsin, there are requirements for public posting of the sheriff sale. The creditor must publish the notice of sheriff's sale once per week for the six weeks leading up to the sale. These notices are in a newspaper within the county in which the property is located.

Also, the sheriff's department posts notices of the sale during the same period.

Sheriff sales are held at the county courthouse and are open to the public. The sale is an auction in which the creditor is a bidder and starts the bidding at a predetermined price. Often times, the creditor is the only bidder and becomes the purchaser.

Confirmation of Sale

The confirmation of sale is scheduled as soon as possible after the sheriff's sale. This process allows judicial review of the sale, the price, and that the process was conducted according to state law.

The creditor can also use this hearing to obtain the necessary assistance of occupant eviction if necessary.

With ForeclosureAlarm, each of the above events can be tracked. If you are a real estate professional, you can subscribe to initial pre-foreclosure filings as well as Default Judgements and Sheriff's Report of Sale. All delivered in a daily foreclosure spreadsheet.