Can You Get Your Home Back After a Wisconsin Foreclosure?

If you stop making your mortgage payments, the lender may use a process called "foreclosure" to sell your home and use the proceeds to repay the amount you borrowed, plus fees and costs. In some states, after you lose the property at a foreclosure sale, you can get it back by "redeeming" (repurchasing) it during what's called a post-sale "redemption period."

Wisconsin law, though, doesn't provide a redemption period after a foreclosure sale. Instead, the redemption period happens before the sale. The length of the redemption period varies depending on a number of factors, like whether the lender is seeking a deficiency judgment or whether the borrower abandoned the home.

The Redemption Period in Wisconsin Happens Before the Sale

In Wisconsin, you can't get your house back after a foreclosure is over by redeeming it. However, under Wisconsin law, you get a specific amount of time before the sale during which you can stop the foreclosure by paying off the total amount of your mortgage debt. This period of time is called the "redemption period."

How Wisconsin Foreclosures Work

Wisconsin foreclosures are judicial, which means the foreclosing lender has to file a lawsuit in court to foreclose. After the lender gets a judgment from the court, the redemption period begins. (Wis. Stat. Ann. § 846.13). Once the redemption period expires, the sale takes place, and the court confirms it. Unlike in some other states, Wisconsin doesn't give foreclosed borrowers a right of redemption after the sale.

How Long You Get to Redeem the Home

In Wisconsin, the length of the redemption period depends on the circumstances:

Owner-Occupied, One- to Four-Family Homes on 20 Acres or Less

If the lender waives its right to a deficiency judgment, the redemption period is shortened. Because of the shortened period, lenders often choose not to go after borrowers for deficiency judgments.

Mortgages executed before April 27, 2016. The redemption period is generally 12 months after the court enters a judgment to foreclose. (Wis. Stat. § 846.10). But if the lender waives its right to a deficiency judgment, the redemption period is reduced to six months. (The lender can waive the deficiency judgment and shorten the redemption period only if the borrower agrees in writing when signing the mortgage. Most Wisconsin mortgages contain a paragraph in which the borrower agrees to a shortened redemption period if the lender waives the deficiency judgment.) (Wis. Stat. § 846.101).

Mortgages executed on and after April 27, 2016. The redemption period is generally six months after the court enters a judgment to foreclose. The borrower may ask the court to extend the redemption period to eight months, but only if attempting in good faith to sell the mortgaged premises and has entered into a listing agreement with a licensed real estate broker. (Wis. Stat. § 846.10).

If the lender waives its right to a deficiency judgment, the redemption period is reduced to three months. (Again, the lender can waive the deficiency judgment and shorten the redemption period only if the borrower agrees in writing when signing the mortgage. Most Wisconsin mortgages contain a paragraph in which the borrower agrees to a shortened redemption period if the lender waives the deficiency judgment.) The borrower may ask the court to extend the redemption period to five months, but only if attempting in good faith to sell the mortgaged premises and has entered into a listing agreement with a licensed real estate broker. (Wis. Stat. § 846.101).

Non-Owner Occupied Properties, Mortgage Recorded After May 12, 1978

The redemption period is six months, but if the lender waives the deficiency judgment, the redemption period is three months. (Wis. Stat. § 846.103).

Abandoned Properties

Regardless of whether a deficiency is sought, if you abandon (permanently move out of) the home, the redemption period is five weeks. (Wis. Stat. § 846.102).

How Much You'll Have to Pay to Redeem Your Home

To redeem the home, you must pay the court clerk or the foreclosing lender:

• the judgment amount
• interest
• the foreclosing lender's costs after getting a judgment, and
• any taxes the lender paid after the judgment. (Wis. Stat. § 846.13).

You have up until the court confirms the sale to pay the redemption amount. (Security State Bank v. Sechen, 2005 WI App 253, 288 Wis.2d 168, 707 N.W.2d 576).

Other Ways to Stop the Foreclosure

Keep in mind that there are other ways, besides redeeming the home, to stop a foreclosure. You might potentially be able to refinance the loan, pay off the past-due amounts to reinstate (catch up on) the loan, get a mortgage modification, or sell the house and pay off the amount due.

Talk to an Attorney

If you need more information about Wisconsin foreclosure procedures, potential defenses to a foreclosure, or about how long the redemption period will be in your foreclosure, consider talking to a local attorney. If you want information about foreclosure avoidance options, consider talking to a HUD-approved housing counselor.