Missouri Laws

Missouri foreclosures can be both judicial and non-judicial, depending on the presence of a Power of Sale clause in the mortgage agreement. A Power of Sale clause allows the lender to pursue a non-judicial foreclosure in the event of a default without the court's supervision. A judicial foreclosure is only needed when such a clause does not exist or there are problems with the property title itself. Non-judicial foreclosures are the most common type of Missouri foreclosures.

Before actually beginning the foreclosure process, the lender must first issue the homeowner a Notice of Default outlining the amount owed in default and granting the homeowner a small time in which to pay. If the homeowner does not provide payment within this time, the lender can schedule a foreclosure sale of the property.

In order to advertise the sale properly, a Notice of Sale must be published in a local newspaper. In counties that hold a population of over 50,000, the Notice must be published for 30 days, the last Notice appearing on the day of the sale itself. In smaller counties, the Notice must be published once weekly for four weeks, the last Notice appearing no more than one week before the sale begins. The homeowner must also receive a copy of the Notice at least 20 days before the sale begins.

On the date in question, a trustee of the lender auctions off the homeowner's property to the highest bidder at the county courthouse between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. In order to postpone the sale for more than seven days, it must be rescheduled with enough time for the trustee to follow the specifications of advertisement once again.

Once a winning bidder has been established and provided payment of their bid, that person is entitled to full ownership. If the lender is the winning bidder, the original homeowner retains no redemption rights.

In any other case, the homeowner may enact redemption rights by first notifying the trustee of their intent to redeem at least ten days prior to the sale or at it. This allows the homeowner twenty days after the sale has closed to provide full payment of the mortgage interest, any secondary loan interest, all taxes that will accrue on the property for a full year, foreclosure expenses, legal fees and an all inclusive charge of six percent. If these payments are made, the homeowner then has one full year in which to pay the original default amount owed. Because of the difficulty of providing all of these fees, the right to redemption is rarely invoked.

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