Michigan Foreclosure Process

Michigan uses two forms of foreclosure: foreclosure by court action and foreclosure by advertisement. Court foreclosures are permitted in Michigan; however, most mortgages contain a power of sale clause enabling the lender to sell a property through a non-judicial foreclosure by advertisement once a borrower defaults.

The foreclosure process can take up to 12 months to complete however, the typical foreclosure takes about eight months.

You want to avoid being foreclosed on at all costs because of the severe damage to your credit history and credit score.  A foreclosure can stay on your credit report for up to 10 years and can lower your credit score by 200 – 300 points.  Your credit score is used by credit card companies, auto lenders, insurance companies and many others to determine the rates you’ll be required to pay.

So, a low credit score is going to cost you money in many other areas of your life for a long time to come.  Of course, you’re going to be unable to get new mortgage money for a minimum of 2 years (and only then if the rest of your credit is perfect) and generally not for at least 4 years.  Probably the most important reason is that being foreclosed on, and losing the house, is a terrible experience for a family to go through.

If you want to stop the foreclosure process in it’s tracks and save what’s left of your credit you need to take action.