The Sheriff's Office is required to be a part in the foreclosure process in the State of Minnesota. The Sheriff acts as the auctioneer and processes payments.
The Dakota County Sheriff’s Office does not have a list of pending or upcoming foreclosure sales. Employees of the sheriff’s office are prohibited from giving legal advice and encourage those interested to consult with an attorney.
Locations
Hours
Sales are held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (excluding holidays) at 10 a.m. at the Dakota County Civil Unit, 1580 Highway 55, Hastings.
The foreclosure process
In most cases, the lender begins the foreclosure process against the homeowner for not paying their mortgage.
The lender usually hires an attorney who arranges for certain papers to be served upon the homeowner. Those papers may be also served by the Sheriff’s Office.
The mortgage company is also required to publish a Notice of Mortgage Foreclosure Sale in a qualified newspaper once a week for six weeks prior to the scheduled sale.
The newspaper must meet the definition of a qualified newspaper as set forth in Minnesota Statute 331A.02.
Participating in a sale
The attorney or the attorney’s representative for the company that is foreclosing opens the bidding followed by other bidders, who must bid at least $1 over the previous bid.
The sale will go to the highest bidder. That bidder must have cash or a certified check(s) for payment which is due immediately after the sale, no exceptions.
All purchased properties are subject to a redemption period. Most of the redemption periods are six months but can range from five weeks to one year. Some mortgage foreclosures are subject to federal regulations, in which case there is no redemption period. The published Notice of Mortgage Foreclosure Sale usually indicates the length of the redemption period.