§3760 Conduct of sale; adjournment

Summary

Requires foreclosure sales to be public auctions held between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time. The sale must take place where such auctions usually happen in the county, or at a courthouse, or on the property. If the property is in more than one county, the sale can be in any one of those counties. The foreclosure commissioner picks the order when selling multiple properties. The commissioner must run the sale fairly for both the borrower and the Secretary. Written one-price sealed bids from the Secretary and others can be taken and announced at the sale. The commissioner may act as auctioneer or hire one and pay that person from the commission. The Secretary and anyone who submitted a one-price bid may bid. The commissioner, the commissioner’s relatives, related businesses, or employees may not bid, except the commissioner or the auctioneer may place a bid for the Secretary if told to do so. The commissioner can postpone or cancel a sale if it would not be fair or if more time is needed to decide whether to stop the foreclosure. The sale can be moved to a later time the same day by announcing the new time and place, or delayed for not less than 9 and not more than 31 days with a revised notice. That revised notice must be published on any of 3 separate days before the new date and mailed at least 7 days before that date. The commissioner may require a cash deposit in the notice before accepting bids. A winning bidder who does not follow the sale terms may lose the deposit or, after the commissioner talks with the Secretary, may have to pay any costs caused by the failure. A sale done under these rules is treated as legal, fair, and reasonable, and the sale price is treated as equal to the property’s fair market value.