Homeowners, if they are unable to reinstate the loan by the end of the period on the notice of default, will then be sent a notice of sale of the property. This indicates when and where the house will be sold by the county at an auction to satisfy the delinquent mortgage. In most cases, the sheriff sale will be conducted at the county courthouse and there will be few other bidders besides the bank itself.

If the state has a redemption period after the sheriff sale has been conducted, homeowners will receive another notice informing them of their right to redeem and how long they have to do so. Some states have no redemption period, while others have from just a few months to a year for borrowers to attempt to save their home.

Banks must follow all of these notice requirements for the foreclosure process to be valid and legal. If it or the attorneys miss one or another notice, the homeowners may be able to contest the foreclosure for inadequacy of process and have the lawsuit thrown out or the sale halted. This would then require the mortgage company to begin the entire process all over again from the beginning.