Ohio Foreclosure Laws

Ohio Foreclosure is Judicial.

Ohio Foreclosure Timeline

Ohio foreclosure actions are commenced with the filing of a complaint, naming as Defendants all parties having ownership interest, lien or other encumbrance on the property. Service of the summons is perfected generally by mail, or by publication if a party cannot be located. Unless the mortgagor files an answer to the complaint within 28 days after service of the summons, a motion for default judgment can be filed. Otherwise, the case will proceed based upon a motion for summary judgment or trial. A foreclosure decree setting forth the rights of the various parties is submitted for approval by the court. Once the Ohio foreclosure decree is approved and filed, an order of sale is issued to the Sheriff, who then retains, 3 fee holders to act as appraisers.

The Sheriff will schedule the Sheriff's Sale for an auction, and publish a notice of the Sale for at least 30 days prior to the Sale date in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the property is located. The minimum bid at the Sheriff's Sale is 2/3 of the Sheriff's appraisal proceedings. The sheriff will conduct the sale at the courthouse and the property will be sold to the highest bidder. Unless there is an irregularity, the court files an order confirming the Sheriff's sale. The mortgagor has a statutory right to redeem the property by paying the balance due together with the court costs, only until the filing of the order confirming the Sale. Uncontested foreclosures generally take 6-10 months.

Ohio foreclosure law states that evictions can be accomplished through a writ of possession through the Sheriff, in the event the occupants were named as parties in the foreclosure action and served with a summons. Otherwise, possession may only be recovered through a municipal court eviction action. In ether cases, the process takes approximately 6 weeks until the move out.

Deficiency judgments are fully enforceable, but there is a 2 year statute of limitations to collect in the event judgment was rendered prior to confirmation the Sheriff's sale and the property was a dwelling with 2 units or less.