Missouri Foreclosure Laws

If you are a residential homeowner who is or may soon be facing foreclosure in Missouri, this article will help you locate the law governing the foreclosure process in your state and summarize the key information you will need to know. This article will help you answer the following questions:

• How much notice will I receive before the foreclosure sale?
• What rights do I have to cure or reinstate my mortgage?
• Will I be liable for any deficiency after the foreclosure sale?

Locating Missouri’s Foreclosure Laws

To find out what is covered in Missouri’s foreclosure laws, you need to turn to Missouri’s statutes. The citation to Missouri’s foreclosure law is Missouri Revised Statutes Sections 443.290 to 443.453. These sections cover nonjudicial foreclosures.

Missouri’s foreclosure statutes can be found by taking the following steps:

1. Start at the website of the Missouri General Assembly at www.moga.mo.gov.
2. Click “Missouri Revised Statutes.”
3. Click “View All Missouri Revised Statutes.”
4. Scroll down to Title XXIX, “Ownership and Conveyance of Property,” and click that link.
5. Find Chapter 443 and click, “Mortgages, Deeds of Trust and Mortgage Brokers.”
6. Scroll down to find Section 443.290, which is the first section of Missouri’s general foreclosure law. Click on the section title to read the language of the statute.

Summary of Missouri’s Foreclosure Laws

A summary of the most important information in Missouri’s foreclosure laws relevant to residential homeowners is presented below. Because nonjudicial foreclosures are the most common type of foreclosure in Missouri, this information focuses on nonjudicial foreclosures

Nonjudicial Foreclosure

A mortgage lender does not need to sue the borrower in court to foreclose. Once a borrower has defaulted on his or her mortgage, the lender has the right to sell the property securing the mortgage, subject to certain requirements. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 443.290.

Notice Requirements

The mortgage lender or trustee must mail a foreclosure sale notice to the borrower. The notice must include the following information:

• The date, book, and page number containing the record of the mortgage or deed of trust
• The time, terms, and place of the foreclosure sale, as well as a description of the property to be sold; and
• The name of the borrower.

The mortgage lender must mail this notice by registered or certified mail no less than 20 days prior to the date of the foreclosure sale.

In addition to mailing notice to the borrower, the lender must publish an advertisement of the foreclosure sale in a newspaper either every day for 20 days, up to and including the date of the foreclosure sale, or once a week for four weeks, with the last advertisement published no more than one week before the date of the foreclosure sale. The frequency of publication depends on the size of the population of the county in which the property is located. Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 443.320, 443.325.

Right to Cure

A homeowner in Missouri does not have a statutory right to cure a mortgage default to prevent foreclosure.

Right of Redemption

In nonjudicial foreclosures in Missouri, homeowners do have a right of redemption that extends to one year following the date of the foreclosure sale. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 443.410. In order to exercise the right of redemption, a homeowner must provide written notice of his or her intention to redeem to the trustee or person conducting the foreclosure sale either at the time of the foreclosure sale or within 10 days prior. After providing the notice, the homeowner must pay the outstanding mortgage debt, plus interest and costs. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 443.410.

Deficiency Judgments

There is no statute prohibiting the collection of a deficiency after foreclosure, therefore a lender may pursue a deficiency judgment against a borrower.