Michigan Condo Foreclosure Timeline Calculator — Four-Week Advertisement + Redemption (MCL Sec. 600.3208 / 600.3240)

How this calculator works

This is a timeline-projection tool for Michigan condominium assessment-lien foreclosure proceeding by advertisement under MCL Sec. 600.3201 et seq. (when the master deed grants the association a power of sale under MCL Sec. 559.208(2)) or judicially under MCL Sec. 600.3101 et seq. Given the default date, the claim-of-lien recording date, the first publication date, an optional target sale date, the foreclosure election, and whether the short or long redemption period applies, it returns:

1. The procedural posture of the file (pre-demand, lien recorded, first publication run, sale completed, redemption expired).
2. The recommended demand-letter sending date (default + 60 days) and the recommended claim-of-lien recording date (default + 90 days).
3. The earliest permissible sheriff sale date (first publication + 28 days under MCL Sec. 600.3208).
4. The required unit-posting deadline (sale - 15 days under MCL Sec. 600.3208).
5. The redemption-period end date (sale + 6 or 12 months under MCL Sec. 600.3240).
6. A next-action recommendation appropriate to the posture.

Use the calculator at the start of the foreclosure file to map the milestone calendar, before publication arrangement to confirm the four-week sequence will hit the target sale date, and during the redemption period to track the title-vesting date for downstream marketing or rental.

The relevant MCL Sec. 559 statute and the foreclosure-by-advertisement chapter

Michigan condominium foreclosure draws from two statutes: the Michigan Condominium Act (MCL Sec. 559.101 et seq.) authorizes the foreclosure, and the foreclosure-by-advertisement statute (MCL Sec. 600.3201 et seq.) sets the procedure.

MCL Sec. 559.208(2) — The Michigan Condominium Act expressly permits foreclosure of an association assessment lien by advertisement under MCL Sec. 600.3201 et seq. IF the master deed grants the association a power of sale. Most modern master deeds include the power-of-sale grant; older master deeds (pre-1985) sometimes lack it. Without the grant, the only option is judicial foreclosure.

MCL Sec. 600.3201 — Preamble to the foreclosure-by-advertisement chapter. Authorizes nonjudicial foreclosure for mortgages and other instruments with a power-of-sale grant, including condominium assessment liens under MCL Sec. 559.208(2).

MCL Sec. 600.3204 — Conditions for foreclosure. Requires (a) a default on the secured obligation; (b) no other proceeding pending in equity for the same debt; (c) the lien is recorded; and (d) (for mortgages, applied by analogy to HOA liens) appropriate notice has been given.

MCL Sec. 600.3208 — Notice of sale. The notice of sale must be published once each week for FOUR CONSECUTIVE WEEKS in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the unit is located, with the first publication AT LEAST 28 DAYS BEFORE the sheriff sale. The notice must also be POSTED in a conspicuous place on the unit AT LEAST 15 DAYS BEFORE the sale.

MCL Sec. 600.3216 — The sheriff conducts the sale at the county courthouse. The successful bidder receives a sheriff's deed.

MCL Sec. 600.3236 — The sheriff's deed vests title in the purchaser at the EXPIRATION of the redemption period without redemption. If redemption occurs, the deed is voided.

MCL Sec. 600.3240 — Redemption period after sheriff sale. Six months if the parcel is three acres or less AND the unpaid amount exceeds two-thirds of the original indebtedness; otherwise twelve months. For HOA liens the twelve-month period applies in nearly all cases.

Michigan-specific gotchas (NO super-priority, nonjudicial advertisement foreclosure permitted, no statutory resale-disclosure regime)

FORECLOSURE-BY-ADVERTISEMENT REQUIRES MASTER DEED POWER OF SALE. MCL Sec. 559.208(2) authorizes the nonjudicial path only when the master deed grants a power of sale. The first task in any Michigan condo foreclosure file is to pull the recorded master deed and find the foreclosure-method clause. Most modern master deeds include the grant in language tracking the Condominium Act, but older master deeds (pre-1985 especially) sometimes lack the grant and force judicial foreclosure under MCL Sec. 600.3101. Recorded amendments may add the grant; pull the chain of master-deed amendments before assuming the original controls.

FOUR-WEEK PUBLICATION IS CONSECUTIVE, NOT ELAPSED. MCL Sec. 600.3208 requires four CONSECUTIVE WEEKLY publications, not 28 elapsed days with publications scattered. In practice the publications run on Days 0, 7, 14, and 21, with the sheriff sale on or after Day 28. A gap in the weekly sequence (missed publication, holiday-skipped issue, newspaper error) restarts the four-week clock. Confirm each publication ran on the scheduled date before going to sale.

THE 15-DAY POSTING IS A SEPARATE REQUIREMENT FROM PUBLICATION. MCL Sec. 600.3208 requires the notice to be posted on the unit at least 15 days before the sale. This is in addition to the four-week publication, not in lieu of it. Posting is typically done by a process server who photographs the posted notice. Failure to post or to post timely is a procedural defect that can void the sale on post-sale challenge.

REDEMPTION PERIOD IS A HARD STOP. Unlike Washington nonjudicial foreclosure where the sale is final on the sale date with no redemption right, Michigan foreclosure-by-advertisement carries a 6- or 12-month redemption period under MCL Sec. 600.3240 during which the foreclosed owner (or any junior lienholder) may pay the sale price plus statutory interest and recover the unit. For HOA liens the 12-month period applies almost always. The sheriff's deed under MCL Sec. 600.3236 does not vest title until redemption expires without redemption. Practitioners projecting a "deal close" timeline must add the 12-month redemption to the post-sale calendar.

HOA SALE BUYER TAKES SUBJECT TO THE FIRST MORTGAGE. Because Michigan has NO super-priority over the prior recorded first mortgage (MCL Sec. 559.208(1)), the buyer at the HOA sheriff sale takes the unit subject to the first mortgage. The first mortgage is not extinguished by the HOA foreclosure — it survives and the buyer (whether the association or a third party) must address the first mortgage to obtain clean title. Practical bidding strategies for HOA foreclosure must account for this; bidding the lien amount as a credit bid is common, but the bidder must understand it is not acquiring fee-simple ownership free of the first mortgage.

FIRST-MORTGAGE HOLDER IS A REQUIRED NOTICE PARTY BUT RARELY BIDS. MCL Sec. 600.3208 requires notice to all parties with a recorded interest, including senior mortgage holders. The first-mortgage holder receives notice but rarely bids because it already has senior priority — its lien survives the HOA foreclosure. This is the structural opposite of UCIOA states where the first-mortgage holder must tender the HOA super-priority before sale or risk extinguishment of its lien.

BANKRUPTCY STAY HALTS EVERYTHING. A bankruptcy filing under 11 U.S.C. Sec. 362 triggers the automatic stay and immediately halts the foreclosure regardless of where in the timeline the case is. The association must seek stay relief from the bankruptcy court before proceeding. Common outcomes: Chapter 7 abandonment with stay relief and resumed foreclosure; Chapter 13 plan that pays the arrears and suspends foreclosure; or stay-relief denial that forces the association to wait for plan completion or case dismissal. Pre-petition assessments are typically dischargeable under 11 U.S.C. Sec. 523(a)(16); post-petition assessments continue to accrue and are not discharged.

SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS RECOVER POSSESSION POST-REDEMPTION. If the former owner remains in possession after the redemption period expires, the new owner pursues SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS under MCL Sec. 600.5701 et seq. in district court — a 30-60 day proceeding that typically runs in parallel with deed-recording confirmation. This is a separate proceeding from the foreclosure itself; budget for it on the post-redemption calendar.

What this calculator does NOT model

The calculator implements the foreclosure-by-advertisement timeline math. It does NOT:

• Validate the master deed's power-of-sale grant required for the by-advertisement path.
• Confirm publication-newspaper qualification (newspaper of general circulation in the county).
• Model bankruptcy automatic-stay scenarios or plan-suspension impacts on the timeline.
• Compute redemption-period interest accruals (statutory interest under MCL Sec. 600.3240).
• Model summary-proceedings timing under MCL Sec. 600.5701 for owners who do not vacate.
• Address judicial-foreclosure circuit-court scheduling for the alternative election.
• Compute the lien total — see the companion Michigan condo assessment-lien calculator.
• Validate the four-week-consecutive-publication compliance against actual newspaper schedules.

For any foreclosure decision, retain Michigan counsel with condo-foreclosure experience to oversee the procedural compliance review and the master-deed authorization analysis.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-16 against:

• Michigan Condominium Act, MCL Sec. 559.101 et seq.
• MCL Sec. 559.208(2) — foreclosure by advertisement authorization for HOA liens.
• MCL Sec. 600.3201 — foreclosure by advertisement preamble.
• MCL Sec. 600.3204 — conditions for foreclosure.
• MCL Sec. 600.3208 — four-week publication and 15-day posting.
• MCL Sec. 600.3216 — sheriff conducts sale at county courthouse.
• MCL Sec. 600.3236 — sheriff's deed and title vesting.
• MCL Sec. 600.3240 — six- or twelve-month redemption period.
• MCL Sec. 600.3101 et seq. — judicial foreclosure alternative.
• MCL Sec. 600.5701 et seq. — summary proceedings to recover possession.
• 11 U.S.C. Sec. 362 — bankruptcy automatic stay.
• 11 U.S.C. Sec. 523(a)(16) — discharge exception for post-petition assessments.
• State Bar of Michigan Real Property Law Section materials on foreclosure by advertisement.