Oklahoma Foreclosure Laws

Oklahoma allows both judicial and non-judicial foreclosures. Non-judicial foreclosures occur when a mortgage or deed of trust contains a Power of Sale clause, allowing the lender to pursue foreclosure without the sanction of the court system. However, because of Oklahoma state law, this type of mortgage clause is very difficult for a lender to obtain, so most foreclosures proceed through the judicial system.

After sending any required warnings to the borrower (homeowner) of their intent to foreclose, the lender may pursue foreclosure by filing a suit (known as a Lis Pendens) against the homeowner in court. A notice of the suit is delivered to the homeowner, who is given 20 days in which to respond. If no response is made, or there is sufficient evidence to indicate default, the court can rule against the homeowner and schedule a foreclosure sale of the property. The homeowner may halt the foreclosure by paying off the default debt owed to the lender at any point up until the sale occurs.

A Notice of Sale must be published in a local newspaper every day for four consecutive weeks beginning 30 days prior to the sale at most.

At the sale, the property is auctioned off to the highest bidder by the county Sheriff. If the property has been appraised prior to the sale, and that value has been made known to the Sheriff, the opening bid must be at least two thirds of the appraisal value. If no appraisal has been made, there is no minimum bid. Immediately following the sale, the winning bidder must provide a ten percent deposit and pay off the remaining balance within 30 days.

The county court must confirm the sale before any ownership is transferred, which takes about 15 days. During this time the original homeowner is afforded the right under Oklahoma foreclosure law to redemption of ownership by paying the full amount owed to the lender. The lender may file for a deficiency judgment if the full value of the homeowner's loan is not satisfied by the sale of the property, but this must be done within 90 days of the sale.

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