Right to a mailed notice at least 20 days before a trustee’s sale
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 443.325
In plain words
Most Missouri foreclosures are trustee’s sales outside court. The trustee must send you the notice of sale by certified or registered mail at least 20 days before the sale, and must publish the sale in a newspaper. Missouri law has no general right to reinstate, so ask the servicer early about catching up.
Who is protected
Missouri borrowers and owners of record facing a trustee’s sale.
When it applies
- Only in Missouri.
- Only once a sale date is set.
What you can do
Put the deadline on your calendar
Keep the envelope and mark the sale date.
Deadline: The sale date in the mailed notice (at least 20 days away)
Open the toolAsk in writing
Ask the servicer in writing for a reinstatement or payoff figure and a loss-mitigation review.
Open the toolRead the Missouri guide
Our Missouri page explains the whole process step by step, with its sources and free local help.
Open the tool
Honest limits
- A proper notice does not stop the sale.
- This is general education, not legal advice. Laws change and details depend on your papers and your court; check the current law or ask a lawyer or legal aid.
The law
- State lawMailed notice of sale
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 443.325
What it says: The trustee must mail the notice by certified or registered mail not less than 20 days before the sale.
Read the official texthttps://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=443.325 - State lawPublished notice of sale
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 443.320
What it says: The notice must be advertised in a newspaper before the sale.
Read the official texthttps://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=443.320
Court cases
- Homeowner lostSame topicBoren v. U.S. National Bank Ass'n
Boren v. U.S. Nat'l Bank Ass'n, 807 F.3d 99 (5th Cir. 2015)
a lender may abandon a prior acceleration by giving notice that it seeks less than the full accelerated balance, which restarts the four-year limitations period
- Homeowner lostSame topicMartins v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P.
Martins v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P., 722 F.3d 249 (5th Cir. 2013)
a mortgage servicer acting for a properly assigned mortgagee may foreclose in Texas without possessing the original note, and an oral promise to modify a large loan is not enforceable
- Partial winSame topicReinagel v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co.
Reinagel v. Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co., 735 F.3d 220 (5th Cir. 2013)
a Texas borrower may challenge an assignment of the loan on any ground that renders it void, though not on grounds that make it merely voidable
- Partial winSame topicCulhane v. Aurora Loan Services
Culhane v. Aurora Loan Servs., 708 F.3d 282 (1st Cir. 2013)
a mortgagor may contest the validity of a MERS assignment to the foreclosing entity, although the MERS framework itself is lawful
- Homeowner wonSame topicJerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A.
Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A., 559 U.S. 573 (2010)
the FDCPA's bona fide error defense does not excuse a debt collector's incorrect interpretation of what the Act requires
- Homeowner lostSame topicWhittier v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, L.L.C.
Whittier v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, L.L.C., 594 F. App'x 833 (5th Cir. 2014) (per curiam) (unpublished)
a RESPA claim against a servicer fails without evidence of actual damages caused by the violation
Related rights
Limited right to redeem for one year if the lender buys at the sale
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 443.410
Missouri gives a narrow one-year right to redeem after a trustee’s sale, but only if the lender (or holder of the debt) buys the home. You must give written notice of your intent to redeem at the sale or within 10 days before it, and then pay the debt and interest within the year. A bond may also be required.
Read this rightThe right to be heard in court, and to speak for yourself
U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1Due Process Clause
Due process means that before the government, through a court, takes your property, you must get a meaningful chance to be heard. In federal court, you have a legal right to present your own case without a lawyer. Most state courts also let people represent themselves, under state rules.
Read this rightThe right to real notice before the government takes or sells your home
U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1Due Process Clause
Before a state or county sells your property — for example at a tax sale, or through a court foreclosure — the Constitution requires notice that is reasonably likely to actually reach you. If the government knows your address, publishing a notice in the newspaper is not enough. If a mailed notice comes back unclaimed, the government must take extra reasonable steps to reach you, if it practicably can.
Read this rightThe automatic stay: filing bankruptcy pauses most collection
11 U.S.C. § 362(a)
When a bankruptcy case is filed, an "automatic stay" goes into effect right away. It generally stops lawsuits, foreclosure steps, and other collection against you and your property, without anyone needing to ask a judge. Creditors who knowingly violate it can owe damages.
Read this rightChapter 13: catch up on missed mortgage payments over time
11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(5)
In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a plan can let you catch up on missed mortgage payments over a reasonable time (often 3 to 5 years) while you keep paying the regular monthly payment. For your main home, you can use this cure until the home is sold at a foreclosure sale held under state law.
Read this rightNo lies or misleading claims by debt collectors
15 U.S.C. § 1692e
A debt collector may not lie or mislead you. It cannot misstate how much you owe, pretend to be a lawyer or government official, or threaten something it cannot legally do or does not intend to do. It also cannot report credit information it knows is false, or fail to say a debt is disputed.
Read this right