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Foreclosure in Louisiana

In Louisiana, a mortgage with a confession of judgment lets the lender have your home seized and sold by the sheriff without first suing you. Here's each step, from the state's own codes.

Type: Judicial

Last checked October 26, 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.

Type
Judicial, on a fast track. Under executory process, a court orders the seizure and sale of the home without first summoning you or entering a judgment.
FHA time frame
HUD's time frame for FHA loans: 12 months from the first legal action to clear title and possession.
Earliest sale
No sooner than 60 days after the judge signs the order for the writ.
Shortfall
After an executory process sale, the lender can get a deficiency judgment only if the home was sold after an appraisal.

How a Louisiana foreclosure works, step by step

  1. Generally, the legal foreclosure process can't start until you're at least 120 days behind.
  2. To start executory process, the lender files a petition with authentic copies of the note and of the mortgage that contains the confession of judgment.
  3. If the lender is entitled to it, the judge orders a writ of seizure and sale, which tells the sheriff to seize and sell the home. You don't get a citation, the usual court summons, first.
  4. The sheriff seizes the home and serves you with a written notice of seizure, in person or at your home. The first sale date can't be set earlier than 60 days after the judge signed the order.
  5. You have 15 days from the notice of seizure to file a suspensive appeal of the judge's order.
  6. The sheriff advertises the sale in the newspaper twice: first at least 30 days before the sale, and again between seven days and one day before it.
  7. If the home will be sold with an appraisal, at least seven days before the sale, not counting holidays, the sheriff tells you and the lender in writing to each name an appraiser.
  8. Outside Orleans Parish, the sheriff's sale is held at or near the courthouse on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. The sheriff can also sell the home by online auction instead.
  9. If you don't hand over the home when the buyer asks, after the buyer has paid and received the sheriff's act of sale, the buyer can get a writ that orders the sheriff to put the buyer in physical possession.

Executory process: why it moves fast

A mortgage contains a confession of judgment when you acknowledge the debt and agree to a judgment against you if it isn't paid when due. With that, the lender can have the home seized and sold without first suing you and winning a judgment.

The lender can switch to an ordinary lawsuit, with a citation and a judgment, by amending its petition, but a lender that starts with an ordinary lawsuit can't switch to executory process.

Read the notice of seizure the day it arrives. Then take it to a housing counselor or a lawyer that same week.

How to object before the sale

You can raise defenses or point out procedural mistakes in two ways: an injunction to halt the seizure and sale, a suspensive appeal of the order for the writ, or both.

  • An injunction is available if the debt has been paid off or otherwise extinguished, if it can't legally be enforced, or if the lender didn't follow the required procedure.
  • A suspensive appeal must be filed within 15 days of the notice of seizure.

Catching up or paying off before the sale

The notice of seizure tells you that, for a home, you may get the chance to bring your account current, either through a loss mitigation agreement with your lender or by paying all past due payments plus allowed costs within the time the law allows. It also says foreclosure prevention counseling from a housing counselor is free.

The sale rules let you prevent the sale at any time before the home is sold by paying the sheriff the amount owed, with interest and costs. Under federal rules, if your servicer gets your complete application for help more than 37 days before a sale, it must review it.

If you can't reach your servicer, the Louisiana Housing Corporation says to contact a HUD-approved housing counselor.

The sheriff's sale, the appraisal and the two-thirds rule

The home must be appraised before the sale, unless the mortgage waived appraisal, the lender asked for a sale without one, and the judge's order allowed it.

When there's an appraisal, the home can't be sold at the first sale if the highest bid is less than two-thirds of the appraised value. The sheriff then advertises again, and at the second sale the home is sold for cash for whatever it brings.

How long it takes

Foreclosure generally can't legally start until you're at least 120 days behind. Once it starts, how long you have until the sale depends on your state.

For FHA loans, HUD's time frame runs from the first legal action until the lender has clear title to the home and possession of it. In Louisiana, that's 12 months, and the first legal action is filing a petition for executory process.

Louisiana's own markers: the first sale date can't come sooner than 60 days after the judge's order, the first newspaper notice runs at least 30 days before the sale, and a suspensive appeal is due within 15 days of the notice of seizure.

These are official markers, not a forecast. Your case can move faster or slower, so don't count on extra time.

Shortfall, extra money and what the sale means

After an executory process sale, the lender can get a judgment against you for any shortfall only if the home was sold after an appraisal. If the lender used a waiver of appraisal and the sale didn't cover the debt, your personal obligation is fully satisfied and discharged.

To get a deficiency judgment, the lender must cite you and follow all the steps of an ordinary lawsuit, either by converting the case or by filing a new suit.

If you give the home back instead, the lender can seek a shortfall only under a written agreement where you waive the appraisal and sale and voluntarily surrender title. You can get your own appraisal, and if you do, the value given to the home can't be less than three-fourths of it.

After costs, the sale money goes first to the foreclosing lender, then to lower-ranking mortgages and liens, and any surplus is paid to you.

The sale transfers all your rights in the home to the buyer, as completely as if you had sold it yourself.

Protections when you sell, lease or get offers

  • A Louisiana law that took effect August 1, 2026 covers wholesaling: arranging a home purchase in order to assign or sell the contract right, or another interest in the home, for financial gain.
  • Before you sign, a wholesaler must tell you in writing that it intends to sell its contract rights for a higher price than it's offering you. You can cancel a wholesaling contract for any reason, without penalty, for at least five calendar days after it's signed.
  • If a wholesaler leaves out a required disclosure or breaks this law, you can void the contract at any time before title transfers.
  • A bond for deed is a contract to sell a home in installments, where the seller delivers title after a set amount is paid. The state's financial regulator says the term includes a contract for deed or any deal that works as a conditional sale, whatever it's called.
  • It's unlawful to sell a home that has a mortgage by bond for deed without first getting a written agreement from the mortgage holder to release the property when the buyer pays a set release price.
  • Mortgage help companies aren't allowed to collect fees up front. The CFPB says a warning sign is someone trying to get you to sign over title to your home, sometimes called a rent to buy scheme.

Two of these touch how I buy. The bond for deed rules can apply if we use seller financing. And taking over payments means you deed the home to me while the loan stays in your name, which is close to what the CFPB warning describes, so look at it closely and have a lawyer read it. Read any offer, including mine, for an assignment clause. And don't stop talking to your lender while you weigh any offer, including mine.

Free help in Louisiana

Sources

Last checked October 26, 2026. Every fact on this page comes from one of these official sources.

  1. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2631: Use of executory proceedings (legis.la.gov)
  2. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2638: Order for writ of seizure and sale (legis.la.gov)
  3. HUD Handbook 4000.1, FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (PDF) (hud.gov)
  4. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 13:3852: Notices of seizure (legis.la.gov)
  5. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2771: When deficiency judgment obtainable (legis.la.gov)
  6. CFPB: How long will it take before I’ll face foreclosure if I can’t make my mortgage payments? What is the foreclosure timeline? (consumerfinance.gov)
  7. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2635: Authentic evidence submitted with petition (legis.la.gov)
  8. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2721: Seizure of property; notice (legis.la.gov)
  9. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2642: Assertion of defenses; appeal (legis.la.gov)
  10. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2722: Advertisement of sale (legis.la.gov)
  11. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2331: Publication of notice of sale (legis.la.gov)
  12. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 43:203: Judicial advertisements (legis.la.gov)
  13. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 13:4363: Appointment of appraisers (legis.la.gov)
  14. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2723: Appraisal of property, unless waived (legis.la.gov)
  15. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 13:4341: Time and place of judicial sales (legis.la.gov)
  16. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2344: Online auctions (legis.la.gov)
  17. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 13:4346: Writ of possession (legis.la.gov)
  18. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2632: Act importing a confession of judgment (legis.la.gov)
  19. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2644: Conversion to ordinary proceeding (legis.la.gov)
  20. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2751: Grounds for arresting seizure and sale (legis.la.gov)
  21. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2340: Payment of debt prior to adjudication (legis.la.gov)
  22. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2724: Fieri facias sale articles applicable (legis.la.gov)
  23. CFPB, Regulation X: § 1024.41 Loss mitigation procedures (consumerfinance.gov)
  24. Louisiana Housing Corporation: guide to foreclosure prevention steps (lhc.la.gov)
  25. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2336: Minimum price; second offering (legis.la.gov)
  26. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 13:4106: No deficiency after sale without appraisal (legis.la.gov)
  27. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2772: Procedure to obtain deficiency judgment (legis.la.gov)
  28. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 13:4108.2: Deficiency in consumer transactions (legis.la.gov)
  29. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2373: Distribution of proceeds of sale (legis.la.gov)
  30. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 2371: Effect of adjudication (legis.la.gov)
  31. Louisiana Legislature: HB 468 (2026 Regular Session) bill history (legis.la.gov)
  32. Louisiana Legislature: 2026 Act 807 (House Bill 468), wholesaling of residential real property (PDF) (legis.la.gov)
  33. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 9:2941: Bond for deed defined (legis.la.gov)
  34. Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions: bond for deed (ofi.la.gov)
  35. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 9:2942: Bond for deed on mortgaged property (legis.la.gov)
  36. CFPB: How to spot and avoid foreclosure relief scams (consumerfinance.gov)
  37. Louisiana Attorney General: public protection (ag.state.la.us)

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