Mortgage Foreclosure Sales

Starting Monday, March 2, 2009, online Foreclosure sales will be held.

Notices about foreclosure sales are published in a newspaper with local circulation, once a week for two consecutive weeks. Foreclosure court files and official records for the county are located in the Office of the Clerk of Court, Walton County Courthouse, 571 U.S. Highway 90 East, DeFuniak Springs, Florida and the Courthouse Annex located at 31 Coastal Centre Boulevard, Suite 500, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. The court file contains information about the amount owed on the property, as well as the legal description of the property. However, the street address of the property will probably not appear in the court file. You may also visit our website for further information on any case file you may be interested in bidding on. To determine the status of the property tax on the property contact the Walton County Tax Collector. To check on property improvements contact the Walton County Property Appraiser’s office. Both offices are located at 571 U. S. Highway 90 East, DeFuniak Springs, Florida and also at the Courthouse Annex located at 31 Coastal Centre Boulevard, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

Anyone may bid on a property; however, they must register on the Real Foreclosure website and place a deposit prior to the sale. The site provides information for each pending sale, including the court case number and legal description. The Clerk and Real auction are not responsible for the quality or accuracy of any information on this site.

The following procedures for Chapter 45 sales apply unless the Final Judgment directs otherwise: Prior to participating in the sale, you will be required to place a deposit equal to 5% of your estimated final bid(s) per Florida Statute 45.031, either on this site via electronic check (ACH) or in person by cash or cashier’s check. If you are paying by cashier’s check, the check should be made payable to Clerk of the Circuit Court. If you choose to place your funds on deposit by ACH deposit, PLEASE NOTE: Deposit payments made via ACH require 3 full working days to arrive (settle) in the Clerk’s account. Deposits made by ACH must be settled and cleared in the Clerk’s account prior to the start of a sale in order to be able to bid on the property.

If a bidder is successful, the funds initially deposited will be deducted and credited toward the total amount due. The successful bidder must pay the balance of the final bid plus the registry of court service charge and the foreclosure sale fee in person at the Clerk’s office no later than 4:00 P.M. CST on the day of the sale. The Certificate of Sale will not be issued until good funds are received by the Clerk’s office.

Pursuant to S.S. 28.24 (10) the Clerk will charge the successful bidder a registry of court service charge on the full amount of the successful bid. The charge assessed is 3% of the first $500.00 of the bid and 1.5% of the remaining balance. This charge must be paid at the time of final payment.

A Certificate of Title will be recorded after the tenth day from the date of the sale, if no objections to the sale are filed. The defendant has ten days after the sale to file an objection. If an objection is filed, the Judge will rule at a hearing as to whether or not a Certificate of Title is to be issued.

The Clerk’s office assumes no responsibility for any encumbrances (judgments, mortgages, taxes, and other liens) on any property offered for sale. It is in your best interest to have a title search done by an attorney or title company. If the property is occupied, it is possible you will have to take legal action to get possession of the property. You may not have access to the property without permission of the owner. The Clerk’s office assumes no responsibility for the availability of any property offered for sale.

The Clerk’s office is not authorized to give legal advice. If you require legal advice, you should obtain it from an attorney or some other source.

If you have additional questions concerning the procedures for foreclosure sales held by the Clerk of Court, please contact our office at (850) 892-8115 or (850) 267-3066.