The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 12 : Court Procedure

Chapter 172 : Foreclosure of Mortgages

Subchapter 003 : Foreclosure by Judicial Sale

• § 4954. Procedure following sale

  (a) Confirmation order. Following the sale, the plaintiff shall file with the court a report on oath of the sale, together with a request for confirmation of the sale, which shall include an accounting of the sale proceeds, and a proposed order confirming the sale. Copies of the report of the sale and request for confirmation shall be mailed by first class mail, postage prepaid, to all parties who appeared in the foreclosure action or to their attorneys of record and to the mortgagor at the mortgagor’s last known address. The court may issue an order of confirmation of the sale without hearing, unless the court in its discretion determines that a hearing is necessary. The order of the court confirming the sale shall be conclusive evidence as against all persons that the foreclosure and sale were conducted in accordance with this section.

  (b) Transfer of title. The confirmation order shall be recorded in the land records of the town where the mortgaged property is located and shall transfer title to the mortgaged property to the purchaser upon recording.

  (c) Disbursement of proceeds. In the event that the proceeds of the sale, after first deducting the reasonable expenses incurred in making the sale, exceed the amounts due to the plaintiff at the time of sale, the confirmation order shall provide for the payment of the surplus to other lienholders of record in the order of the priority of their liens. In the event that the proceeds of the sale exceed the amount due to the plaintiff and the amount due to the other defendants, the excess shall be paid to the defendant mortgagor.

  (d) Deficiency. The plaintiff may request a deficiency judgment in the foreclosure complaint. The court may assess a judgment against the mortgagor for the deficiency if the proceeds of sale are insufficient to meet the expenses incurred in making the sale and the amount due to the plaintiff. If the plaintiff seeks a deficiency judgment, it shall be requested prior to issuance of the confirmation order. Failure to request a deficiency judgment shall be deemed a waiver of any deficiency judgment against a mortgagor.

  (e) Failure of sale; resale. In the event that the purchaser fails to pay the balance of the purchase price according to the terms of the sale, then, upon the request of the plaintiff, the down payment shall be forfeited and the court shall issue an order vacating the confirmation order. Upon motion and after hearing, the court may issue a confirmation order to the second highest bidder. (Added 2011, No. 102 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)