The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Subchapter
003
:
FORECLOSURE BY JUDICIAL SALE
(Cite as: 12 V.S.A. § 4954)
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§ 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.)