CHAPTER 9.03. Foreclosure

• Jurisdiction: United States

9.03. Foreclosure

Delaware law provides only for judicial foreclosure; it does not permit the exercise of default remedies under "powers of sale" or other non-judicial foreclosure methods. The typical procedure to foreclose a mortgage is by the scire facias sur mortgage process in the Superior Court. In the event the mortgage does not comply with the technical requirements for enforcement in a court of law, or if the holder wishes to pursue a foreclosure in equity, foreclosure may alternatively be sought by an action in the Court of Chancery, the equity court in Delaware.²⁰

Upon obtaining a judgment in the foreclosure action, the lender may enforce its judgment by having the mortgaged property sold at judicial sale after advertisement and other notices.²¹ The sale becomes final upon confirmation by the court after the sale. The borrower does not have any right to redeem the property after the sale, although interested persons, including the borrower, may challenge confirmation of the sale for various reasons, such as the insufficiency of the highest bid as compared to the value of the property.²²

A conveyance in lieu of foreclosure is permissible but will be subject to all liens and encumbrances of record affecting the mortgaged property at the time of recording...