Hi H.!
I used to work at a foreclosure law firm until about 3 years ago, and I had pretty much forgotten all the technicalities until I saw a clip on Good Morning America very recently. I just did a search on it now, and I found the article that basically sums up the entire clip. I think (hope!) you will find this article very helpful. Good luck! (P.S. I just wanted to add that Michigan law allows the original homeowner to win back their property after it has gone to foreclosure sale (auction). In most cases, they have 6 months to get their property back, but they must pay what they owe in full...since that includes what they owe on their mortgage plus all legal fees, it doesn't happen very often, unless they are able to find some sort of financial or mortgage company who is willing to help them out. The 6-month redemption period is in MOST cases; however, sometimes they have a whole 12 months to redeem (get back) their property. This is only in cases where the homeowner owns a large plot of land (I can't remember how big) or if they had already paid 3/4 of their mortgage off (I think it is 3/4; either way, they had to have paid at least most of their mortgage off before going into foreclosure.) The only time they no longer have the right to redeem their property is if they KNOW they will never be able to pay it off, and they sign a piece of paper giving up their redemption rights. So this can be a risky business; you would not be able to move into this foreclosed home until after the redemption period ends (either 6 months or 12 months later), and even then,there is no guarantee that the homeowner would not be able to buy back their own property. I'm not saying it isn't worth a shot...I had been introduced to some very rich real estate people who were very successful in purchasing foreclosed homes for real cheap and then re-selling them at a much higher price, especially in Oakland and Macomb Counties. All I am saying is, be careful! And again, good luck!)
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/MellodyHobson/story?id=3155197&...