Foreclosure Sale Instructions

All foreclosure sales are scheduled by the Clerk of Courts Office and held on Thursday of each week at 10:00 a.m. excluding holidays and other court scheduling. 

Sales are held by the Clerk of Court at 215 E McCollum Avenue, Room 333, Bushnell, Florida on the third floor of the Sumter County Historic Courthouse. < Directions > 

Before foreclosure sales begin, the Deputy Clerk conducts the sales inquiries with foreclosure attendees to see if there are any prospective bidders and what foreclosure case they will be bidding on in order to get the bidders name, address and telephone number to avoid interruptions during the flow of the sales. 

 All interested bidders should inquire with the Clerk of Court as to the final judgment amount in the case that they wish to bid on prior to the day of the sale.  Interested bidders should inquire with the plaintiff’s attorney or agent/bidder for information as to what the property will be sold for prior to all sales.  The Clerk does not provide any legal advice or have any information as to any existing liens that may be on the property that is foreclosed on.  

When foreclosure sales begin, the Clerk provides the case number, name of the Plaintiff and Defendant, date and amount of the final judgment. The Clerk proceeds to call for bids and only the highest bid will be considered.  The bid must be made during the conduct of the sale, while the parcel is being offered.  The bid will be called three times, and if it is not raised before it is called the third time, it will be too late to raise it.  No subsequent bid will be accepted.

IMMEDIATELY following the conclusion of the sale, the successful bidder MUST post with the Clerk a non-refundable deposit equal to at least 5% of the final bid.  FAILURE TO POST THE REQUIRED DEPOSIT WILL RESULT IN THE CLERK RETURNING AND OFFERING THE PROPERTY FOR SALE AGAIN.  The successful bidder must pay the balance of the bid amount plus the required documentary stamps and the Court Registry Fees no later than 2:00 PM on the day of the sale.  FAILURE TO PAY THE BALANCE DUE AND REQUIRED COSTS BY 2:00 PM WILL RESULT IN THE RE-ADVERTISEMENT OF THE SALE, THE COSTS OF WHICH WILL BE PAID FROM THE DEPOSIT.  The balance of the deposit will be applied to the judgment.

ALL PAYMENTS MUST BE MADE BY CASH, CASHIER’S CHECK OR CERTIFIED CHECK, PAYABLE TO THE CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT

  • Registry Fee:3% for the first $500.00 and 1.5% of the remaining bid amount
  • Doc Stamp:   .70 per $100.00 of the bid amount