The Sheriff Sale Information Sheet is now available for download.

Civil Division Forms

Civil Division Forms

It is land with its improvements and the right to own and use it.

Where is the Real Estate auction held?

In the lobby of the Civil District Courthouse located at 421 Loyola Avenue at Poydras Street.

Every Thursday at noon unless otherwise advertised. Each property and its auction date is advertised in the Times Picayune, the official newspaper of record, thirty (30) days before the auction and again on Monday, the week of the auction. Properties are also advertised in a second publication like The Louisiana Weekly newspaper to run concurrently with those ads run in the Times Picayune. Upcoming lists of properties for sale are available in the Real Estate Section of the Sheriff’s Office three (3) weeks prior to the actual auction of a piece of property and on this website under the heading, "Real Estate Sales Lists."

It takes a minimum of forty-five (45) days from receipt of the writ to advertisement for the auction. During this time the foreclosure may be stopped for reasons such as bankruptcy or payment of the balance owed.

Advertising, appraisals, mortgage, conveyance and tax  certificates, curators fees, deed, docket and a three (3) percent sales commission on the sales price to the Office of the Sheriff. These costs and fees are not paid by a successful bidder. A successful bidder only pays the amount of his or her bid.

There are two categories for the minimum opening bid:

1. When the sale is with appraisal the bid must open at two thirds (2/3) of the appraisal and must satisfy any superior claims. If 2/3 of the appraisal results in an opening bid insufficient to cover the costs and commission, then the opening bid will be raised to reflect those expenses.
2. When the sale is "without" appraisal the bid must cover any superior claims plus the costs and commission.  Usually this is a relatively low amount between two and five thousand dollars.

No access is allowed prior to the auction.  The sale is not officially completed until the entire purchase price is paid in full.. Therefore it is only then that access to the property is legally permissible.  All property is sold "As Is Where Is" and the deeds are not warranted.

Upon successfully bidding on the property, the successful bidder must immediately provide the Sheriff ten percent (10%) of the purchase price paid in cash, money order, official, cashiers or certified check (no personal checks are accepted), plus their name, address, phone number, marital status and social security number. With some properties the entire amount must be paid in cash and this will be specified in the advertisement prior to the auction.

The balance must be paid within thirty (30) days after the sale unless the terms of the sale require the full purchase price at the time of the successful bid. Failure to meet this deadline may result in the property being reset for a second auction. Should the second auction result in a lesser sales price, the first bidder may lose all or part of his deposit.

Not less than fifteen (15) days after paying the balance of the purchase price.  Payment of the balance by certified funds results in delivery of the deed sooner.

In order to avoid confusion, pictures are not taken of condominium units, time share units, or vacant lots. Since condominium buildings consist of many units in various buildings, and since usually only the individual units are being sold, it would be impossible to properly depict in a photograph the specific premises being sold. Vacant lots bear no defined municipal number therefore it is most difficult to depict the property to be sold in a photograph. Certain properties which are otherwise suitable for pictures are not photographed for a number of reasons including but not limited to time constraints, weather conditions, remoteness of locale, and the availability of personnel to perform the service. The Sheriff reserves the right to make determinations relative to the publication of photographs of properties to be sold. No inferences should be drawn relative to the value or condition of property based upon the presence or absence of a photograph.

Under the law, both the plaintiff (the creditor) and the defendant (the debtor) have the right to appoint an appraiser to value the property which is being foreclosed upon if that right was not previously waived by the defendant. Each party who names an appraiser shall deliver the appraisal to the to the sheriff at least two days, exclusive of holidays, prior to the time of the sale. If the parties do not appoint an appraiser the Sheriff appoints the appraisers. Appraisals are posted on the internet, but because of the 48 hour opportunity the appraise, the amounts are usually posted immediately before the sale.

Pictures are not a substitute for viewing the property, and should not be used as the basis for purchasing any property offered for public auction. Pictures only depict the condition of property at the moment the photo is taken. It is possible that fire, vandalism, acts of God and other damage may occur to property after pictures have been taken. It is even possible that due to error the picture shown may not be the correct photo of the premises to be auctioned. THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE DOES NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THE CONDITION OR THE TITLE TO PROPERTY AUCTIONED, NOR THE ACCURACY OF PICTURES SHOWN ON THIS BOARD.