Foreclosure - General Information

Foreclosure is the section of the Circuit Civil department which is responsible for maintaining the records and sales for foreclosure of property.

If you have a question or would like more information, we can be reached at (904) 630-7700 from 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday - Friday, and are located in Room 103 at the Duval County Courthouse, 330 East Bay Street, Jacksonville, Florida 32202.

Electronic Foreclosure Auction Information

Effective November 3rd, 2008, all foreclosure sales are now held online, pursuant to Florida Statute 45.031(10). Information regarding the online sales process may be found below.

Effective June 1st, 2009 pursuant to Senate Bill 1718, there is a judicial sales fee of $70.00 and an additional $70.00 to be paid by the successful bidder (this includes Plaintiffs that received the property back.)

Location of the Sale

All Judicial Foreclosure Sales are solely auctioned on-line via the Real Auction/Duval County website.

Date and Time of Sale

Monday thru Friday with the first sale commencing at 11:00 am, on the specified date, (except legal holidays).

Online Registration

Registration is free and will only take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. During this process questions will be asked to establish your user name and password which will allow you to enter the auction site. Your bidder number will be assigned to you. If you are a Plaintiff you will complete the registration as everyone else but are required to contact Real Auction’s customer service to inform them that you need "Plaintiff’s rights" to manage your cases. Your Florida Bar number and law firm information will be required to complete this process. If you have any problems you may call either Justin Portlock (Foreclosure Supervisor) at (904) 630-7700 or Real Auction. Real Auction’s customer service number and/or email address is located under the "Contact us" tab found at the top right hand side of the website.

Viewing Files

Foreclosure Sales Data may be viewed in person Monday thru Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Duval County Courthouse, 330 East Bay St., Jacksonville, FL. 32202 (Clerk’s Office, Room 103, Mezzanine Floor).

Foreclosure Sale Dates may be found using two sources: The first and easiest way to view upcoming sales/auctions is to view the cases on the Real Auction website. Once registered, one may click on the "Calendar" sub-section to view auctions up to three months out. The second way to view upcoming sales/auctions is in the Black notebook located in the Foreclosure Department, located on the first floor, Room 103 of the Duval County Courthouse.

Foreclosure Case Files accessible for Public viewing are located on the Foreclosure viewing shelf in the Court Files lobby area.

The Foreclosure case files may contain necessary information that may be helpful for your search, (such as: a copy of the Note and Mortgage attached to the Complaint).

The Notice of Lis Pendens will also be located in the Case File after being Recorded.

Deposits

Pay by Wire (Please allow 24 to 48 hours to process)

A wire transfer or "wire" is a funds transfer system that offers you the fastest means of moving money from one bank to another. Wire transfers are virtually instantaneous and provide a secure, timely and automatic way for initiating and transferring immediately available funds between two parties. Upon selection of this payment method, wiring instructions for the Clerk of the Court's account will be printed. Take the wiring instructions page to your bank to initiate the transaction.

Pay at Counter (Deposits made via "Counter" will reflect within 10 minutes)

Acceptable forms of payment are certified funds, money order or cash. Upon selection of this payment method, the physical address of the Clerk of the Courts office will be printed. You will need to deliver the funds to the Clerk of the Courts office at least 1 hour prior to the start of the auction.

Deposit by ACH/ Electronic Check (Please allow 3 to 4 Business Days to process)

The funds will arrive (settle) in the County Clerk's account on the 4th business day. If you wish to participate in auctions that will close before your funds will arrive, please select the "Wire Transfer" or "Counter Payment" method to ensure your funds are received by the Clerk’s Office in sufficient time for upcoming auctions.

The Automated Clearing House (ACH) network is a payment system that allows consumers to make payments without the use of paper checks. Funds must be drawn from a US financial institution. Some types of money market, brokerage and trust accounts will not accept ACH debits. Please verify with your financial institution that ACH debits are permitted for your account.

Bidding

The following procedures for the foreclosure auctions apply unless the Final Judgment directs otherwise:

During the sales and bidding process, all bidders and observers are expected to treat each other and the clerks with respect. Any disruptive behavior may result in disqualification to bid and/or removal from bidding. The Clerk, Director and/or Judges shall be the determiners of "disruptive behavior".

Upon making a bid you shall be required to immediately produce for The Clerk’s view the required deposit equal to 5% of the final bid, in the form of cash, cashier’s check or money order. Cashier’s check or money order shall not be more than six (6) months old.

Immediately after the final bid is made and accepted, the successful high Bidder’s Real Auction Account shall be deduct by the required deposit equal to 5% of the final bid as per Florida Statutes 45.031.

Successful Bidder

The successful bidder must pay the balance of the final bid amount plus the court registry fees no later than 4:00 p.m. on the day of the sale.

Funds Due

The Foreclosure Clerk is available to assist with the calculation of the balance of the final bid as well as the required court registry fee. The court registry fee is calculated at 3% of the first $500 and 1.5% of the remaining balance of the total bid amount (pursuant to Florida Statute 28.24).

Failure to Pay

Failure to pay the balance due of the final bid and required fees, no later than 4:00 p.m. on the day of the sale, will result in the sale being declared VOID, and a resale will be scheduled. The bidder’s deposit is non-refundable and will be used to pay all cost of the resale. The clerk will assess from the deposit, a non-refundable fee of $130.00 as permitted under Florida Statutes 45.031.

Objections to the sale must be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court General Civil Division, within ten (10) days after the filing of the "Certificate of Sale.

Certificates

A Certificate of Sale is issued by the Clerk of the Circuit Court immediately following the Foreclosure Auction.

A Certificate of Title may be issued by the Clerk of the Circuit Court after ten (10) full days have elapsed from the issuance of the Certificate of Sale and provided there is no other action relating to the subject proceeding. The successful bidder should call the Clerk within 12 to 15 days after issuance of the Certificate of Sale to determine if the Certificate of Title paperwork has been completed and is ready to be dispersed.

Instructions to Successful Bidder

The Certificate of Title should be issued ten (10) days after the date of sale, per Florida Statue 45.031(4). At that time we will need the following:

1. Provide pre-addressed stamped envelopes, with return address included, for all parties not in default, for mailing the Certificate of Title after being recorded.
2. Documentary Stamps are required to record the Certificate of Title. They are calculated at seventy (.70) cents on every one hundred ($100) dollars of the bid amount, rounded to the nearest ($100) dollars. These funds may be paid by cash, cashier’s check, money order or business check made payable to the Clerk of the Court.

Documents & Publications

•  - Civil Coversheet - Form 1.997
•  - Civil Coversheet - Form 1.997 - Instructions