Sell my house before foreclosure in Tampa, FL
Sell my house before foreclosure in Tampa means dealing with two clocks at once. One is the deadline your situation has set. The other is how long a sale really takes in this market. This page covers what Florida law requires, what the Tampa market is doing right now, and where a cash sale helps and where it does not.
Houses in Tampa take about 70 days to go under contract, and that is before a buyer's mortgage has to fund. With a foreclosure sale on the calendar, that is the whole problem. A regular buyer has to show up first. Then their lender needs another 30 to 60 days to fund. In Tampa, that often does not fit inside the time a foreclosure gives you.
What Florida law requires before your house can be sold
Florida foreclosures go through a court, so they are slower than in most states. The law also gives you a right to cure that lasts very late in the process.
A judge has to order the sale, and it is scheduled after judgment
In a court-ordered sale, the court tells the clerk to sell the property at a public sale on a set day. That day must be at least 20 days and no more than 35 days after the final judgment.
Fla. Stat. § 45.031 · last amended 2024
You can stop it right up until the certificate of sale is filed
You, as the mortgagor, can cure the debt and prevent the sale by paying the amount set in the judgment. You can do this any time before the clerk files the certificate of sale or the time set in the judgment, whichever is later.
Fla. Stat. § 45.0315 · last amended 1993
What that means for you
The key protection is that your right to cure lasts until the certificate of sale is filed. So a sale that closes and pays the judgment amount can stop the foreclosure, even quite late. It also means you have more time than a Florida foreclosure notice makes it feel like.
This is a summary of what the cited statutes say, not legal advice. It does not cover every provision. Procedures differ by county and by servicer, and statutes change. Talk to a Florida attorney about your own situation. HUD also sponsors free housing counselling agencies that do not sell anything.
The Tampa market right now
- Typical home value
- $359,000
- Days to go under contract
- 70 days
- Listings cutting their price
- 31.2%
- Compared to nationally
- 3% lower
- Homes for sale
- 22,040
- New listings a month
- 4,969
- Months of supply
- 5.2
- Sales closing below asking
- 66.7%
-1.5% over the past year
+1% vs. a year ago
-1.9% vs. a year ago
National typical value is $369,000
-8% vs. a year ago
-1% vs. a year ago
Broadly balanced
Nationally 50.0%
Tampa, FL housing figures for August 2026, except the share closing below asking, which Zillow publishes a month behind and covers July 2026. Last refreshed September 17, 2026. Source: Zillow Research. Months of supply is calculated here as for-sale inventory divided by the monthly sales count. These are market-wide figures, not a valuation of any individual property.
How a Tampa foreclosure sale date gets set
Florida forecloses through the courts. So a Tampa home is not sold until a judge enters a final judgment.
That judgment must tell the clerk to sell the property on a set day. The day must be not less than 20 days and not more than 35 days after the judgment, unless the lender agrees to a later date (Fla. Stat. § 45.031).
Notice of the sale must be published for at least 2 consecutive weeks before it. This can be on a public website or in a local newspaper.
In Hillsborough County, the sale itself is online. The Hillsborough County Clerk of Court holds foreclosure sales every weekday at 10:00 a.m. on its online auction site. The lender's representatives must pay a $70 sale fee by 8:00 a.m. on sale day.
The list of scheduled properties is public on that site. The date in your judgment is the date to plan around.
Sources: Florida Legislature: Section 45.031, Florida Statutes; Hillsborough County Clerk of Court: Foreclosure Sales.
Your window before the Hillsborough clerk files the certificate of sale
Florida law gives you a right of redemption. You can stop the sale by paying the amount the judgment names. This right lasts until the clerk files the certificate of sale, or until a time set in the judgment, whichever is later (Fla. Stat. § 45.0315).
The Hillsborough Clerk says it plainly: the right of redemption ends when the certificate of sale is issued.
One way owners use this window is to sell the house first. The sale has to close and pay off the judgment amount before then. A real estate attorney can confirm the payoff figure and timing for your case.
The Hillsborough Clerk lists what cancels a scheduled sale. The lender or its lawyer can file a notice of cancellation by 8:00 a.m. on sale day. A timely filed suggestion of bankruptcy also cancels it.
So does a written court order cancelling the sale, or an order setting aside the judgment. Defects in the notice of sale or its proof of publication can cancel it too. So can an unpaid sale fee.
After a sale, a party has 10 days from the certificate of sale to object. The certificate of title follows once 10 full days pass with nothing pending.
Sources: Florida Legislature: Section 45.0315, Florida Statutes; Hillsborough County Clerk of Court: Foreclosure Sales.
Surplus money after a Hillsborough County auction
Sometimes the winning bid is more than the judgment says is owed. The leftover money is called surplus. Every Florida final judgment of foreclosure must warn, in easy-to-see type, that there may be extra money from the sale.
The law presumes the surplus belongs to the owner of record on the date the lis pendens was filed. Junior lienholders who file timely claims are paid first. The law includes an owner's claim form (Fla. Stat. § 45.032).
One year after the sale, surplus still held by the clerk is presumed unclaimed.
The Hillsborough Clerk accepts the Owner's Claim for Mortgage Foreclosure Surplus from the owner of record when the lis pendens was recorded. The Clerk also posts court registry deposits and balances online. You can check there to see if money is being held.
The same law says anyone claiming as an assignee of the owner must prove their right to the funds in court. So read any offer to buy your surplus rights carefully.
Sources: Florida Legislature: Section 45.032, Florida Statutes; Florida Legislature: Section 45.031, Florida Statutes; Hillsborough County Clerk of Court: Foreclosure Sales.
Looking up your Tampa case and the numbers on it
The Hillsborough Clerk's online case search lets you look up a case by case number or party name. That is where you will find the final judgment and any sale date. Recorded papers such as the mortgage and lis pendens are in the Clerk's official records search.
At a foreclosure sale in Hillsborough County, the winning bidder pays the documentary stamp tax and court registry fees, not you.
If you are thinking about selling before the auction, the tax rate helps you estimate what it costs to hold the house. The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's final 2025 millage for the City of Tampa is 19.8428 mills in total. The city's own operating rate is 6.2076 of that.
Sources: Hillsborough County Clerk of Court: Case Search; Hillsborough County Clerk of Court: Official Records and Public Data Files; Hillsborough County Property Appraiser: Final 2025 Millage.
Local facts checked September 2026. Rates and rules change; a real estate attorney or the office named above can confirm them for your property.
We explain why this situation is hard to sell through, and how we handle it, in the full guide to facing foreclosure. The sale itself, from first call to closing, is on how it works.
Facing foreclosure in Tampa
- Can you buy my Tampa house if it is already in foreclosure?
- Yes. You stay the owner until the foreclosure sale is final, and you can sell any time before that. The sale pays off the loan, and any money left over is yours. Tell us the sale date and we will plan the closing around it.
- When does my right to stop a Tampa foreclosure sale end?
- You can redeem by paying the amount in the judgment (section 45.0315). That right lasts until the clerk files the certificate of sale, or a time set in the judgment, whichever is later. The Hillsborough County Clerk says the right ends when the certificate of sale is issued.
- Where are Hillsborough County foreclosure auctions held?
- The Hillsborough County Clerk of Court holds foreclosure sales online every weekday, Monday through Friday, at 10:00 a.m. Bidders other than the lender must post a 5 percent deposit before the sale. The list of scheduled properties is public on the Clerk's sale site.
- Can I get money back if my Tampa house sells at auction for more than I owe?
- Possibly. The owner of record when the lis pendens was filed is presumed to get the surplus, after junior lienholders who file timely claims (section 45.032). The Hillsborough Clerk accepts an Owner's Claim for Mortgage Foreclosure Surplus. Surplus still with the clerk one year after the sale is presumed unclaimed.
Facing foreclosure in nearby markets
Foreclosure rules are set by state law, so they change when you cross a state line.
Tell us what you need for your Tampa house
It takes two minutes to ask. There is no obligation and no fee, whatever you decide. If listing or reinstating would leave you better off, we will tell you.
Sabrina usually picks up. (615) 576-8827