Ames, IA › Story County foreclosure help
Our agreement of sale will often get a sheriff's sale postponed so we can close. Signing alone doesn't postpone it automatically; we use the agreement to ask for the postponement, and it works more often than people think.
Yes, a sale may still be possible if the payoff or any applicable redemption amount can be handled in time for title and closing. Iowa home mortgages are generally foreclosed through a court case that can lead to a sheriff’s sale. Your foreclosure type, court papers, payoff, and sale date determine the steps and deadline for your house.
USA Home Buyers buys houses as-is in Ames, IA and Story County, in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no cleanout required to sell to us. Call 888-274-5006 or send the property address through the form to ask about a written cash offer.
Call 888-274-5006We'll give you a written cash offer within 24 hours.
Takes 2 minutes. No obligation.
We review the house as-is and give you a written offer and written terms before you commit. If you choose to sell to us, the closing is through a title company. You do not need to repair, clean, or clear out the house to sell it to us.
Our agreement of sale will often get a sheriff's sale postponed so we can close. Signing alone doesn't postpone it automatically; we use the agreement to ask for the postponement, and it works more often than people think.
When you sell to us, we pay the closing costs, including Iowa real estate transfer tax. That does not pay your mortgage, liens, back taxes, or your share of current property taxes; those amounts still have to be addressed through the payoff and closing process.
You don't need to pay off your back taxes before we settle. We buy houses with back taxes and liens — payoffs get handled through the closing, not by you upfront.
Iowa home mortgages are generally foreclosed through a court case. A judgment can lead to a sheriff’s sale. The court papers, lender payoff, and sheriff’s sale notice show where your case stands; use the date in the current notice and confirm it with the sheriff or your attorney.
A mortgage deadline is not the same as a property-tax sale deadline. Keep the notices separate.
A delinquent-property tax sale is a separate process handled through the county Treasurer, not the lender’s mortgage court case. Use the date and instructions in the tax-sale notice; do not substitute a mortgage court or sheriff’s-sale date for it.
Story County posts its current tax-sale information on the Treasurer’s tax-sale page. A sale agreement by itself does not resolve a tax-sale deadline.
Before suing, most lenders must give the owner of an occupied one- or two-family home a notice with 30 days to cure the default. The notice must also tell the owner that counseling and mediation are available. This early notice period is not the sheriff’s-sale date.
A sheriff’s sale must be posted and published, with the first publication at least four weeks before the sale. Check the current notice and court record for the actual date; publication timing is not a substitute for confirming your case’s deadline. See Iowa Code chapter 654 and Iowa Code section 626.75.
Some Iowa foreclosures allow you to redeem after the sale, generally for one year, with shorter periods in some cases. If the lender chooses foreclosure without redemption for nonagricultural property, there is no right to redeem after the sheriff’s sale. The foreclosure type and judgment determine whether a post-sale redemption period applies. Read Iowa Code chapter 628 and Iowa Code section 654.20 with the case papers.
Ask your lender or servicer for a current payoff statement. The title company can review the payoff, liens, and property-tax amounts as part of working through the closing figures.
When you sell to us, mortgage, lien, and tax payoffs are handled through the sale’s closing figures. The closing-cost promise does not mean we pay your mortgage, back taxes, liens, or your share of current property taxes.
It's real estate. Sometimes there are bumps in the road. We won't disappear when that happens, and we'll be fighting to get this to the closing table.
Use the current notice for the date that applies to your property. These official county pages provide sale information and starting points for property and title records:
Check the county’s sheriff-sale listing and confirm the date shown on your case notice.
Separate county tax-sale process and current sale documents.
County public records, including recorded land transactions.
Ownership records, plat maps, and transfer books.
Enter your own estimates to compare possible proceeds. The calculator is a planning tool; your written terms, payoff, liens, taxes, and title work determine the property-specific closing figures.
Open the Ames home-sale net-proceeds calculator →A sale may still be possible if the required payoff can be handled in time and title and closing can be completed before the sale. Iowa mortgage foreclosures generally proceed through court to a sheriff’s sale. The current court papers, payoff, foreclosure type, and sale date matter for your property.
Our agreement of sale will often get a sheriff's sale postponed so we can close. Signing alone doesn't postpone it automatically; we use the agreement to ask for the postponement, and it works more often than people think. Confirm the current sale date with the sheriff or your attorney; do not assume it changed because an agreement was signed.
No. A mortgage foreclosure is generally a lender’s court case that can lead to a sheriff’s sale. A delinquent-property tax sale is a separate county process handled through the Treasurer. Keep the date and instructions on each notice separate, and check Story County’s current tax-sale information for the tax-sale process.
Some Iowa foreclosures allow redemption after the sale, generally for one year, with shorter periods in some cases. If the lender chooses foreclosure without redemption for nonagricultural property, there is no right to redeem after the sheriff’s sale. The foreclosure type and court papers control which rule applies.
Think the payoff is more than the house is worth? Ask us — we've gotten lenders to come down before. Ask your lender for a current payoff statement so the figures can be reviewed with the title company.
We'll give you a written cash offer within 24 hours.
Takes 2 minutes. No obligation.
Call 888-274-5006 to talk about the notice, payoff, or timing.