Foreclosure in Elkhart County: how it works and what you can do

Indiana is a judicial foreclosure state: the lender sues, a judge rules, and the county sheriff runs the sale. In Elkhart County, court case numbers start with 20, and a foreclosure has MF in the middle (for example 20D01-2609-MF-000123).

Search your name on MyCase, Indiana's public court site. It lists everyone in the case, the lender's attorney and phone number, any judgment, and when a sheriff's sale was requested. If you were served papers, the case number is printed at the top of the first page.

If you live in the house, Indiana law lets you ask for a settlement conference with the lender. The notice you were served explains how.

The Elkhart County sheriff sells foreclosed houses online through SRI Services, on the 4th Wednesday of the month.

The date is on your case in MyCase once the lender asks for a sale. Confirm it with the sheriff close to the day.

Until the sale, you can still catch up, sell the house or work something out with the lender. If the house sells for more than what's owed, the extra belongs to you or your family, and you claim it from the court. Our resources page explains how.

• Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network, 1-877-GET-HOPE (1-877-438-4673)Free, state-certified housing counselors, run by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. They can talk to your lender with you.
• Indiana Legal ServicesFree civil legal help for people who qualify by income.
• Indiana Legal HelpThe state courts' plain-language guides and forms, including foreclosure and probate.

Finding a local attorney: Ask the St. Joseph County lawyer referral service or the free legal aid groups below for someone near you who handles foreclosure or probate.

Property taxes: check what's owed with the Elkhart County treasurer. Unpaid taxes are a separate tax sale, run by the county, not part of the foreclosure.

• Catch up on the missed payments and fees, if the money is back.
• Loan modification or forbearance through your servicer, if you want to stay and can afford a new payment.
• Settlement conference with the lender through the court, if you live in the house.
• Refinance, if your credit held up and there's enough equity.
• List with a real estate agent, if the house shows well and the sale date is far enough away.
• Sell to Backstop, as is, if time is short, the house needs work, or it's an estate.
• Bankruptcy, through a bankruptcy attorney. Filing pauses the sale.
• Let it go to sheriff's sale.

The full side-by-side comparison shows what each one takes, how long it needs and what happens to your equity. Waiting costs money either way: interest, fees and the lender's legal costs keep growing while the case runs.

A parent passes, the payments stop, and months later the family finds out the house is in a court case, often naming "unknown heirs." The debt is usually tied to the house, not to you personally, and someone needs authority from the probate court to sell it. Our inherited house page walks through it, including several heirs and siblings who don't talk.

1. Call or text James at (219) 419-4114. A real person answers.
2. We walk the house once. No cleaning, no repairs.
3. A written offer, with how we got to the number.
4. Close at a licensed Indiana title company on the date you pick. The lender is paid from the sale, and anything left over is yours.

We also buy in Lake · Porter · LaPorte · St. Joseph counties.

Links go to outside organizations we do not control. Nothing here is legal advice. Last checked October 21, 2026.