How court foreclosure auctions work in Puerto Rico, step by step

The lender sues to foreclose. If the home is the owner's main residence, the court has to send the case to mediation within 30 days after the owner is served, and without that mediation it can't rule or order the sale.

Once the ruling is final, the lender asks the court for the sale, and the court orders the marshal to auction the property.

While the case is in court and no sale has been ordered, the property is in pre-foreclosure. It is the time when the owner can still sell, pay or reach a deal.

The marshal announces the sale with a notice, the edicto. It is printed twice in a newspaper of general circulation, at least 7 days apart, and posted for two weeks in three public places of the town, like the town hall and the court. The debtor gets a copy by certified mail.

The first auction can be held 14 days after the first printing, and one notice can carry the three dates. Among other things, the notice says the following.

• The description of the property, the minimum bid and the day, hour and place of the auction.
• The earlier liens that stay with the property, with their amount and who is owed.
• That the case file can be reviewed at the court clerk's office.
• That whoever buys accepts the title as it is.

A sale held without the notice the law asks for is void.

• At the 1ra subasta, the price the owner and the lender agreed in the mortgage deed. No lower offer is accepted.
• At the 2da subasta, two thirds of that price, only if the first ended with no sale.
• At the 3ra subasta, half of that price, only if the second ended with no sale too.

Both cuts are from the original price, not from the round before. If nobody bids at the third, the court can award the property to the lender. If the debt is the same as the third minimum or less, the lender keeps it for the whole debt. If it is more, only that minimum is credited and the rest is still owed.

The auction is held before the marshal, at the place, day and hour in the notice, on a court business day between 9 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon. The marshal reads the notice and asks for bids from the minimum up. The highest bid wins.

You pay at the auction itself, in cash or with a manager's or certified check made out to the marshal. There is no deposit with the rest paid later, unless the court orders another way to pay and the notice says so. If the winner doesn't pay, the marshal can auction the property again right there.

The lender can bid at the three rounds with what it is owed, without bringing money. The marshal, court employees, and the lawyers and judges of the case are among those who can't bid.

The marshal writes the record of the auction, with who bid and who won. The court reviews the file within 10 days and, if the law was followed, confirms the sale. Without that confirmation the sale can't be recorded.

The marshal signs the deed of the sale on the owner's behalf, before a notary the buyer chooses and pays. The court then orders the registry to cancel the liens recorded after the mortgage.

The money from the sale pays the lender first. Anything left goes to the other creditors in their order, and then to the owner.

The liens that come before the foreclosed mortgage stay with the property, and the buyer takes them on. They include up to five years of unpaid property tax, plus the current year.

If someone lives in the house, the buyer can ask the marshal for possession within 20 days of the sale. After that, the court can order the eviction without another lawsuit. A person living there who was never part of the case may have rights of their own, according to a 2026 Supreme Court decision.

Puerto Rico's mortgage law and court rules give no period to buy the property back after the sale. If you have doubts about your case, talk to a lawyer.

• Read the whole notice and write down the liens that stay with the property.
• Check the case in court and the property in the public registry of properties.
• Look at the property from the street. Never go in without permission.
• Work out the repairs and compare with nearby sales before you set your highest bid.
• Bring the exact payment in the form the notice asks for.

In Subastas you see the auctions coming up with a photo of the property, where it is, its dates, the minimum bid of its rounds and the amount the lender claims. When one sells or the court stops it, it moves to Past with the result.

On the Investor plan, the Pre-foreclosure tab shows the properties with a foreclosure lawsuit and no sale ordered yet.