Art. 2336.Minimum Price; Second Offering

The two-thirds rule is where the appraisal required by Article 2332 does its work. At the first offering, the sheriff cannot let the property go to the highest bidder if that bid falls short of two-thirds of the appraised value. The floor exists to keep a debtor's property from being sold off for a fraction of what it is worth because bidding at that particular sale ran thin. Where Article 2332 excuses appraisal altogether, this floor has nothing to measure against and does not apply.

If the first offering fails to clear that two-thirds threshold, the property is not sold. The sheriff instead re-advertises it the same way an original sale is advertised, and the same waiting period runs again before the second offering. At that second sale, the property sells for cash for whatever price it draws, without the two-thirds floor, though Article 2337's separate rule can still block a sale if the price will not cover the costs of sale and any superior encumbrances.

The debt the seizing creditor is owed does not shrink by the cost of running the sale, but it does shrink by a set amount tied to the property's value rather than to the literal cash the sale produced. The seizing creditor's judgment is reduced by whichever is greater: half the appraised value, after subtracting superior security interests, mortgages, liens, and privileges, or the amount by which the winning bid exceeds those superior encumbrances. That formula gives the debtor a more generous credit toward the judgment than a discounted second-offering price might otherwise suggest, cushioning the debtor against a below-market sale.