If the defendant shall not bring into court the amount due, with costs, or if for any other cause a decree shall pass for the complainant, the court may direct a reference to a sheriff to ascertain and report the situation of the mortgaged premises, or may determine the same on oral or other testimony, and if it shall appear that the same can be sold in parcels, without injury to the parties, the decree shall direct so much of the mortgaged premises to be sold as will be sufficient to pay the amount then due on such mortgage, with costs, and such decree shall remain a security for any subsequent default.
§ 25-2150.Reference to sheriff; sale of premises in parcels; decree; effect.
Article 21: Special Proceedings and Actions · Not amended since original codification · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section lets a court send a foreclosure case to a sheriff for a report, or decide on testimony, whether mortgaged premises can be split into parcels without harming the parties, and if so, decree only enough parcels sold to cover what is currently due, leaving the decree as security against later default.
Full Text of § 25-2150
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 858, p. 544; R.S.1913, § 8267; C.S.1922, § 9220; C.S.1929, § 20-2152; R.S.1943, § 25-2150.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-2150 governs what happens once a defendant fails to bring in the amount due, or a decree otherwise passes for the complainant for some other reason. At that point, the court has a choice about how to investigate the property: it may direct a reference to a sheriff, to ascertain and report on the situation of the mortgaged premises, or it may determine that question on oral or other testimony instead.
If that inquiry shows the premises can be sold in parcels without injury to the parties, the decree does not have to order the whole property sold. Instead, it directs so much of the mortgaged premises to be sold as will be sufficient to pay the amount then due on the mortgage, with costs. The rest of the property stays out of that particular sale.
The decree does not stop protecting the lender once that first parcel sells. It remains a security for any subsequent default, setting up the further-order mechanism in 25-2151 for handling a later missed payment without starting an entirely new case.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does a Nebraska court consider selling mortgaged land in parcels instead of as a whole?
When the defendant has not brought in the amount due, or a decree otherwise passes for the complainant, and the court determines the property can be divided without harming the parties.
How does the court decide whether premises can be split into parcels?
By referring the question to a sheriff for a report on the situation of the premises, or by deciding it on oral or other testimony.
How much property gets sold if the court orders a parcel sale?
Only enough to pay the amount currently due on the mortgage, with costs — not necessarily the entire property.
Does selling only part of the property end the mortgage’s hold on the rest?
No. The decree remains a security for any later default on the part of the debt not yet paid.
What is the sheriff’s role in this reference?
Ascertaining and reporting on the situation of the mortgaged premises so the court can decide how to structure the sale.
What happens if a later installment goes unpaid after a parcel sale under this section?
Section 25-2151 addresses that, allowing a further order for another sale of enough of the premises upon a subsequent default.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: selling mortgaged property in parcels nebraskasheriff reference report on foreclosure premisespartial sale of mortgaged property nebraskadecree as security for subsequent defaultdividing mortgaged land in a foreclosure sale