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§ 686.Judgment In Foreclosure Suit - Sale of Real Estate - Lands In Different Counties - Application of Proceeds - Attorney's Fees and Expenses, Taxation of - Putting Purchaser In Possession - Post Judgment Deficiency Order

Chapter 12: Judgment · Last amended November 1, 2010 · Last verified August 3, 2026

In one sentenceSection 686 governs judgments in mortgage and lien foreclosure suits, covering multi-county sales, cost and fee apportionment, writs of assistance to install purchasers in possession, and post-judgment deficiency orders that a party must seek within ninety days of sale or lose any right to collect the shortfall.

Full Text of § 686

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In actions to enforce a mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien or charge, a personal judgment or judgment or judgments shall be rendered for the amount or amounts due as well to the plaintiff as other parties to the action having liens upon the mortgaged premises by mortgage or otherwise, with interest thereon, and for sale of the property charged and the application of the proceeds; or such application may be reserved for the future order of the court, and the court shall tax the costs, attorney's fees and expenses which may accrue in the action, and apportion the same among the parties according to their respective interests, to be collected on the order of sale or sales issued thereon; when the same mortgage embraces separate tracts of land situated in two or more counties, the sheriff of each county shall make sale of the lands situated in the county of which he or she is sheriff. No real estate shall be sold for the payment of any money or the performance of any contract or agreement in writing, in security for which it may have been pledged or assigned, except in pursuance of a judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction ordering such sale. The court may, in the order confirming a sale of land under order of sale on foreclosure or upon execution, award or order the issuance of a writ of assistance by the clerk of the court to the sheriff of the county where the land is situated, to place the purchaser in full possession of such land, and any resistance of the service of such writ of assistance shall constitute an indirect contempt of the process of such court, and if any person who has been removed from any lands by process of law or writ of assistance or who has removed from any lands pursuant to law or adjudication or direction of any court, tribunal or officer, afterwards, without authority of law, returns to settle or reside upon such land, the person shall be guilty of an indirect contempt of court, and may be proceeded against and punished for such contempt. Notwithstanding the above provisions, no judgment shall be enforced for any residue of the debt remaining unsatisfied as prescribed by this act after the mortgaged property shall have been sold, except as herein provided. Simultaneously with the making of a motion for an order confirming the sale or in any event within ninety (90) days after the date of the sale, the party to whom such residue shall be owing may make a motion in the action for leave to enter a post-judgment deficiency order upon notice to the party against whom such judgment is sought or the attorney who shall have appeared for such party in such action. Such notice shall be served personally or in such other manner as the court may direct. Upon such motion the court, whether or not the respondent appears, shall determine, upon affidavit or otherwise as it shall direct, the fair and reasonable market value of the mortgaged premises as of the date of sale or such nearest earlier date as there shall have been any market value thereof and shall enter a post-judgment deficiency order. Such post-judgment deficiency order shall be for an amount equal to the sum of the amount owing by the party liable as determined by the order with interest, plus costs and disbursements of the action plus the amount owing on all prior liens and encumbrances with interest, less the market value as determined by the court or the sale price of the property whichever shall be the higher. If no motion for a post-judgment deficiency order shall be made as herein prescribed the proceeds of the sale regardless of amount shall be deemed to be in full satisfaction of the mortgage debt and no right to recover any deficiency in any action or proceeding shall exist.
In any action pending at the time this act becomes effective or thereafter commenced, other than an action to foreclose a mortgage, to recover a judgment for any indebtedness secured by a mortgage on real property and which originated simultaneously with such mortgage and which is secured solely by such mortgage, against any person or corporation directly or indirectly or contingently liable therefor, any party against whom a money judgment is demanded, shall be entitled to set off the fair and reasonable market value of the mortgaged property less the amounts owing on prior liens and encumbrances. Provided that nothing in this section shall limit or reduce any post-judgment deficiency order in favor of or in behalf of the state for any debts, obligations or taxes due the state, now or hereafter.

Amendment History

R.L. 1910, § 5128; Amended by Laws 1915, SB 147, c. 175, § 1; Amended by Laws 1941, HB 40, p. 35, §1; Amended by Laws 2010, SB 2154, c. 202, §1, eff. 11/1/2010.

Plain-English Summary

When a court enforces a mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien, it can render personal judgment for the amounts owed to the plaintiff and to any other lienholder, order the property sold, and either apply the sale proceeds immediately or hold that question for later. Costs, attorney's fees, and expenses get apportioned among the parties according to their interests and collected from the sale proceeds. Where one mortgage covers land in more than one county, each county's own sheriff handles the sale of the land within that county, and the court confirming a foreclosure or execution sale can order a writ of assistance putting the purchaser into actual possession — resisting that writ, or returning to the land afterward without legal authority, is contempt of court.

The section also caps what a lender can collect beyond the sale proceeds. No judgment survives for any unpaid balance after the mortgaged property is sold unless the party owed that balance moves, at or within ninety days of the sale, for leave to enter a post-judgment deficiency order. The court then finds the property's fair market value as of the sale date and enters an order for the difference between what's owed (with interest, costs, and prior liens) and the higher of that market value or the sale price. Miss the ninety-day window, and the sale proceeds are deemed to satisfy the mortgage debt in full, regardless of amount. A separate paragraph lets a defendant sued on a purchase-money debt secured solely by the mortgaged property set off the property's fair market value, less prior liens, against a money judgment sought outside a foreclosure action.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a lender have to seek a deficiency judgment after a foreclosure sale?

The lender must move for leave to enter a post-judgment deficiency order simultaneously with any motion to confirm the sale, or in any event within ninety days after the sale.

What happens if the lender misses that deadline?

The sale proceeds, regardless of amount, are deemed to fully satisfy the mortgage debt, and no deficiency can be recovered in any later action.

How is a deficiency amount calculated?

It's the amount owed with interest, costs, and prior liens, minus whichever is higher: the court-determined fair market value of the property as of the sale date, or the actual sale price.

What happens if a mortgage covers land in more than one county?

Each county's sheriff sells the land located within that county, rather than one sheriff handling the whole tract.

Can the court force someone off foreclosed property who won't leave?

Yes, the court can order a writ of assistance directing the sheriff to put the purchaser in possession, and resisting that writ, or returning to the land without legal authority afterward, is treated as contempt of court.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature. Last verified August 3, 2026. · Official source
Also known as: Oklahoma foreclosure deficiency judgment12 O.S. § 686writ of assistance foreclosure Oklahomapost-judgment deficiency order ninety days Oklahoma