Whenever any creditor shall acquire the title of the original purchaser, pursuant to s. 815.44, any other creditor who might have acquired such title may become a purchaser thereof from the first creditor who acquired the same upon the following conditions:
815.48.Execution sale; creditors may acquire title of preceding creditor.
Ch. 815: Executions · Last amended 1993 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 815.48 lets any creditor who could have acquired the original purchaser’s interest under section 815.44 instead buy that title from a creditor who already acquired it, by repaying what the first creditor paid plus interest and, if the first creditor’s lien outranks the second creditor’s, also paying off the first creditor’s judgment or mortgage, while barring the judgment creditor who forced the original sale from ever acquiring title through that same judgment.
Full Text of Section 815.48
(1) By paying to such first creditor, the first creditor’s personal representatives or assigns the sum which the first creditor paid to acquire such title, together with interest thereon from the time of the first creditor’s payment.
(2) If the judgment or mortgage by virtue of which the first creditor acquired the title of the original purchaser be prior to the judgment or mortgage of such 2nd creditor and is still a lien as to such 2nd creditor the 2nd creditor shall also pay to such first creditor the amount due on the first creditor’s judgment or mortgage.
(3) In the same manner any third or other creditor who might have acquired the title of the original purchaser may become a purchaser thereof from the second, third or other creditor who may have become such purchaser from any other creditor, upon the terms and conditions before specified in this section.
(4) If the original purchaser of any premises shall also be a creditor of the defendant against whom the execution issued, and as such might acquire the title of any purchaser according to the preceding provisions, the original purchaser may avail himself or herself of his or her judgment or mortgage, in the manner and on the terms prescribed, to acquire the title which any creditor may have obtained.
(5) But the judgment creditor, under whose execution the real estate was sold cannot acquire the title of the original purchaser or of any creditor to the premises so sold by virtue of the judgment on which such execution issued.
Plain-English Summary
Section 815.48 sets up a chain of potential buyouts once one creditor has acquired the original purchaser’s title under section 815.44. Any other creditor who might have acquired that title may instead become the purchaser of it from the first creditor, by paying that first creditor, or the first creditor’s personal representatives or assigns, the sum the first creditor paid to acquire the title, together with interest from the time of that payment. If the first creditor’s judgment or mortgage is prior to the second creditor’s and is still a lien as to that second creditor, the second creditor must also pay the amount due on the first creditor’s judgment or mortgage.
That chain does not stop at a second creditor. In the same manner, a third or other creditor who might have acquired the original purchaser’s title may become purchaser from whichever creditor currently holds it, on the same terms and conditions. And if the original purchaser also happens to be a creditor of the defendant, that purchaser may use a judgment or mortgage in the same way to acquire the title from whichever creditor has since obtained it.
The section draws one firm line: the judgment creditor under whose execution the real estate was sold can never acquire the title of the original purchaser, or of any subsequent creditor, to the premises so sold, by virtue of the judgment on which that execution issued.
Frequently Asked Questions
Once one creditor has acquired the original purchaser’s title under section 815.44, can another creditor take it from them?
Yes. Any other creditor who might have acquired that title may become the purchaser from the first creditor, on the conditions section 815.48 sets.
What must the second creditor pay to buy out the first creditor’s acquired title?
The sum the first creditor paid to acquire the title, plus interest from the time of that payment.
When does the second creditor also have to pay off the first creditor’s judgment or mortgage?
When the first creditor’s judgment or mortgage is prior to the second creditor’s and is still a lien as to the second creditor.
Can this chain of buyouts continue past a second creditor?
Yes. A third or other creditor who might have acquired the original purchaser’s title may, in the same manner, become purchaser from whichever creditor currently holds it, on the same terms and conditions.
Can the judgment creditor whose execution led to the original sale use this section to acquire title?
No. That judgment creditor cannot acquire the title of the original purchaser or of any other creditor to the premises sold, by virtue of the judgment on which the execution issued.
Amendment History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 761, 781 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 815.48; 1993 a. 486.
Source & verification. Section text and official notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, published by the
Wisconsin Legislature (Legislative Reference Bureau). Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: wisconsin creditor buyout chain execution salesecond creditor acquire title from first creditor wisconsinwis stat 815.48priority lien execution sale creditor rights wisconsinjudgment creditor barred from acquiring title wisconsin