If, in any case mentioned in ss. 846.06 and 846.07 it shall appear that the mortgaged premises are so situated that they cannot be sold in parcels without injury to the interests of the parties or that the sale of the whole will be most beneficial to them the court may adjudge the sale of the whole in which case the proceeds of sale, after deducting the costs of the action and of sale, shall be applied to the payment of the sums due and to be- come due deducting from all sums not due, which do not bear interest, interest from the time of payment to the time when the same are payable or the court may direct the balance of the proceeds of sale, after paying the sum then due with such costs, to be placed at interest for the benefit of the plaintiff, to be paid to the plaintiff as such subsequent payments or installments shall become due, with the interest thereon. The surplus, after paying the amount due the plaintiff and costs, shall be paid to the party entitled thereto on the order of the court.
846.08.Judgment for sale of whole; adjustment of parties’ rights.
Ch. 846: Real Estate Foreclosure · Last amended 1993 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 846.08 lets a Wisconsin court order the sale of the entire mortgaged property, instead of parcels, when parceling would hurt the parties or a whole sale serves them better, and it sets out how the resulting proceeds and any surplus get distributed.
Full Text of Section 846.08
Plain-English Summary
Section 846.08 covers the flip side of parceling. When the court, working through the inquiry set up in Sections 846.06 and 846.07, finds that the mortgaged premises cannot be sold in parcels without hurting the parties’ interests, or that selling the whole property would benefit them more, it can order the whole thing sold at once.
The proceeds get applied in a set order: first the costs of the action and of the sale, then the sums due and still to become due. For amounts not yet due that do not bear interest, the court deducts interest for the time between the sale and when each amount would have become payable. As an alternative, the court can instead direct that the balance be placed at interest for the plaintiff’s benefit and paid out as later installments come due, along with that interest.
Whatever is left over after the plaintiff and the costs are paid is a surplus, and it goes to whoever the court determines is entitled to it, by court order.
Frequently Asked Questions
When would a Wisconsin court order the entire mortgaged property sold instead of just part of it?
When the court finds the premises cannot be sold in parcels without hurting the parties’ interests, or that selling the whole property would be more beneficial to them.
How are sale proceeds applied when future installments are not due yet?
Costs of the action and sale come out first, then the sums due and to become due, with interest deducted from non-interest-bearing future amounts for the time before they would have been payable.
Is there another way the court can handle installments that have not come due yet?
Yes. Section 846.08 lets the court instead place the balance of the proceeds at interest for the plaintiff’s benefit and pay it out as those later installments and their interest come due.
What happens to money left over after the plaintiff and the sale costs are paid?
It is a surplus, paid to whoever the court determines is entitled to it, on the court’s order.
Does the leftover surplus get paid out automatically?
No, it is paid to the party entitled to it on the order of the court, which points toward a determination process, addressed further in Section 846.162.
Amendment History
History: 1973 c. 189 ss. 7, 20; Stats. 1973 s. 816.08; Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 768, 783 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 846.08; 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 sale of entire mortgaged propertydividing foreclosure sale proceeds wisconsin846.08 wisconsin statutesurplus after mortgage foreclosure sale wisconsin