Short answer. It depends on whether a redemption right exists. If none exists, the mortgagor's title is cancelled and a new one issued to the purchaser once the confirmed sale is registered. If a redemption right exists, the mortgagor's title is only annotated until redemption lapses, then the sheriff's final deed is registered and title transfers.
What the law says
A certified copy of the final order of the court confirming the sale shall be registered in the registry of deeds. If no right of redemption exists, the certificate of title in the name of the mortgagor shall be cancelled, and a new one issued in the name of the purchaser. Where a right of redemption exists, the certificate of title in the name of the mortgagor shall not be cancelled, but the certificate of sale and the order confirming the sale shall be registered and a brief memorandum thereof made by the registrar of deeds upon the certificate of title. In the event the property is redeemed, the deed of redemption shall be registered with the registry of deeds, and a brief memorandum thereof shall be made by the registrar of deeds on said certificate of title. If the property is not redeemed, the final deed of sale executed by the sheriff in favor of the purchaser at the foreclosure sale shall be registered with the registry of deeds; whereupon the certificate of title in the name of the mortgagor shall be cancelled and a new one issued in the name of the purchaser.
Rule 68, Section 7 — Registration. Read the full provision →
The starting point: registering the confirmation order
Whatever the redemption situation, the process begins the same way: a certified copy of the final order of the court confirming the sale must be registered in the registry of deeds. What happens after that registration, though, depends entirely on whether a right of redemption exists. That single registration step is the fork in the road for everything that follows — the registrar of deeds cannot know which of the two subsequent procedures to apply until it is clear whether a redemption right attaches to this particular foreclosure.
No redemption right: immediate cancellation and new title
If there is no right of redemption, the transfer is direct and immediate — the certificate of title in the mortgagor's name is cancelled, and a new certificate of title is issued in the name of the purchaser, completing the transfer at that point. There is no intermediate step and no waiting period built into the registration process itself; once the confirmation order is registered, the registrar of deeds proceeds straight to cancelling the old title and issuing the new one in the purchaser's name.
A redemption right means a waiting period first
Where a right of redemption exists, the mortgagor's certificate of title is not cancelled right away; instead, the certificate of sale and the confirmation order are registered with a brief memorandum on the existing title. If the property is redeemed, that redemption gets its own memorandum; if it is not redeemed, only then is the sheriff's final deed registered and the mortgagor's title finally cancelled in favor of the purchaser. During the redemption period itself, the mortgagor's title stays intact on record, carrying only the memorandum noting the sale — anyone checking the title can see that a foreclosure sale occurred, but ownership on paper has not yet actually changed hands.
Related provisions
- Rule 68, Section 7 — Registration
- Rule 68, Section 4 — Disposition of proceeds of sale
- Rule 68, Section 1 — Complaint in action for foreclosure